About us

MorugaHill Rice

A nutritious, delicious, climate smart, Caribbean wild rice that grows on dry land and requires relatively low amounts of water, which gives it the potential to be a food staple in these times of global warming

The Birth of All Natural Goodness

  • 1498

    Christopher Columbus landed on the southern coast of Trinidad near to the village of Moruga where Arawaks and Caribs from South America’s Orinoco River Delta thrived. These Amerindian hunter-gatherer tribes were known by various names, including Warao.

    Trinidad’s rich history led to the island becoming perhaps the most heterogenous population in the Caribbean, embracing culinary multifariousness.

  • 1783 – 1816

    The British recruited runaway slaves to join their armies in exchange for their freedom, and in 1816 some of those military slaves, the Merikins, were brought to Trinidad to settle.

    Folklore has it that the Merikins brought several varieties of dryland rice with them that hybridized with the Indian Corn of the Arawaks and Caribs, to create a unique and highly localized genome with rare health and nutrition properties, MorugaHill Rice.

  • 1816 – 2004

    The hilly landscape of Morugameant that MorugaHill Rice had to be farmed by hand through the generations, which made it labor intensive with small production volumes, mainly for home use.

    The founder of Caribbean Sea and Air Marketing Co. Ltd. (CSAM) and his father before him, were among these small-scale Moruga Hill Rice farmers.

  • 2004

    CSAM was incorporated.

  • 2010

    CSAM established its Vista Dorado Estates brand and formalized its strict production methodology that it refers to as CSAM Compliant farming. That is, Eco-friendly, All-Natural, Non-GMO and Gluten-Free farming and Antibiotic-Free Animal Husbandry.

  • 2011

    CSAM commissioned an analysis of the Moruga Hill Caribbean wild rice and the resulting report from Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) revealed that nutritionally and in terms of taste, CSAM-compliant Moruga Hill Rice is on par, and sometimes superior to leading global wild rices.

  • 1816 – 2004

    The Trinidad and Tobago Intellectual Property Office (TTIPO) invited CSAM to its in-dept Training Workshop on Intellectual Property (IP) applications and invited CSAM and other companies with unique, commercially available products to participate in a nationwide pitch regarding the commercial use of IP.

    CSAM was declared a national winner and the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) sponsored CSAM’s attendance to its Barbados Workshop, where CSAM was exposed to further IP training and techniques for making an Investor Pitch.

    CSAM submitted its Vista Dorado Estates MorugaHill Rice Trademark Application to IPOTT.

    CSAM was then invited to join the WIPO Match Platform where WIPO Match bolstered South-South triangular cooperation by introducing CSAM to a prominent US law firm specializing in IP and Commercial Agreements. The relationship with this law firm continues to be invaluable as CSAM enters the global marketplace with the now trademarked Vista Dorado Estates MorugaHill Rice.

Food Sustainability Begins

  • 2016 - 2018

    In 2016 CSAM sourced and re-engineered equipment that could traverse Moruga’s hilly landscape, thereby mechanizing MorugaHill Rice farming to allow high volume production. CSAM further outfitted its factory operation with a Rice Paddy Drier, a Rice Mill and storage Silos

    In January 2018 TTIPO registered the Trademark for Vista Dorado Estates Moruga Hill Rice.

  • 2018 - 2020

    CSAM began offering tours of its Farming facilities and the surrounding forest and river trails as a part of its “Healthy Lifestyles” brand, with a wholesome All-natural diet at the core. It began construction of its Welcome Center with a vision of expanding Agro-ecotourism, specifically in Moruga.

    The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, under its ExporTT Agency, supported CSAM with partial financial reimbursement for:

    • The mechanization of Moruga Hill Rice.
    • Research and Development into CSAM’s Animal Feeds using the waste of Moruga Hill Rice and other All-natural vegetable produce.
    • The development of a Mobile Application to facilitate the expansion of CSAM-compliant Vista Dorado Estates Moruga Hill Rice farming.

    CSAM spearheaded the formation of Southern Hill Rice Agricultural Cooperative Society Ltd. to unite Moruga Hill Rice farmers to produce the Moruga Hill wild rice on a wider scale.

    CSAM worked with the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) and the University of the West Indies (UWI) to develop its Animal Feed, now ready for pelletization.

  • 2020 - 2021

    Local distribution of Moruga Hill Rice began and CSAM’s ecommerce website was launched: www.vistadoradoestates.com.

    All-natural, ethnic herbs and spices such as Geera, Pimento Peppers and Scorpion Peppers were used to create flavored Vista Dorado Estates Moruga Hill Rice and the freshly milled and ground rice was used to introduce a silky-smooth, Gluten Free Vista Dorado Estates Moruga Hill Rice Flour.

    CSAM founded an Association of Moruga Hill Rice farmers, the Moruga Hills Organic Producers Ltd., to more intimately expand the production of CSAM-compliant Vista Dorado Estates Moruga Hill Rice and other all-natural vegetable produce and indigenous products.

  • 2021

    CSAM has realized its vision for a Moruga Hill Rice Agro ecological Village that is being populated by the Moruga Hills Organic Producers Ltd. that own their own farms in Moruga. The Village will utilize CSAM-compliant agro-ecological farming methodologies to expand the mechanized production of Vista Dorado Estates Moruga Hill Rice to 122 acres in 2021, with further acreage to be added thereafter, as the Association expands.

    A Moruga Hill Rice Seed Bank will also be established by the Association to continue CSAM’s work in preserving the authenticity of the five varieties of Moruga Hill Rice, while ensuring an adequate supply of the seed for all farmers.

    The Association, Moruga Hills Organic Producers Ltd, will work along with the Cooperative to create the Moruga Hill Rice Geographical Indication.

  • 2025

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Caribbean Sea and Air Marketing Company Limited

BP#5 Penal Rock Road, Moruga, Trinidad

1 868 324 5807

www.vistadoradoestates.co

csam@vistadoradoestates.com