Belize eco lodge accommodation, Rio Grande

The opening of the lodge in the village brought new employment opportunities and now with a staff of thirteen the business we generate brings income into the village and benefits our staff and their dependents. Local Mayans are naturally quite diffident but they have grown in confidence and self-esteem since working with us. Shy young women in the kitchen flourish when they learn new skills and realize that they can manage a three course dinner and complex menu for our guests.

Our policy of sub-contracting local suppliers allows the economic activity we generate to filter into the local economy through guides, tax drivers, bus services and food and other suppliers. Our inclusion of paid visits to homes, craftsmen and organic farms allows our visitors to gain an appreciation of local life and culture and develop relationships with local people. The fact that English is the official language of Belize helps these exchanges.

Ya’axche Conservation Trust: We work with the Ya’axche Conservation Trust by promoting the YCT’s scholarship program to our guests. At present four local students are being sponsored through their high school education by past guests at the Lodge. Each scholarship is worth about US $500. The program offers continuing education for children from the poorest families who would otherwise be unable to continue their studies. It allows our guests to develop personal relationships within the community and to feel a sense of satisfaction in knowing their contribution has had a direct impact. The YCT has its own wood workshop in Golden Stream which produces high quality wooden picture frames made from local hardwoods. The lodge’s gift shop provides a shop window for YCT and its hand crafted products.

The Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary: The lodge has been supporting the efforts of the Aguacaliente Management Team since 2002. At first the contribution was mainly in the form of offering meeting space and free internet access to help the team develop their strategy. The lodge will be helping AWS to install signs in villages surrounding the sanctuary directing visitors to local homes that will be offering food and refreshment for visitors to Toledo. The team has worked hard over the past five years to open up the sanctuary for visitors and the Lodge includes the sanctuary in its packages taking our guests there to enjoy the abundant birdlife on the lagoons surrounded by forested hills.

Julian Cho Technical High School: This high school is situated just three miles from the lodge and specializes in business, agriculture and construction education. The lodge has, through the generosity of the Rotary Club of Fleet in Hampshire, UK, been able to secure two donations of US $1000 for the purchase of tools for the construction department. In this way the students have been able to gain some of the practical experience which had previously been lacking. The students skills are then used to save money for the school by undertaking repair and maintenance tasks themselves and earn money by producing furniture for sale in the community.

We try to do all this by being as energy efficient as possible and managing our resources and waste to minimise our impact on the environment (forest, villages, rivers and lagoons) which is at the heart of what we offer our guests. When we built the lodge and the six cottage style thatched cabanas we did as much as we could to design in energy efficiency. Each cabana is octagonal with four large 6’x4’ louvered windows in the corners. These windows bring the trade winds breezes into the cabana and provide natural cooling. The high thatched ceilings “breathe” and remain cooler than the outside in hot weather. The thatched verandas with hammocks provide a shaded outside living area for our guests.

The cabanas were equipped with on-demand gas water heaters in order to minimize the use of LP gas for heating. All the wood used in construction was sourced within a 25 mile radius of the lodge. Local legislation does not promote sustainable forestry at present. We use solar path lights or low voltage lights for our night time illumination. Our aim is to offer enough light for guests' safety but to avoid generating light pollution. We compost all of our vegetable waste, have a single burial pit for other waste and transport cans, bottles and plastics off the premises to the municipal dump 15 miles away. We could do a lot more in this area but there is no recycling infrastructure to plug into. We have a posted conservation notice in each cabana, giving our guests suggestions on ways to reduce waste and minimize their impact, and ours, on the environment.