A Director’s Green Dream

In the early 80’s, Francis Ford Coppola visited the fledgling democracy of Belize (formerly British Honduras) to try to convince the government to establish a satellite address and become a hub of communications. The government demurred, but Coppola fell in love with Belize, whose verdant jungles reminded him of the Philippines where he’d filmed Apocalypse Now.

Coppola visited an abandoned lodge called Blancaneaux and bought it. For more than a decade, his family and friends used it as a retreat. Then, in 1993, he opened his jungle paradise to the public. Coppola explains that having a resort in the remote reaches of the jungle didn’t intimidate him at all. It’s like being on location for a movie – you just bring everything with you or build it yourself. Coppola’s done just that – he is delighted that his laptop computer is run by clean, free energy that his river-powered hydroelectric plant provides.



Coppola sees his role as that of a conservator, preserving the pristine environment – loves the fact that the river water is pure enough to drink, and strongly supports Belize’s commitment to eco-tourism. In December 2000, Coppola opened Turtle Inn, his second resort in Belize, in the seaside fishing community of Placencia. Hurricane Iris swept it away into the ocean less than a year later. For the man who saw his production Apocalypse Now shut down by a typhoon, it must have been déjà vu all over again.

Turtle Inn reopened in January 2003 and once again, Coppola has taken disaster and turned it into triumph. “The new Turtle Inn fulfills my vision of a beachfront paradise” says Coppola. “I love being by the beach and in the water and our new incarnation of Turtle Inn provides the ideal balance between luxury and nature. There are things to do – or just do nothing.

And of course, the food is great – fresh, simple and absolutely delicious. I think our guests will enjoy it as much as we do.”

You can read more about Blancaneaux here

A Brief History of the Kasbah Du Toubkal by Mike McHugo

The highest peak in the High Atlas mountains in Morocco is Jbel Toubkal (4,167m) and is only about 80 km from Marrakech, the imperial city in the south of the country and a centre of commerce and tourism for over 900 years.
The original inhabitants of North Africa are the Berbers or Amizgh meaning Freeman in their dialect. Marrakech is a Berber city and the end of the trade route from the Sahara to Europe. As successive invaders – the Phoenicians, the Cathaginians, the Roman, the Arabs and the French colonised the countries of North Africa the Berbers retreated into the high mountains and eked out a subsistence living in this harsh environment.
In 1978 Mike McHugo battled his way up a dirt track for 20 kilometres to reach the Berber village of Imlil where he met Omar Ait Barmed a mountain guide. !0 years later Mike’s brother Chris met Omar in Imlil.


The following year they were both visiting Omar with their mother when they noticed a derelict building in a commanding position. As the management of a small UK tour operator with an overseas property in France another in Morocco seemed a small step.
Whilst not knowing what they might do with such a base the McHugo brothers felt they could be a safe pair of hands to help tourism to develop but with the local community – their 10 year friendship with Omar and other villagers – at the core of any initiative.

This pragmatic approach to tourism development has led to the acquisition and renovation of the ruined building, by small incremental steps, to becoming the award winning Kasbah Du Toubkal which Conde Nast Traveller said had the “ …. Finest rooftop views in North Africa” and the Cadogan Guide says “ It is worth flying out to Morocco for just one night in this remarkable hotel” and National Geographic Adventure lists in its Top 50 Ecolodges.


The Kasbah Du Toubkal now has 14 en-suite rooms and 3 Berber salons (dormitory / family rooms. It is open all year round, has a small conference room, 2 steam baths, no swimming pool and no road access. It charges a 5% supplement to its published prices which goes to the Village Association to provide rubbish clearance and incineration, 4x4 Ambulances for Imlil and the surrounding villages, a community bathhouse and improved flood defences.

All the staff at the Kasbah have been trained in house and the permanent staff now number 44 with additional guides and muleteers numbering over 50 on some days.

Many visitors to Marrakech come to the Kasbah for a day excursion arranged through their hotels concierge.

For those who like walking but do not like the roughing it out at night the Kasbah has 3 additional rooms in a remote valley 4.5 hours walk away. But don’t confuse the rooms when booking as 4.5 hours is very different from 15 minutes.

To see the Kasbah Du Toubkal listing in Eco Hotels of the World, click here

Eco Lives: Howard Carter

I have always been fascinated by travel and from a young age became engrossed with books on travel and any sort of program or film on exotic locations. Then later as an adult whenever the opportunity presented itself off I went exploring all sorts of exotic locations and meeting all sorts of wonderful people along the way.

These days, like everyone else, I'm much more aware of the necessity to reduce air travel and these days I travel much less frequently and embark on train journeys when possible. This HAS led to a whole new and dare I say it, even more adventurous journeys and all sorts of exciting expeditions. For example traveling throughout India by rail as I did 3 years ago is truly both a humbling and simultaneously an exhilarating experience.

In fact it was during one of my extended traveling expeditions that I developed incognito - the one product that every eco conscious traveler should not leave home without! I developed this after contracting both malaria and dengue while using the 'recommended' chemical products and medication THAT did not protect me. So, I came up with something that is kind for me, my kids and the planet and best of all it works brilliantly. Just using the spray (along with other incognito products), following the tips I wrote on the 'Avoiding Bites' and 'How To Use it' Pages on my website is a fantastic way to prevent mosquito and insect bites and stings.

In fact incognito is now being used by all sorts of travellers in the know from Charley Boorman to the England Cricket team. Best of all is when people re-order having used it the year before or on their last expedition -as in the case with Charley. It's the best satisfaction of all and makes throwing in the towel in my marketing career worth it. Try incogntio and see for yourself.

www.lessmosquito.com

News: ECOpreneuring Wins Gold!

ECOpreneuring Wins Gold!


ECOpreneuring by John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist has won a gold medal in the Entrepreneurship category in the Axiom Business Book Awards. The goal of the awards is "to celebrate the innovative, intelligent and creative aspects of the books that make us think, see and work differently every day".

ECOpreneuring will show you how to make a life instead of just making a living, and how to do it in an eco-friendly, purpose-driven and sustainable way. It's an invaluable tool for anyone who dreams of a livelihood based on independence, creativity, passion and a commitment to green practices and sustainability.

For more information click here

You can other the book from either New Society or from Amazon.co.uk

Eco Lives: Christopher Minnes

If you met me, you might not think that I run the green hotel, 968 Park. You might suppose instead a former marine or NYC police officer. Many of those looking for a job with resumes long with coffee shops, hemp stores or organic food markets seem equally surprised. Green is no longer a thing of the hippy subculture or granola eating vegans.

I have a bumper sticker that reads “Animals Taste Good”. It was my way of quietly protesting in the town in which I was raised in Vermont. The town was so liberal it was legal to be naked in public; and people exercised that right. Today I find myself choosing organic coffee, going to the local coffee shop, skipping over the chain. I’ll run back to my car to grab my travel mug instead of using a disposal paper cup. Why? It makes sense. I support the local guys, they’re my friends, so it helps my town. I drink organic coffee; it’s better for me and use my own cup…well because it saves me money.

This is why green is becoming mainstream. It just makes sense.

Each day in the operation and development of 968 Park Hotel we are challenged to find new ways to adapt our needs to our mantra, “Everything must be organic, natural, reused, recycled or sustainable.” For example our business cards were printed on recycled paper. The next batch will be printed on seed paper that when tossed away will sprout into wild flowers.

Our front desk and much of the furniture and décor around the hotel is constructed of reclaimed wood. The old paint remains on much of it. The distressed material is older than me. It has wisdom and stories to tell. It gives the newly remodeled hotel soul. The guests feel it too. The moment they walk in the door you see their gears switch. They’ve been on the road from San Francisco for four hours, in rain and snow, over mountain passes and chain control checkpoints. But everything changes in that moment when they step into the lobby; they see the warm glow of a fire burning denatured alcohol, distressed wood, and a glass of organic wine waiting for them.

After they’ve checked in we see them again. They are there to tell to brag to us about their beautiful room. Soon they’ve become friends. They’ve gone from being guests at a hotel to feeling like guest in our home. Some have stumbled upon us at just the right time when we sponsor a party at one of the nearby nightclubs. And there we all are, the front desk, housekeeping and maintenance staff, investors, myself and hotel guests dancing until 3:00 in the morning. Not your typical hotel experience.

And when the morning comes, the old distressed wood will have new stories to tell and will proudly be part of this new mainstream green movement as a part of 968 Park Hotel.

Christopher Minnes
General Manager
968 Park Hotel

A Farm in the City?

As the city of New York takes a step towards accepting the age-old tradition of city bee-keeping, we started to ask ourselves whether our fundamental need for farm produce will eventually mean that every skyscraper in every city will also have its very own roof-top farm.

A little while ago the Evolvo Skyscraper Competition highlighted an advanced version of this concept. Eric Vergne, one of three finalists, created an unusual biomorphic building designed to be a hi-tech vertical farm to fulfill the needs of future New York City residents. With official assessments stressing that 80% of the world’s population will be living in urban centers by 2050, vertical farms like Eric’s are an important part of the plan to help feed people in a sustainable manner.

Historically, we know that in times of dire need (during both World Wars for instance), some European citizens were able to successfully grow a variety of products from small allotments within their city boundaries, and in Stockholm this ‘rooftop allotment’ concept continues till this day. As a result, some of the most advanced concepts are still developed in that city.

There are companies now that can offer new, sophisticated designs in which watering and fertilizing are done automatically and huge conversion projects can be completed without stress or damage to the building or the people living in it. There are even people who can help turn your indoor spaces into veritable gardens of Eden.

Of course the idea of ‘Living Roofs’, ‘Sky Gardens’ and ‘Rooftop Farms” are not new and in time they will be an accepted part of our everyday life. One day, whilst walking through your city, you will find it natural to look up and see someone enjoying a little break from their busy schedule in a mini farm on top of their building, away from the traffic, surrounded by fruit, flowers and bees.

Eco Gadgets for the Home

Assuming that 2009 has started for you in the same way that it has for the rest of the country, you might be looking for clever little ways of saving money around the house. These are some of the little gadgets that we thought worthy of your eco-home.

For the kitchen we bumped into something unique and probably quite useful. How many times have you thought about growing your own vegetables but the weather, or the lack of garden, has stopped you? You can now invest in the AeroGarden (available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk) to help you grow lettuce, cherry tomatoes, herbs, chili peppers and more in an energy-efficient way and right in your kitchen! The kit comes with pre-seeded growth medium, fertilizer, two daylight-spectrum bulbs and the grow pod itself. The plants start to grow within 24 hours, and they mature 5 times faster compared to ordinary soil.

For the laundry room, try this little gadget. The BioWashBall (available here) is an eco-friendly method for washing your clothes without using any washing detergent. The BioWashBall uses specially developed ceramic beads that release negative ions and weaken the adhesion of dirt to fabric. It also increases the pH level of the water in the washing machine (simulating soap powder). It’s the combination of the high pH and the negative ions that helps release dirt from your clothing. The BioWashBall can be used for 3 years on the basis of one 9lb load of laundry per day. That can save big money! Every month, the BioWashBall is ‘recharged’ by placing it in bright sunlight for 2 hours. So: no harsh chemicals and no money spent on soap powder, everyone is a winner!

And for the garden or maybe the office, why not get yourself some eco-music? The Eco Travel Speakers use no batteries, are made of re-cycled materials and fold flat for storage and transport! (available here). Each speaker folds flat for convenient storage and portability; this makes them perfect for use in the garden or on the road (festivals, events, the park, camping, etc). They are universally compatible with all IPods and Mp3 players and once again: no batteries!