Union Island self catering cottage, St Vincent & the Grenadines

Local couple Signa and Bertram who live opposite, look after the cottage, directed by Heather who will meet you at the airport or off the ferry. Bertram grows salad and herbs in the adjacent garden and sells from one of the vegetable stalls down in the village of Clifton. He reuses water bottles which are cut down and planted with a selection of salad and herbs. You can buy direct from him to grow on the terrace and use during your stay. Union Island goats and dogs run around freely so please shut the gate when you come and go as they will eat the salads and my young coconut palms and lime tree!

Local shops and market stalls - everything you need to cook Caribbean is available in a 10 min. walk down to the village. A fantastic array of local veg, bread, rum, roti... between the stalls and various shops and small supermarkets. In the cottage are some caribbean cook books.
culture and history - The Grenadines Cruising Guide has a good section in the front about the Islands’ history and there’s a book on plants.

Environment
A box file of information for guests is provided in the cottage with guidance about responsible travel: waste management - composting kitchen waste and re using water containers for Bertram to use in the garden: reduce, re-use and then recycle where possible.

Energy use: Conserving water, which is all collected from the roof in the cisterns under the cottage; to please turn off the ceiling fan when you go out, AC not required as breezy hill side location and mosquito screened windows.

Local marine conservation: Boat trips run by locals to Tobago Cays, to swim with turtles and snorkel in the wonderfully clear water amongst the coral, be careful with your flippers on the reefs.

The Building: The cottage is quite eco friendly as constructed with local stone and timber, electricity use minimised by the design having windows all round, a shady terrace and breezy hill side location. The various island trades people did the renovation work for me. Inside the furnishings are whitened wood, cottons, feather pillows and some caribbean colours. The wooden furniture was made for me by a
carpenter nearby.

The garden: A natural habitat for insects and birds is encouraged by allowing the grass to grow quite long. When it is cut, partly for dry season fire hazard prevention, the cuttings are used on Bertram’s compost heap. My own land is completely organic and I plan to plant more indigenous flowering plants and fruit trees to encourage wildlife.