During the French colonial period, in the year 1841, catholic missionaries established a hotbed of priests , hence the name of the site, “ mon père” meaning “my father”.

In 1947 Father Albert, a member of the Capucin community created the Arboretum, a conservation area of trees originating from different parts of  the world and which now make up the 60 hectares of the reforestation project.

The company "Marisk" cultivates vegetables. There are also small plantations of litchis et ylang ylang.