Santa Catarina
where forest pepper meets cocoa
Our plantation is located at Santa Catarina, in the Lembá district of São Tomé, in the south-western part of the island and close to the Obô National Park.
It is a remote and naturally isolated place, surrounded by tropical vegetation. Access can be difficult, particularly during the rainy season, when fallen trees and heavy rainfall can make the road challenging.
There is no electricity or internet at the plantation. Instead, we have developed simple systems adapted to the environment, including water capture from a nearby stream to provide fresh water at the farm.
Growing with cocoa
Our pepper is not grown in conventional rows.
We collect young Piper guineense plants from the surrounding forest and replant them beneath our cocoa trees, which provide the natural support needed by the climbing vines.
The young vines generally require around two to three years to establish themselves and reach the fruit-producing stage.
As the vines mature, we carefully manage the cocoa canopy. Selected branches are cleared to allow more sunlight to reach the pepper plants and encourage flowering and fruit production.
The result is an agroforestry system, where pepper and cocoa grow together rather than being separated into intensive monocultures.
Traditional care, local knowledge
Our pepper is cared for using traditional agricultural methods and without synthetic chemical inputs.
Local agricultural workers from the surrounding area take part in the work. We remove unproductive growth, keep the base of the supporting cocoa trees clean and regularly maintain the plants.
Where needed, we use natural compost made from materials available on the farm, including banana plant material and old cocoa pods.
More than a pepper plantation
Santa Catarina is a diversified farm.
Alongside forest pepper and cocoa, we grow coffee, bananas and fruit trees, including safu, jackfruit, papaya and passion fruit.
We are also developing a vegetable garden with local crops such as cassava and turmeric, together with traditional food and medicinal herbs. More recently, we have begun raising goats.
The farm is therefore not simply a place where pepper is produced. It is a small, evolving agricultural ecosystem rooted in the landscape of São Tomé.
A remote place, deliberately kept simple
The isolation of Santa Catarina is challenging, but it is also part of what makes the place special.
There is little traffic, no industrial activity nearby and no urban infrastructure. The farm remains closely connected to the forest and to the rhythms of the land.
This is where our São Tomé wild tropical pepper begins.
