Moyenne Island is a small tropical island located in the Indian Ocean. In 1962, its future was uncertain. That is until Brendon Grimshaw, a British national and former editor of some of the most important newspapers in Africa, purchased it for 10 thousand pounds.
Grimshaw’s vision was to make Moyenne Island habitable and beautiful. To achieve this, he set out with one other man – Rene Antoine Lafortune – on a mission to plant 16 thousand trees, build 4 kilometers of nature paths and breed 109 giant land tortoises.
Thanks to the incredible efforts of both men, what began as merely an uninhabitable rock turned into an incredible piece of beauty and wonder worth 34 million euros today. It goes without saying that they made history with their actions and left behind an incredible legacy; one that future generations will continue to enjoy for years to come.
The story of Brendon Grimshaw and Rene Antoine Lafortune’s journey with Moyenne Island has been documented in the award-winning documentary ‘Island Man’, released in 2017. If you’re looking for an inspirational tale about how two unlikely heroes changed the fate of an island and created something wonderful out of nothing then this documentary is definitely worth watching!
