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In October of 2010, we traveled to Mauri8us to learn more about sugar produc8on on the “sugar island.”
J!rney to Mau"tius
Known to Arab sailors since the 10th C., this uninhabited speck of land, was first seFled by the Dutch in 1598. They did not stay long.
The French arrived in 1715. For years, the island was governed by the French East Indies Company and used as a base from which privateers plundered English ships on their way to and from India. England seized Mauri8us from the French during the Napoleonic Wars. It remained an English colony un8l 1968 when it gained its independence.
Today’s busy harbor at Port Louis, the na4on’s capitol.
It was the French who established the sugar industry on the island. Every planta8on had its own sugar mill. At one 8me there were over 250 mills on the island. Most of these mills are now gone, but the chimneys remain. They are preserved as na8onal treasures. The traveler will see them doTng the countryside.
Mauricia: 19th century planter’s house in the midst of cane fields. It was demolished by Cyclone Carol in 1960 and rebuilt on the exis8ng founda8on, retaining its old world charm.
The house and its lovely gardens are now a venue for weddings and other special events.
Today the old mills have been replaced by modern factories, but the sugar is s8ll cul8vated on a combina8on of large family‐owned planta8ons and small farms with only a few acres. Mauri8us sugar is cer8fied as Fair Trade. Many of the mills operate as co‐genera8on plants, meaning that all the energy needed to process the sugar is generated by the process itself and the excess is sold to the na8onal gird accoun8ng for 46% of the na8on’s power supply.
The en8re sugar industry on Mauri8us is highly regulated, being overseen by the government and the Mauri8us Sugar Syndicate. Every mill has its own laboratory and quality controls are strictly enforced. The universi8es have departments devoted to agricultural research and efforts are constantly being made to improve the strains of sugar cane so that they are naturally disease and pest resistant. No pes8cides are used. Only herbicides are applied to the cane before it is planted. Efficient irriga8on systems have been devised to save water.
The two mills that India Tree buys from are highly mechanized. The manager of Belle Vue explained to me that every part of the cane plant is put to good use. Nothing is wasted. The leaves are used for thatching roofs or covering the fields aaer harves8ng to conserve moisture. The scum from the purifying of the sugar is returned to the planters for fer8lizer. The bagasse, or fiber, is burned for fuel. The vapor produced in the evapora8on process generates energy for manufacture and for sale to the na8onal grid. Ethanol is also a by‐product and is used to generate energy, or in some cases for the making of rum, which is a specialty of the island. Even the lava rocks, that con8nue to crop up in the fields. are gathered, used for fences and walls, or crushed to make cement.
The Mauri8us Sugar Industry
Sugar cane is harvested from September through December. Then the rains arrive and the cyclone season begins. During harvest, the narrow roads are clogged with trucks, large and small, full of cut cane, on their way to the mill or a weigh sta8on.
Truck pulling into a weigh sta4on.
Truckload of sugar cane in sling being transferred to pile awai8ng a factory truck for delivery to Belle Vue.
This old print found in the Sugar Museum on Mauri8us, illustrates the steps required to manufacture sugar from cane. The equipment may be crude and labor intensive, but the method seen here is essen8ally the same as today. The cane is cut into small pieces, crushed to pulp, and juice is extracted. Impuri8es are removed from the juice by adding lime or calcium to the juice and spinning it in a turbine.
The lime and calcium bond with phosphate and other undesirable elements to form a scum which is removed by a skimming process. The remaining syrup is heated, the water is evaporated and sugar crystals form. In this illustra8on the moist sugar is poured into molds to form cones for ease in shipping. Today the sugar is condi8oned in large silos to eliminate the moisture and is poured into bags or totes for transport on large container ships..
Large Vats Evaporators – One Steel, One Wood
Warm Crystallized Demerara Checking for Crystal Size
Modern Factory – Belle Vue
Computerized Control Room – Belle Vue
Condi8oning Towers at Deep River Beau Champ
Filling and Sewing up Bags at Deep River Beau Champ
Loading Slings with 110 lbs (55 kg) bags at a Port Louis Storage Facility
Stacks of 110 lbs (55 kg) Bags at Port Louis Storage Facility
Port Louis, the capital of Mauri8us, is a startling juxtaposi8on of old and new: Dilapidated store fronts, elegant colonial buildings, and in‐your‐face high rises. Cars and motor bikes, buses and dodging pedestrians crowd its streets during business hours and on Sunday mornings.
In the late ’90’s, the city completed an important and imposing development along the harbor, called the Caudan Waterfront, to replace or repurpose an old warehouse district. It contains a luxury hotel, a casino, several cinemas, many restaurants, and duty free shops. It also contains an amphitheater for outdoor performances. And a lovely history museum.
Mauri8us is a mul8‐racial, mul8‐cultural, mul8‐ethnic, and polyglot society. Sixty percent of its popula8on is of east Indian descent. The rest of the popula8on is made up of people of European, Chinese, African, and Creole descent. Both English and French are official languages, Creole is most commonly spoken among all peoples, and Hindi, mandarin, and other languages are spoken in the homes. All the world’s major religions are represented here as well.
This wonderful potpourri is represented by the management in the mills and within the Mauri8us Sugar Syndicate as well. The families of many of the workers have been in the sugar industry for genera8ons.
Port Louis – the city and the people
Port Louis – View from the Labourdonnais Hotel
The Supreme Court of Mauri8us Barristers on lunch break.
Street Scenes – Port Louis
Sunday Aaernoon Street Scenes – Port Louis
Colonial House – Port Louis
Bishop’s Palace – Port Louis
The Market – Port Louis
Street Vendors – Port Louis
Caudan Waterfront – Port Louis
Caudan Waterfront – Port Louis
The Morris Minor An8que Auto Show ‐ Caudan Waterfront – Port Louis
Shop Window – Port Louis – Angels, Buddhas, Fairies, Christmas Trees and Santa Claus – Something for everyone.
Entrance to the Royal Palm Hotel: This luxury hotel is located at the northern end of the island.
Beach at the Royal Palm Hotel
Diversifica8on
Mauri8us’ beau8ful beaches, its clear, tropical waters, and its gracious people aFract vaca8oners from Europe, South Africa, Arabia, and Asia. Tourism is not a fully developed industry yet, but new hotels are being built and more services provided.
Mauri8us also has a sizable apparel industry and is serious about providing more high tech services.
Although it is feeling the effects of the recession, the country’s business community is bustling with ac8vity.
Mauri8ans are remarkably warm and hospitable. They are literate and skilled at what they do, be it manufacturing sugar, producing tex8les, managing hotels, or providing high tech services.
One would have to try very hard not to fall in love with this beau8ful, energe8c and ambi8ous liFle country of 1.25 million people.
Signage – Port Louis – “We deliver smartly.”