Bryn Elltyd Eco Guesthouse

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Zero carbon, 1883 guesthouse business lines up for UK wide eco award

 

Eco Guesthouse in the U.K.

House is at bottom of this ramp that was used to lower slate wagons on to ffestiniog steam railway. Railway is so old it is pre steam engines. 1830,s it all rolled with gravity2ok long

**2014 Winner of Considerate Hotelier Green Team**

Bryn Elltyd eco guesthouse, 700ft up in Snowdonia has made it to the last 3 in the prestigious Considerate Hotelier awards. This national UK competition examines the sustainability and green ethos of, usually much larger hotels. Ceilia and John’s tiny 3 star, 6 bedroom, guesthouse are on a shortlist of 3. Pitted against the likes of the Best Western Hotel chain’ hotel in Suffolk.  It does not worry them, last year they competed in the awards against large 20 bed, 5 star hotels. They won and sat next to the Savoy green team to discuss carbon reduction.Lake in background is one of 2 hydro plants within 200m. This one has LAKE pumped up 3k and 400m up hill most nights. When they want power, open tap and full power in 6 seconds. store wind power electric etc

Steam train at back

Very old steam train

Green does not mean compromise as Bryn Elltyd shows. Wi fi, sauna, 3 electric car charge points etc. It is all carbon neutral, all energy comes from renewable. Having had solar panels since 1983 John and Ceilia like to think they tread lightly on the land for their grandchildren. Many organizations discuss climate change and carbon reduction, but this business has acted and runs only on renewable energy.

Heating uses a local wood bye product that is turned to gas and burnt at 900c. Amazingly for a house up a Welsh mountain it has computer inter-grated solar panels that work to make hot water. Other solar arrays make 240v electric. All the work has been done by John or by employing local engineers.

Spot the solar thermal and solar electric arrays. turf roofed lined with sheeps wool and cosy.

Spot the solar thermal and solar electric arrays. turf roofed lined with sheeps wool and cosy.

Rain can be a welcome resource here. It is harvested to flush loos(toilets) and water the garden and there are also two commercial hydro plants within 200m. Sewerage goes through 3 natural biological chambers then a small reed bed and into a duck pond, with ducks. John says ” Don’t panic the system is smell free and the loo flushing is normal.  Bryn Elltyd was built in 1883, had an out side tap in 1983 and has now evolved into carbon neutral. It has been a long adventure using my 25 years experience of teaching technology and engineering. High tech solar integration works, as does low tech conservatories, soaking up the heat into 39inch thick walls and vents to put this warm air into the house.  Together with my wife Ceilia we did what most parents dream about. The children went off to uni so we put the house on the market, sold up and moved to this stunning area where we used to holiday. Take care in the Hobbit room, lined with cozy sheep’s wool, turf roofed and dug into the mountain. It has had two marriage proposals in it so far……..’’

The Considerate Hotelier Awards are in London on 13th June.  It was won last year by the Savoy hotel and our little green zero carbon guesthouse with 6 bedrooms is against  a 34 and a 396 bedroom hotels that are part of national chains. No worries.

To see their listing go here: Bryn Elltyd Eco Guesthouse in the UK

Yoga is better when surrounded by nature, especially in the tropics

Guess What? Yoga is better in nature

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Breathe deeply… The air is clean at tropical eco resorts in the heart of Bali, Indonesia. While Ubud is commonly considered the yoga capital of Bali, its rapid growth, traffic congestion and poorer air quality is now sending nature lovers further into the hills of central Bali where not only is the air clean, but you can also drink and bathe in pure mountain spring water and eat clean local food.

The traditional heart of Bali is rich in culture, the way Bali used to be before tourism ran rampant in the south of the island. Here in central Bali you navigate your way by which volcano you are on. The largest volcano, Mount Agung in the east rises to over 3,000m. The slopes are too cold and barren to be inhabited but Agung provides a stunning sky scape that can be seen from nearly anywhere in Bali. Heading west, the steaming active volcano of Yoga in nature in Bali, IndonesiaMt Batur rises inside the collapsed volcano of Kintamani.

On the western slopes of Kintamani at 1007m elevation, surrounded by nature, near Plaga and the famous big long bridge, is Bali Ecovillage. Here the days are mild but be prepared to rug up in front of an open fire of an evening. Bali Ecovillage provides two yoga spaces and free classes for guests when they have guest yoga teachers from April to November to help guests connect with the beautiful location. Yoga makes more sense in nature and many guests have experienced the joy of their very first yoga class here in the mountains. Both yoga spaces, one indoor and one large outdoor bamboo bale have views across a valley to a wall of trees where often the mountain mist can be seen rolling down the valley. The 19 bed resort is available to hire for yoga and health retreats. Bali Ecovillage has more of an earthy farm stay feeling than a resort and is a wonderful place to connect with nature.

Further west, closer to central Bali is Bedugal and another volcanic mountain Batukaru. On the south west slopes of Mt Batukaru, in north Tabanan district, you will find two Eco lodges in even greener rainforest surroundings.  Bali Eco Stay, a boutique and very comfortable 5 bungalow eco resort can expand to 14 beds for small retreat groups. The lovely rectangular timber yoga bale has food forest views and is available for self practice or for yoga retreats. The grounds of the resort have lovely mixed tropical gardens over looking rice paddies with views to the ocean. The resort sources the purest of water from a mountain spring and  is on the banks of a small mountain stream that tumbles down a stunning waterfall, providing hydro power to the resort. At only 400m elevation, the weather is mild and you only need a light cardigan on the coolest of evenings. www.baliecostay.com

From Bali Eco Stay take a 20 minute drive through jungle, food forest and coffee plantations, with a slight climb in elevation up to 750m, to find the award winning Sarinbuana Eco Lodge. It’s round yoga bale makes a stunning presence as you wander down a winding stone path towards the forest. With timber floor and a towering woven bamboo roof, this is a happy place to breathe in deeply the clean mountain air while you stretch and twist your body through yoga. The bale was built for retreat groups up to 14. Do your own yoga or book a private yoga lesson from Val who lives just 100 m up the mountain. www.baliecolodge.com

Val and her husband Craig plan to open their own rainforest retreat and spa, complete with forest yoga bale by mid 2014. www.balicascade.com So eco lovers… Head to the mountains of Bali to discover unique and wonderful Eco lodges where you can breathe in deeply the fresh clean air and stretch and twist to give your body a yoga holiday. Be prepared to get off the beaten track where the roads are bumpy, but doesn’t that just add to the adventure and make you feel clever for finding these special secret places in the heart of Bali. By Miss Ronnie Eco Tropical Resorts Journalist 2014.

Eco Lodge for sale on the Caribbean in Mexico

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Eco Lodge for sale on the Costa Maya in Mexico
Maya Luna is located on beach front property on The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, a world class coral reef. The hotel offers diving, snorkeling, fly-fishing, trawling and bird watching. It is a small boutique type Eco Lodge on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. This is known as the Costa Maya in the Yucatan Peninsula, known as a desirable place to travel. The beachfront restaurant offers a daily variety of Mexican, Oriental and European flavors with staff well trained and willing to stay on.

Maya Luna is located near the small town of Mahahual. This is one of the most relaxing places and nature abounds. Tranquility is there in abundance in the unspoiled environment.

Hotel Maya Luna is located two miles south of the important Mexican-Caribbean cruise ship port and little fisherman’s town MAHAHUAL, known as Puerto Costa Maya. It is a 4.5 hours drive from the international airport of Cancun, at 360 km (219 miles). Chetumal, at 140 km (89 miles) and 1.5 hours, has a national airport with flights from Mexico City. There are daily bus services from Costa Maya to Cancun and Chetumal. Most tourists arrive in rental cars.

Maya Luna is owned by a Dutch couple. They built the resort in 2003. Their mission-statement: Maya Luna must be an eco-resort where the guests feel at ease, the Mexican employees gain a rewarding living and the owners make a fair profit.

The resort facilities include four spacious beach front bungalows that all have a beach terrace downstairs and a private roof deck upstairs, a king size bed or individual beds, bathroom, closet, hot and cold water, drinking water, beach chairs, and hammocks. One of the bungalows is fully equipped for wheel-chair travelers.
The two floor main building: Downstairs consists of a beach front restaurant, fully equipped kitchen, reception, palapa-covered patios, public toilets, and storage. Upstairs has two rooms, storage and a huge ocean view terrace.
All the buildings and parking places are situated in beautiful, tropical gardens.
The eco-resort runs 24 hours on a solar panel system with back-up generator, rainwater with big cisterns and septic tanks for the dirty water. Wireless and cellular telephone are available.
All the permits, land titles, environmental impact study and all business permits are in order. Tax and social security payments are up to date. Maya Luna has a permit to build 2 more bungalows. If you are interested, please contact the owners at info@hotelmyaluna.com.

Golfo Dulce and Earthwatch in the OSA peninsula in Costa Rica.

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Golfo Dulce and it’s importance. The owners of Saladaro Lodge participated in an Earthwatch sponsored program recently. They shared some of their thoughts and are taking an active role in a new study which will take place next year.

Centro de Investigación de Cetáceos CEIC – Costa Rica (http://cetaceansgolfodulce.blogspot.com/) is a non profit working to help preserve Golfo Dulce. They have been studying the whales, dolphins and the supporting habitat of the Golfo Dulce since 2005 with the intent of collecting more knowledge and monitoring impacts. Some of the dolphins they have known during this time have an advanced fungus derived from chemicals used on the palm plantations. These groups help with collecting data on species, time, temperature, actions as well as identifying individual animals and comparing to previous photos. They also monitor people’s impact on the beaches surrounding it.

As a part of the program they also study poison dart frogs on the Osa peninsula and will be starting a new study of the Aguja (needlefish) at Saladero Lodge this coming July, 2014. Our location is one of the few critical areas for the aguja spawning on the west coast of Central America. The type of rocky beach and temperature is very important for the eggs to hatch. They are a primary food source for the dolphins.  

Their primary goal is to prove that the Golfo Dulce is a unique marine area that needs to be protected and to influence the government into making all of it a Protected Marine Area.

For more information click here: http://www.saladerolodge.com/

plastic needs ocean cleanup project

The Ocean Cleanup Project

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Ocean Cleanup is important for our Planet. Getting rid of the miles of trash that litter the oceans of the world should be a priority for all of us.  Apparently a 19 year old student, Boyan Slat, is trying to do just that and is making good headway.  He, along with many helpers, is halfway through a feasibility project with his incredible design to rid a large swatch of litter from the ocean.  So far it looks very promising and he thinks the study will be done by the end of the year.  His system would only take about 1 1/2 years to do the job of cleaning the oceans.

If you would like to read more about this go here: The Ocean Cleanup.  He is in need of monetary donations as well as people to help.  This is an incredible idea who’s time has come.  I can’t wait to see it up in action!

The goal of Ocean Cleanup is to remove 90% of plastic waste from the world’s oceans. We hope they are successful!

Update on the Project

Their first Ocean Cleanup was launched from San Francisco, California on September 8, 2018. The project has gone through a number of ups and downs but they are learning as they go. The next phase involves converting the plastic waste into sustainable products to help fund the project.

Our friends over at idiveblue wrote an interesting article about Plastics, the Ecological Disaster of our time. It’s worth a read for some good information.

Luxury and Eco on Holiday – Getting the Balance Right

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Luxury and Eco on Holidays are precious and let’s face it, we all fancy a bit of luxury to indulge our senses in.  But for the eco-conscious traveller, the challenge is to find a destination that achieves the balance between luxury and environmentally friendly.  The ‘green’ part really needs to be seamlessly integrated into the experience.

It’s not hard.  Guests can be traveling ‘green’ without really knowing it at some resorts.  Take Eco Beach for example, on Western Australia’s remote Kimberley coast.  This eco wilderness retreat boasts the 2 key ingredients of 1.Location and 2.Experience. The green part of the recipe can then be very simply integrated and just like a green smoothie, you don’t even know you’re drinking kale or spinach! It’s the right combination of Luxury and Eco on Holiday.

Passive solar architecture is a subtle, effective way to increase guest comfort without detracting from luxury and decreases the need for power hungry air-conditioning: elevated villas and tents that facilitate cooling airflow; long eaves for shade; reflective rooves ; higher angled roof pitch that decreases the surface area exposed to the midday sun; lightweight building materials that drop heat quickly; double glazed windows and orientation of buildings to capture the sea breezes. These clever initiatives are like a dash of spinach in amongst the raspberries and bananas – hidden wonders.

The top of the list green feature is the resort’s computerised hybrid renewable power system. Every villa and tent is equipped with solar arrays that gather energy from the Sun to store in a large battery bank. The grid-based solar system allows excess power generated to be diverted to areas requiring power or to be stored in the batteries.  So, energy is used on a ‘needs only’ basis. This is indeed combining Luxury and Eco on Holiday

Other green initiatives include:  a unique energy-monitoring system that enables both management and guests to check energy usage; circuit breakers to restrict the use of large power-drawing electronic devices; LED lights; louver windows to maximise the airflow; thermostatically controlled Chromogen hot water systems; multi-head split system air conditioners in the villas; sustainable bamboo floor boards; eco-decking – a composite, renewable material that combines polyethylene and organic rice husks and reduces the need for deforestation; recycling in the office and around the resort; low flow taps, toilets and showerheads; biological micro-organism sewerage treatment plant and bio-degradable cleaning and bathroom products.

In the garden: grey-water is used to water the gardens; 5,000 native plants reduce irrigation needs; over 1km of elevated boardwalks protect the natural bush floor and an organic vegetable patch in season supplies 70% of the resort kitchen’s fresh produce needs – from edible marigolds, to beans that rival those of any fairy-tale.  Kitchen scraps are composted and fed to the chickens that kindly lay some 20 eggs a day – a poignant example of the ‘great circle of life’, and a reminder that we are all interdependent. Another great example of combining Luxury and Eco on Holiday.

Going green actually creates more guest comfort and more delicious meals! And guests can sleep soundly in their premium King Beds (minus the peas under the mattresses!) under a million stars, knowing that they are supporting the sustainability of the planet.  It’s surely a win, win situation, taking a Luxury and Eco on Holiday.

Find out more about Eco Beach Resort Broome and book online.

Alternative Electricity Generation – Photovoltaic Solar Panels and Sustainable Water usage

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Alternative Electricity Generation is practiced at Rosa Blanca and is a model of Sustainable Tourism, which has at its core not only sustainable good practices in terms of  conservation but also in terms of generating financial stability (ie; sustainability) so that the company can continue to innovate and create newer and more solutions to the issues of win/win situations for its bottom line. After 24 years of being pioneers in this kind of green innovation, and in regard to your observations about solar or alternative energy sources we have grave misgivings about requiring photovoltaic solar panels as preferred means for generating electricity, as they are not actually sustainable at this point in time.

This is an issue that we believe is misunderstood and is a very complex and evolving topic, and one in which we have been very involved. The advantages to solar energy are on the surface very obvious; the major benefit being the mitigation of greenhouse gases that fossil fuels produce. In the case of Costa Rica, 92% of the electricity generated is from hydroelectric, Eolic (kinetic wind energy) or geothermal sources; none of which emits fossil fuels. The company that sells this electricity is a nationally owned cooperative, called Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz, from which we buy this clean power as a cooperative member (consumer). In the case of other countries or places where the “grids” mean that the electricity is created through fossil fuels, the transportation of these materials and their subsequent waste is also of concern, along with the financial impact, transportation wear and tear etc.

Basically, going off grid is a huge advantage for those in isolated areas where they cannot get access to the cooperative electricity generated through a nonpolluting or fossil fuel depleting grid.

The disadvantages, which for us in Costa Rica outweigh the advantages, are the following; solar energy is not viable at night and for a tourism business that relies on services that require electricity (ours is a luxury accommodation which requires 24 hour services to our guests) nor is it constant. Furthermore, it is drastically reduced during our rainy season where many hours of the day are spent in overcast or stormy conditions.  Beyond daily inconsistency, solar production decreases over winter months when there are fewer hours of sunlight and sun radiation is less powerful.

But more important to us, as a business (and sustainability also includes first and foremost, financial sustainability) is that solar energy production is relatively inefficient. At best it is efficient at 25% and this is not sustainable on a viable level for those businesses that have healthy alternatives to this kind of electricity. Furthermore, because of this inefficiency for converting solar power to electricity, it requires a tremendous amount of coverage in order for it to be useful. This then as a result requires us to cover a large area of land that could be used for other good practices, like reforestation, propagation of endemic species and erosion protection. Our abundance of foliage and trees does not allow much of our roofing area to be used, and what is available for sunlight is being utilized by solar panels for heating water, which is a very efficient and viable energy use. (100% of our energy for heating water is through solar panels)

Additionally, there is great polemic about the storage and inversion of solar photovoltaic cells to A/C current which for the time being in any achievable or viable financially option, requires lead based batteries. In other words, solar electricity storage technology has not reached its potential yet.  These batteries have a short life of a year or two and then need to be discarded; posing a new and more worrisome issue of what the lead and acid detritus does to the places it is discarded. They are very bulky, VERY expensive and not a good option for a business that needs to have reliability and recyclability in mind.

So in conclusion, we believe that the assumed benefits and “green” stamp that photovoltaic solar panels imply can be misleading and in our case, we are actually being much more sustainable using the system we have in place for generating electricity.

In the case of heating water, then there are no real arguments, as this is a 100% viable and efficient method for heating water and as a result, 100% of all of our hot water comes from this technology. 

Water:

All of our water comes from a well which is pumped to a holding tank and delivered via gravity to most of the hotel. We have several water saving methods which we use to monitor our water usage, including flow meters on every outlet of water which are checked daily and logged into a monitoring logbook. Not only does this allow us to keep tabs on our water use and spikes in its consumption, but also allows us find leaks quickly and efficiently.

All of our faucets, shower heads and water outlets have water saving devices and our water is checked every 3 months for contamination of any kind through a licensed and official professional laboratory approved by the Ministry of Health. Additionally all of our toilets are 3.8 liter flushes (1 gallon) and we have literature in the rooms and bathrooms asking our guests to conserve water.

Additionally, our pool water is sanitized and cleaned through copper/silver ionization which has a 100% avoidance of harmful chemicals such as chlorine, acids or other damaging materials. Finca Rosa Blanca uses all of this water from the rinsing during the pool cleaning (chemical free water) for irrigating the Coffee plants that are in the green area below the hotel.

As per the CST, there is a large portion of the biological category (25%) which is dedicated to water consumption and its monitoring.

For instance in many parts of the CST one can find norms such as the following

  • Design a plan whereby the principle norms of practice and operation of the company in environmental concerns would permit the best water quality
  • The company creates an integral operation for the use of its water taking into account the following aspects;
    • Better use of water through a monitoring system and optimization for reaching the goal of reducing its use.
    • Reusing residual water for the irrigation of its green areas
    • Guaranteeing the use of such water at its most efficient methodology
    • Utilizing any irrigation with the most efficient technology possible to minimize its use.
    • To maintain a monitoring and establish standards (benchmarks) for the utilization of water
    • Select grass species (and the species of all plants) that would best adapt to the climatic characteristics of the soil in its area
    • Establish areas of priority for irrigation, identifying those that require no or little irrigation
    • Ensure regular comparisons of the irrigation system with the intent of premature leakage, inundations form defective irrigation systems or that do not cover the area adequately,  bad pumping systems among others
    • Avoid irrigating in windy conditions or during the day
    • Follow a regular monitoring of the soil humidity levels
    • Use hydro-receptors for accumulating  ground water

We have scored 100% on the CST inspections which include all and more of these norms.  To go to their site: Finca Rosa Blanca Plantation

Finca Rosa Blanca recently updated their Eco Rating for Eco-TropicalResorts.com.  In part, the above was a response to the Eco Rating and it started a conversation.  The Eco Rating will be updated to reflect some of the views held here.  When I first started Eco Tropical Resorts there was no country getting 92% of their energy from renewable resources.

To read about an Ocean Cleanup.

Anthropological research at Mambo View Point in Tanzania

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Research implemented @ www.MamboViewPoint.org

          A couple of days after the start of the year 2013, I arrived at Mambo to do a research for MamboViewPoint in combination with my study. At this moment, I am a master’s student in Social & Cultural Anthropology at the Free University in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. My aim for this research was to find out more about the perceptions of the people in Mambo village towards the development projects facilitated, and how this would influence their behavior. The contribution I would make to MamboViewPoint with this research was that they could improve their communication with the villagers. My duration of stay was almost three months. If I did not had to return to finish writing a thesis, I would have definitely stayed longer at this amazing place… 

Interview tree nursery group ‘Jipe Moyo’

The arrival

At the moment I arrived, I experienced a beautiful place in the Usambara Mountains: A stunning view over Tanzania and Kenya while I sometimes could catch a glimpse of Mount Kilimanjaro. Before this time, I have been in Tanzania three times for holidays and an internship, but that I missed this place felt as a missing for my previous trips to Tanzania.

Before I arrived at this place, I had some serious doubts about how I would experience these three months. First of all, I am really a person who loves cities and busyness around himself: My internship for my former study was mainly in Arusha. During this internship, I went for a program towards a very remote area for one week, and at the end of that week I really felt ‘homesick’ to the big city. Now I was going to stay at a remote area for three months, which is way longer than this one week during my former internship.

Another point which I was a bit worried about was my level of Kiswahili. Before arrival, I spoke a bit of Kiswahili, but this was on such a level that it was not really useful to work with. Despite of these worries, I also looked forward to this adventure: This would become a personal challenge for me, and I would try as much as possible to contribute useful anthropological knowledge to MamboViewPoint.

The worries I had at the beginning quickly disappeared after my arrival. I noticed that Mambo and MamboViewPoint is a nice place with a friendliness of people, which I did not experience that much as during my travels around the world. Herman, Marion, and the rest of the staff gave me a very warm welcome, and because of them, I knew I arrived at a good place.

The start

Footballmatch with ‘Dogodogo Stars’

Since almost one year before my departure to Tanzania, I have already started reading literature and scientific articles about this topic. At the moment I arrived, it was time to assess all this knowledge in ‘the field’. I started with just observing what was going on. Luckily for me, shortly after my arrival I was brought by one of the staff members, Kipimo, to a general village meeting. He really took care of me, and could explain me good what was going on. Together with Ndege, the local manager, I discussed in the first week how to come in contact with the people. He had some very good ideas which helped me to present myself more to the people of Mambo. Another staff member, Amiri, brought me into contact with the younger generation of the village. He is one of the members of the local football team ‘Dogodogo Stars’, and since the first week I also became a member of this football team. Also Herman and Marion helped me a lot during some brainstorms about what is going on in the area, and provided me a clear picture of Mambo by telling about important and less important happenings.

The process

Like always, the start is the most difficult part of a research, and in the beginning I was worried about how to start. In the first two weeks, I conducted interviews with only two villagers. These two were staff members of MamboViewPoint, so I could not be satisfied. However, I also put a lot of effort in the beginning by just talking with people, participating in development projects or social activities. It turned out that by doing this, I built the foundation for a large numbers of interviews in a later phase of the research.

In the beginning I was struggling with finding translators. The guides of MamboViewPoint were did a good job, but they were very busy with trips for tourists which made it difficult to make appointments with people. I was very lucky that I met Hoza, who became my research assistant. I already knew him, because he was participating in a tree nursery project. It turned out that his level of English was satisfying to me, and he had good ideas on how he could help me. After his first time translating for me, I was convinced that he was the right person who was going to help me making this research a success. Thanks to him, I adjusted my goal of 25 interviews towards 30 interviews, which became in the end 33 interviews!

During my talks with the people in Mambo village and surroundings, I realized that people really enjoyed my visit. Most people experienced the interviews not only as being a passive research subject, but also as sharing knowledge in two directions. Just visiting people at their home and listen to what they think made people very happy, which get symbolized by the disappointed reactions by some people if I did not interviewed them yet. Additionally, of all the people whom I have interviewed, there was only one person who was not willing to be interviewed.

Interview with one of the villagers

The interviews and participating in meetings and social activities resulted that it was for me not possible anymore to walk in the village without meeting people. While I left for walking to the village, I heard my nickname ‘Maliki’ called by many people shouted. In the beginning of my stay I was always 10 minutes too early for an appointment, while at the end I was always 5 minutes too late for an appointment. This was because I had to greet so many people on my way.

The importance of anthropology is that the researcher is his own research tool. This means that I had to come closer to my research subjects by talking and participating in their lives. This will open doors to achieve more results by making use of my senses. I feel like I really achieved this in more ways. People opened themselves a lot to me. First of all, the people in this area are very open and friendly by themselves, and show a lot of hospitality. However, I think I increased their openness by really showing interest towards their lives. I talked with them, stopped for a greeting while walking in the village, hang out with the people in the village center, and participated a few times in voluntary village works. Also my Kiswahili at the end of my stay really improved. Whereas I could only say ‘Hello, how are you?’ at the beginning, at the end I could introduce myself and present the aim of my interview fully by myself. This was partly because I have spent many hours sitting with the MamboViewPoint staff and just talking in Kiswahili.

The end

I already knew it a bit, but after this research I discovered I am studying the best study there is: doing research by communicating with as much as possible with people. Fortunately, the people I researched in this case also turned out to be amazing friendly people. This also resulted to me that I felt very sad in the days before my departure. Despite of this, because I was almost leaving, I knew I had to enjoy every moment of being here even more.

But with the coming of the end of this research, it is also time to analyze my findings of this research:

First of all, anthropologists always have the tendency to argue the good things bad, and the bad things good. However, Herman and Marion made it very difficult for me to criticize their projects they are implementing. The reactions of the people in the village made me realize how much the people appreciate MamboViewPoint. During my conversations, it turned out that many people saw MamboViewPoint as a new alternative to bring more development in this area. This is because the ones who are supposed to facilitate development, the local leaders, are experienced as being not reliable. The people in the village experience MamboViewPoint as much more reliable in facilitating development, so people depend more on them. However, this could be a disadvantage, because in the end it are the people themselves who should develop the area. Still, people are very happy with certain developments on which they had to wait for many years, but are brought by MamboViewPoint very fast.

Another very important thing I found out during my stay here is that the willingness of people to participate in development project is very high. However, they put some restrictions on their participation: As long as the project is transparent and the facilitators can show what the benefits are, the people in Mambo are very willing to contribute their efforts to a development project.

These are some of the main findings during my stay here. But at the moment I arrive back in The Netherlands, I have to analyze all my collected data and start writing my thesis. This means that I am going to spend my time for three months in the university library. While analyzing and writing, I will constantly think back of this great time here: In this period, I noticed how much I love this country and its people, and how much I want to come back to the place where I had one of the best periods of my life!

By Mark de Waard friend from Mambo

5 leaves for Bosque del Cabo in Costa Rica

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Over many long years of dedicated and diligent hard work carried out by Phil and Kim Spier, Bosque has become internationally renowned as one of Costa Rica’s premier rain forest lodges. The meticulous attention to detail has ensured that the guests receive the ultimate in friendly service, delicious food and comfortable lodging. But that is only part of what makes Bosque so special. The lodge has now become a concentrated oasis of wildlife diversity that brings so many people who want to enjoy and experience the fauna and flora held within its 800 acres of diverse habitat. Many of those visitors return time and time again. A number one priority of Phil and Kim was that the lodge should be run in a sustainable way that caused both minimal impact on the environment and also benefited the local community.

This year all those years of painstaking and conscientious efforts have been recognized and have seen Bosque del Cabo honored by two major organizations. Earlier in 2012 Bosque was awarded the highest achievement possible with a Certificate of Sustainable Tourism of 5 LEAVES. This ultimate level of certification is reward for all the research, planning and implementation of a sustainability plan developed over a long period of time. Phil and Kim would like to thank Kalinga Rodriquez, Katiana Beccerra and Karen Rojas Cuadras for their hard work in helping to collate, process and present those plans to the C.S.T. board.

The second award was one given on behalf of all of those guests who have visited Bosque over the previous year and felt so moved as to write and submit a review of the lodge to the online Travel Forum TripAdvisor. Almost every one of those reviews gave the lodge a 5 star rating, one of the few hotels around the world to have achieved such stellar results. This in turn was recognized by TripAdvisor who award Bosque del Cabo with its ‘TRIPADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE”.

Phil and Kim, as well as all of the staff, were so proud to have received such a high accolade as it speaks volumes about how the people who are so important to the lodge, you the guests, view everything that we do. We hope that situation continues well into the future. Many of our guests return so many times that they become almost like family. We hope you find the same level of welcome on your first visit and you may not be too surprised to find that once you do then you will become one of those regular returnees.

Philip Davison, Tropical Ecologist, Bosque del Cabo, 2012 Bosque del Cabo Rainforest Lodge Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica Website: Bosque del Cabo Rainforest Lodge

ElefantAsia working with Kingfisher Ecolodge in Laos for Nature Conservation

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Nature Conservation is so important. And ElefantAsia working with Kingfisher Ecolodge in Laos! The population of wild and tamed elephants in Laos was once called “A Million Elephants” kingdom (Lane Xang). The population is dangerously dwindling and too little is done to avoid this horrible situation.

For this reason the people at ElefantAsia deserve a big THANK YOU and all possible help anyone can give for the cause of Asian elephant preservation.

At Kingfisher Ecolodge we decided to support their Elephant Reproduction Project in Khiet Ngong village, to which we are linked not only by the short distance that separates our lodge to it but also by a “business” partnership and love for these pachyderms. Sadly, they are more and more oppressed by human presence and bad consciences.

ElefantAsia, founded in 2001 by Sebastien Duffillot and Gilles Maurer, is a small NGO project entirely funded by private donations and the help of volunteer veterinarians from around the world. It is the only organization trying to do something real to preserve the endangered species. They may be the very last chance for survival of the Laotian elephants.

People can also help through an “Adopt an Elephant” project that can be found on their website or, for the most generous ones, there is even a “Baby Bonus” program where you can become the sponsor of a newborn/calf elephant thus becoming a little like a caring parent to him.

We, at Kingfisher Ecolodge, can guarantee that the staff at ElefantAsia is really concerned and involved in this Nature Conservation project. As we have seen it with their dedication. As well, all donated money is used to treat and preserve this wonderful animal, which is the last largest terrestrial mammal on planet Earth.

We invite everybody to visit their website, rich with information on the Asian elephant and in particular about the Lao situation. Maybe, one day, you will be able to meet eye to eye with the docile mastodon in the Land of a million Elephants.

For more information about this lodge and the great things they’re doing with the Laotian elephants: Kingfisher Ecolodge