Weddings in St. Lucia
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
This luxury accommodation is a working cocoa plantation and we have outlined some of our eco-policies which enable us to maintain an environmentally friendly establishment with the emphasis on the following:
The soil on this plantation is certified by the BCG in England as 100% organic. Our cocoa is still harvested and grown in the traditional way, from the cutting, to the drying, and fermentation to the cocoa dancing process and roasting. We do not use any chemicals on the plantation. Our cottages are constructed in wood and are set among the trees without destroying existing vegetation.
Trees are continuously planted on the plantation in order to replace those which have aged and died. We also preserve an archeological site on the plantation.
We are a member of HERITAS. HERITAS is a tourism association and the members are committed to maintain and continuously improve our natural resources, environment, culture and archeological and historical sites, on which we depend. They are committed to the health, safety and security of visitors and the prevention of pollution and protection of the environment. They also preserve our culture through educating employees and enhancing our natural resources through the design and implementation of an effective environmental management system.
We have a voluntary towel reuse programme where we place cards in the rooms so the guests can actively participate in reducing the consumption of laundry chemicals, water and energy. We carefully inspect all toilets at monthly intervals and undertake preventative maintenance, as well as training employees- especially housekeeping- to identify and report leaks and faulty toilets immediately.
We use energy saving light bulbs and switches in order to achieve minimum wastage of non-renewable resources. We also collect rain water in tanks from the roofs of all our cottages to supplement and maximise our use of this natural resource. We replace incandescent bulbs with compact florescent lamps for lighting switched on for longer periods of time and use higher wattage bulbs. Although initially more expensive, florescent lamps have lower lifecycle costs compared to incandescent bulbs.
We use low flow shower heads in all or cottages to minimize water wastage on the plantation. Natural energy sources of solar heating panels are utilized on our roofs to heat water to ensure that the use of non-renewable resources is substituted in any necessary situations.
We attend conferences held on a regular basis with all associations- based on fostering responsible tourism- which includes numerous precautionary measures towards the ecosystem. We educate and train our employees in their responsibility of protecting the environment by emphasizing responsible use of water, electricity and energy usage.
Community
All the crops which are cultivated on the plantation are used in the food preparation at our restaurants. We buy local, enabling local communities to benefit from tourism. We work and participate actively in our community of Soufriere and Chateau Belair, where we now employ persons from the rural community.
Preference is given to purchasing environmentally responsible products from local vendors. Preference is also given to purchase from environmentally responsible service providers.
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