SFVS Discount Program welcomes Cotton Tree Lodge!

[Guest guest]

Cotton Tree Lodge, Moho River, San Felipe, Toledo District, Belize.

Toll-Free Reservations: 866-480-4534 or info

(www.cottontreelodge.com) 10% discount on all-inclusive package

rates, room only rates, and meals.

 

From The New York Times:

April 15, 2007

JOURNEYS | ECOLODGES

Local Culture as Part of the Green Experience

By BONNIE TSUI

OPENED on New Year's Day in Toledo, the southernmost region of

Belize, the Cotton Tree Lodge has all the hallmarks of environmental

sustainability: an off-the-grid existence, solar power, an organic

garden and a reforestation program that plants teak and mahogany

trees. The resort has also created a composting system with flush

toilets and a self-contained reservoir that uses banana plants to

return nutrients to the soil.

But the lodge's most unusual draw might be its traditional chocolate-

making workshops. These offer guests hands-on experiences involving

everything from picking fruit from cacao trees and drying the beans

with local Maya farmers to cooking chocolate and discussing fair

trade with members of the Toledo Cacao Growers Association.

Ecology-minded lodges have opened in rain forest settings everywhere

from Cusco to Cairns. But like the Cotton Tree Lodge, the most " eco "

of them go beyond construction materials and power sources to

authentic, place-specific offerings that highlight — and benefit —

the local environment.

Whether it's a Belizean getaway offering chocolate-making seminars

grounded in Maya traditions or a remote Amazonian complex that began

as a scientific research station and supports visiting scholars on

wildlife surveys, a few jungle ecolodges are distinguishing

themselves from the rest by inviting guests to get a taste of the

local culture and environment in substantive ways.

" We have a few producing cacao trees and have recently planted about

500 new ones, " said Jeff Pzena, who heads up the chocolate-making

operation at Cotton Tree.

His interest was piqued three years ago at the Punta Gorda farmers'

market, where he bought what he thought were almonds but turned out

to be cacao beans. He began visiting local growers, learning

traditional techniques and the significance of Belize's cacao

economy (beans were a currency for the ancient Mayas). He says

chocolate is still a medium for cultural exchange.

" What I really love is the personal interaction with these farmers,

getting a sense of what their lives are like, " Mr. Pzena said. " Our

program is all about exposing guests to this and about the reverse —

exposing the farmers to people from another culture. "

A partner of the lodge's founder and manager, Chris Crowell, Mr.

Pzena led the resort to add special chocolate week trips.

Cotton Tree is also working with Sustainable Harvest International

to establish a demonstration farm to introduce the neighboring

community to agricultural practices that have lower environmental

impact, like organic pesticide-free growing and smokeless stoves for

roasting cocoa beans.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/travel/15journeys.html