Balinesan Community Dedication

The Balé is a Balinesan retreat dedicated to revitalizing your soul as well as revitalizing the local village of Nusa Dua.  The Balé is dedicated to the well-being of its employees and their families.  They have set up a training and development program in the community to provide education and ultimately jobs.  Approximately 80% of the employees come from Nusa Dua.  Hiring locally has also helped to eliminate the use of motorized vehicles used to get to and from work, since most employees walk.

The Balé hosts exhibitions for local artists as well as cultural celebrations and events.  This provides guests with exposure to the local culture as well as monetary support for the locals.

In keeping with their direct approach with the community, the Balé has set up a beach facility in which guests have direct access to a local food and beverage cooperative and local residents participate in the clean-up and maintenance of the area forming a community initiative that all residents can be proud of.  This spot has become a favorite, in the South of Bali, for tourists and residents alike.  This is a perfect example of connecting people to achieve a common goal of community preservation, while providing a rich tourism experience. [more]

Love at First Site

The lodge at Chaa Creek

It was your classic love story – boy meets girl, girl falls in love with boy, together they live happily ever after.  But in the case of Mick and Lucy Fleming, it took place via canoe and horseback deep in the jungle of Belize.  It was there they fell in love with each other, and also the land around them.  Together, they created the lodge at Chaa Creek and now help preserve 365 acres of land while maintaining the first class resort. [More]

The First of Its Kind

Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa is the world’s first and only Gold LEED Certified Hotel.  What did it take to earn this certification?  Low VOC paints used throughout, carpet containing post consumer recycled material, recycled tiles and granite, low flush toilets and low flow showers, solar panels, and locally grown food provided at the restaurant; to name some of the many efforts that went in to what is today Gaia.  With 131 “green” rooms situated on four acres in American Canyon, just south of Napa, there is even a real-time display in the lobby showing how much energy is being used and saved at the hotel moment by moment.  Gaia is the first of its kind, but hopefully just one in a long list to come. [More]

Hybrid Vessels Set Sea in The Galapagos

Santiago Dunn, the Executive president of Ecoventura, has shown a strong commitment to sustainability since 1990.  A family owned company based in Ecuador that operates four expedition yachts in The Galapagos Islands, Ecoventura is modifying the engines of its fleet to create hybrid boats.  These boats will be powered by diesel and solar/wind energy.  Mr Dunn’s mission is to inspire others, including Ecoventura’s passengers, to be part of the solution for the issues facing The Galapagos.  Modifying the fleet’s engines is one step of many the company has taken in the right direction. [More]

Healing Eyes, Saving Lives

Twelve years ago, Dr. Charles Mango never would have described himself as an environmentalist- or a local hero.  But, after managing almost 50,000 acres of reserve in Peru, establishing a community eye clinic, and administering antibiotics to villagers in need, the owner of Amazon Yarapa River Lodge certainly is. [More]

Sustainable Tourism’s Bright Light

The Mauna Lani Resort in Hawaii has the largest photovoltaic energy system (used to capture solar energy) of any resort in the world, with the capability of powering the equivalent of 500 homes. In addition to its own wastewater treatment and compost center, it also partners with local organizations in tracking turtles and rebuilding ancient fish ponds. [More]

Fish pond at Mauna Lani Resort

Critically Injured Parrot Becomes Ambassador to CASA

Almost a year ago, the staff at Belize’s Casa Avian Support Alliance (CASA), hosted by Casa del Caballo Blanco, received a fledgling red-lored parrot with a critically injured right eye. Now, the parrot, named Lored Captain Jack, calls CASA home because he cannot be released to the wild. As 1^st Ambassador to CASA, Lored Captain Jack writes a column for their newsletter, and even has his own email address: c.jack@casaavian.org

[more]

Ecotourism Saves Sri Lankan Elephants

Elephants at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage.

An estimated 30,000 elephants used to live in Sri Lanka during the early 1800s. But by 1975, aggressive poachers had hunted them to the brink of extinction. That’s when the Department of Wildlife started the The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage. Now funded by visits from tourists, the orphanage has become one of the largest in the world and has helped breed many of the 3,000 elephants that populate Sri Lanka today.

[More]

Researchers Aim to Save the Macaws

Macaws enjoying a clay lick near Tambopata Research Center.

Deep in the jungles of Peru, Researchers at the Tambopata Research Center are building artificial nests for the Macaws in hopes of learning how the big, beautiful birds live. The colorful parrots are often hunted for their prized feathers, and now are loosing their homes due to deforestation. Researchers hope that by understanding the birds, they’ll be able to take the steps needed to save them in the future.

[More]