Saint John

Saint John Parish (population 8,000, 35 km²) is Grenada's fishing and nutmeg processing center—a compact west coast territory whose capital Gouyave earned the nickname 'the action city and the place that never sleeps.' The Gouyave Nutmeg Processing Station, locally called 'The Nutmeg Pool,' remains the largest building in Grenada, where workers grade, sort, and prepare nutmeg for export—a labor-intensive process that mechanization has not displaced. But Gouyave's identity runs deeper than spice: fishing anchors the community, celebrated annually on June 29th with Fisherman's Birthday boat races and festivities. In 2000, the community created 'Fish Friday'—a weekly street festival promoting Saint John as a fishing village while generating tourism revenue that recirculates locally. The Dougladston Estate nearby preserves the old spice plantation model that once covered the Caribbean, now serving as living history. Saint John demonstrates how small Caribbean communities can monetize authenticity rather than competing with all-inclusive resorts: visitors come for working waterfronts, not manufactured experiences.