Sustainable Tourism
Introduction
 The purpose of this section is to inform our clients about some of the
issues that need attention to ensure that a visit to Castara Retreats
has a positive impact on the environment, the local community, and the
local economy. Our intention is to provide information that we hope
will enable you to make informed decisions about the impact of your holiday
should you decide to stay in Castara.
When we first started on this adventure, we were simply working from
instinct rather than from any clear idea of sustainable tourism. We
met Porridge and his friend Sherwin through buying fish from them and
we became friends. So when Porridge found us a plot of land and
he and Sherwin asked to build the house, our first promise was that we
would not let the business aspect of this get in the way of our friendship. We
were also conscious that our property would adjoin and overlook the village
and we did not want it to be ostentatious or out of scale with the feel
of the village. So we opted for a simple wooden structure and a
green roof. Then we realised that a road would be a major eyesore,
so we dropped the idea which meant all the building materials had to be
carried up the hill. Then we started to think about who was going to support
the needs of our clients and how the opportunities could be shared. Next
we considered the standards needed for the accommodation
and support  services. Soon
we recognised that there were some big gaps between what we could provide
and what we wanted to provide, so we designed a website to explain what
was and was not possible.
From the beginning we were not only successful in attracting clients
but also in getting them to assist in making it all work. So in
the early days of 2003 there was just a slippery grass path up the hill;
there were water shortages; the wind blew the rain into Rainforest and
Hummingbird 1; the gardens didn’t exist, the land was bamboo and bush;
and sometimes things went wrong.
However, our clients were knocked out by the beauty of the location and
the simplicity and openness of the accommodation, and were appreciative
of the warm welcome and helpfulness of Porridge who gave his all to make
things work for people. And in return our guests were patient when
things went wrong and measured us against something other than what they
would expect in a hotel. They saw what we saw, which is that Castara
and its people are special and we need to walk gently to help ensure we
do not spoil it.
 From those early beginnings we have continued to feel inspired by Castara
and privileged to be welcomed by the community. Our clients seem
to feel similarly and they say so over and over again in internet based
forums, in our visitors’ books and in emails. And this has
caused us to think more deeply about what we are involved in, and to take
steps to ensure that Castara Retreats plays its part in protecting and
enhancing what we found. In this sense we have become more conscious
of what sustainable tourism actually involves, and we are increasingly
committed to evolving as an eco resort that takes a responsible approach
to the development and management of our enterprise.
While considering all this we recently discovered an organisation called
Responsible Travel and felt encouraged and excited by what we read. This
organisation suggests that travellers ask the following 10 key questions
in order to ascertain the eco credentials of a tourist enterprise:
- Ask the lodge owner if they have a written policy regarding the
environment and local people.
- Ask them to describe the single contribution to conservation
or local people that they are most proud of.
- Ask them how they measure their contribution to conservation
and local communities.
- Ask the lodge owner how many local people they employ,
what % this is of the total, and whether any are in management
positions.
- Ask them what they have specifically done to help protect
the environment and support conservation, and which local
charities they work with.
- Ask them what % of produce and services are sourced from
within 25km of the lodge.
- Ask them how they treat waste water (coral and other wildlife
is being destroyed by Caribbean hotels pumping effluent
out to sea), and how they heat their building (solar
is better than firewood, which can cause deforestation)
- Ask them what information and advice is provided to tourists
on local cultures and customs.
- Ask them if they employ guides from the local
community (local guides not only provide unmatched insights into
local cultures, but are also aware of areas/behaviour
that might cause offence among local people).
- Ask them for ideas on how you might get involved with local
people and conservation in a worthwhile and rewarding
way for you and the destination.
 Below we give our response to these questions, although we do not answer
each one directly, but rather have taken an approach which describes the
way in which our enterprise has evolved since opening in January 2003.
Much of the literature about sustainable tourism focuses on the impact
that the visitor may have, positively or negatively, on the local environment
and its people. As a starting point, we would like to emphasise
the wholesome way that the people of Castara have impacted on us and many
of our clients: the work/leisure balance that they achieve is one that
Westerners would do well to emulate- no-one in Castara runs out of time
to ‘lime’. A very wise man said once that we regard
the quality of generosity much too narrowly, and that we must look way
beyond material generosity to generosity of time and spirit: this we have
enjoyed in plenty in the people we have met and worked with in Castara,
and we get frustrated with its ‘laid back’ manifestations
at our peril.
Policy regarding the environment and local people
- Our aim is to design and construct accommodation that “lives
in the landscape” and is in harmony with the surrounding rainforest
and the village, which consists of simple dwellings that sit snugly
into the hillside. For these reasons we opted for simple wooden
structures with green roofs. We took care to avoid using big
machinery to cut the land and for the first three years
access was by a simple footpath winding up the hill.
- We were committed to working with local people, mainly from the village,
to build the accommodation. Whilst the style of the lodges is
unique and not found elsewhere in Tobago, we ensured that the construction
process was local and derived from local custom and practice. Plans
were minimal and there were a lot of on the spot decisions made after
discussions with the team. Some 30 to 40 people from the village
have helped build the accommodation and install plumbing and electrics. Plans
and planning permission were organised by a local draughtsman.
 There is still a dearth of expertise on Tobago when it comes to looking
at issues such as grey water management and solar heating/lighting. We
have done the best we can so far, and would be delighted
and committed to pursue partnerships with individuals
or companies to conserve energy more efficiently.- We are committed to ensuring that there is a benefit to the local
economy. We feel that this benefit is substantial. Castara
Retreats is managed by Porridge and Jeanell who are responsible for
client support, for maintaining the accommodation, and for managing
and supporting the team who look after the lodges and the gardens. We
offer long term employment to two gardeners and three ladies who clean
and prepare the rooms. Jeanell is our local co-ordinator and is
linked by computer to ourselves. She organises airport pick-ups,
preparation of rooms, meals on arrival and any special
needs.
- Everyone working at Castara Retreats is involved in discussions on
the importance of protecting the environment and clients
are also encouraged to discuss such matters and to raise
any concerns.
We have planted indigenous species of plant, shrub and
tree on our property, all locally bought, with the aim
of having as diverse a habitat as possible to encourage
bio-diversity among all strata of wildlife. We
have also taken care to respect the fact that we are
situated on the side of a hill, and after taking local
advice, have planted trees, shrubs and bamboo that will ‘hold’ the
earth.
Carrington, who looks after the garden, is a poacher
turned gamekeeper; he takes care to ensure that iguanas
and agouti are not harmed on our property, and he regularly alerts clients
to sightings of wildlife in the garden. There is much more to do on this topic as Castara is
a simple fishing village that makes a living at a subsistence level. Most
wild creatures are therefore considered to be fair game
for the table and such traditions are slow to change.
 We have given advice and support including loans and gifts to several
local people who have wanted to start a tourist related
business in order to make a living. This support has helped to create better
provision of restaurants, boat trips, timber supplies, accommodation
and transport. We are passionate in our belief that the financial
benefits of tourism need to be directly received by the
village and that this wealth is shared around as much
as possible.- The vast bulk of services and products required at Castara Retreats
are purchased locally. All the in situ staff are local and all
maintenance and repairs are carried out by local tradesmen. Most
of the products we require are now sourced locally although
we originally brought a lot of household goods such as
china, cutlery, sheets and towels from Britain.
- Our clients also make an active and significant contribution to the
local economy when they buy services and purchase food
and other products in the village. Our clients are encouraged to support the local
economy and our Notes for Visitors explain what is on offer, where and
when. Most of the businesses in Castara are owned and managed
by local people who are confident, independent and self sufficient. This
helps to create a constructive atmosphere and a warm welcome for visitors. The
level of poverty has visibly decreased in the past five
years.
- Other than small donations to the local school and chapels, we have
not made donations to charities. We are, in principle, keen to
initiate or support any enterprise that is locally based, including
those that are focussed on the environment. It would be good to
create better awareness of the need to protect the rainforest, the reefs,
and the related plants, insects, fish, birds and animals. For
instance, turtles regularly lay eggs on the beach and though the practice
is illegal, they are killed for their meat from time to time. Some
form of turtle watch could be good for locals, tourists and the turtle. We
would love to support such schemes or to play a part in their initiation. And,
of course, these are also opportunities in which our
clients could play a part.
Air travel and global warming
The news on global warming is almost universally sombre. Sooner,
rather that later, we need to make massive changes in our response to
this global crisis. Each day the press and media comment on the
issues, and it is for each of us to make decisions on what we can do to
make a difference. The issue is not easy to resolve and indeed
the more one looks into it the more complex it becomes. We live
in a world that is interdependent and actions on one aspect of climate
change can impact positively or negatively on other aspects.
It is apparent that air travel is a major contributor to carbon emissions
and there are schemes that enable us to offset some of the damage and
which aim to “neutralise” the CO2 from our flights. Climate
Care is a service that helps you to repair the damage your activities
cause to the climate. It does this by ‘offsetting’ the greenhouse
gas emissions, such as CO2, from your activities by reducing an equivalent
amount of CO2 on your behalf. These reductions are made through
a range of projects in renewable energy and energy efficiency, which not
only fight climate change but also bring benefits to communities round
the world. You can offset the CO2 emissions of your flight to Tobago
for approximately £15 per person per return flight from London to
Tobago. Use the Climate Care Chart to calculate your emissions and then
click on the ‘find out more’ link in order to offset your
CO2 emissions. You will find that the procedure is very simple and quick.
To quote from Responsible Travel “In the future
it will not only become essential that when we fly our
emissions are offset, but that holidays support conservation and local
communities – only in this way can
flying be environmentally acceptable”. At Castara Retreats
we have started a journey that has some way to go, but we are committed
to continuing on this path to see where it takes us, our clients, and
the local community of Castara.
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