It was on September 19 that a check for 400,000 euros was given by the Heritage Foundation to the Rivière du Mât distillery.
The sum was raised thanks to the registration of the project to safeguard the Beaufonds sugar site, on which the distillery has been established for more than 40 years. The sugar factory, for its part, ceased to operate at the end of 1995., and its equipment was resold in Mauritius. The grant will contribute to the restoration of roofs, to the consolidation of masonry, and also the removal of water from the remains weakened by cyclones Belal then Garance. The project, supported by the La Martiniquaise corporate foundation, parent company of the distillery, consists of creating in the old stones of Beaufonds a museum dedicated to the industrial and cultural heritage of the site, one of the cradles of the sugar industry in Reunion. The museum space will complement Rivière du Mât’s spirit tourism offering, which has already opened a shop selling its rums and Reunion products on site.
