Passing away of Gonzaque Hoareau, end of era for the cinnamon industry 02-07-2014

Passing away of Gonzaque Hoareau, end of era for the cinnamon industry 02-07-2014

The untimely passing away of Gonzaque Hoareau, aged 53, last Thursday, sadly marks the end of an era for the cinnamon industry in Seychelles.
For ten years, this versatile entrepreneur was involved in cropping cinnamon bark in south and west Mahé.
He rented the kiln (locally known as the calorifer) at Au Cap to dry the bark, cropped by a team of some 30 workers high in the mountains of Anse Aux Pins, Bougainville and Takamaka.
More workers were also employed in the kiln to dry the bark for resale to Chaka Brothers, which exported the cinnamon for use as a spice and in the perfume trade.
Gonzaque’s enterprising spirit also prompted him to purchase standing trees, notably mahogany and 'kalis dipap' from the Department of Environment, which he sawed into planks for use in house building and furniture making.
In both ventures, he was ably assisted by his wife, Mariola, who weighed the bark and issued payments.
It was most unfortunate that, after many years of sucessfully running the calorifer and providing employment to a number of workers, the premises were arbitrarily taken from him and allowed to fall to ruins. This broke Gonzaque’s spirit and he remained depressed ever since.
Gonzaque leaves behind a daughter, Cynthia and two sons, Murphy and Marius.
His funeral service was held Tuesday at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, where a large crowd of mourners gave Gonzaque, who left us too soon, a wonderful send-off.
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