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 Report
on Pac Rim Conference
Pac Rim Regional Conference was held September 26-29 in
Lake Chelan, Washington State, USA. The region includes Alaska, Washington,
Oregon, California, Hawaii and Guam (Mariana Islands). The undersigned
attended the conference as one of the representatives from Hawaii. The
purpose of the organisation is to coordinate and distribute Regional and
National information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National
Resource Conservation Service and other Departments and share success
stories of our region with a web site. Officers do lobby Washington D.C.
on agriculture issues. It was fruit harvest time, mostly apples, and we
ate a lot of free apples! A few highlights, were tours of the
surroundings areas. Grand Coulee Dam which makes a lot of the cheap
electricity for the western area, (now closely guarded), a new very
beautiful grape growing farm Tsilan Winery (Indian spelling of Chelan)
with a natural material, wine tasting villa with roots in Italian
design. We had a catered dinner there that was excellent. A tour of
Leavenworth town which was saved from poverty by four older women who
envisioned a theme Bavarian town for tourists. It is extremely
successful and fun and they host festivals all year long. An idea that
other towns have duplicated in different ways. There was business work
to be done regarding financial woes that have been corrected and
training sessions on legal issues. One particular video presentation
called "Broken Limbs" was very touching. It regarded the
children of farmers choosing an education and leaving the farm. Large
corporations easing out the small farmers by controlling prices. And
these farmers failing to meet their Mortgages and losing their farms.
There was a solution called, Added Value, monies from the National Farm
Bill. One way was to go Organic and sell locally. This was the answer
for some of these farmers. The next annual Regional meeting will be held
in Hilo, Big Island of Hawaii in October 2005.
JoLoyce Kaia, Hawaii
Hana Maui Botanical Gardens
ECOCLUB Sponsor Member
 http://ecoclub.com/hanaaui
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3
Rivers Certified, following inspection
 3 Rivers Eco Lodge, Dominica, is proud to announce that following our
recent inspection by independent auditors on behalf of Green Globe 21,
that we have been recommended to green Globe for full certification. The
certification is the culmination of a years work by us in environmental
and social issues, and the inspection was broad and thorough. We feel
that the fact that the auditors examined every aspect of our work, and
searched for clear evidence, increases the value of the certification,
and shows clients that we take our environmental work very seriously.
The auditors went through a year's worth of utility readings, and
verified them against our various metering systems and bills. They also
checked our booking system to check that the number of guest nights
recorded by us was true and accurate, as the amount of energy used is
measured against the number of recorded guest nights, in order to make
the system fair and practical. The inspector then interviewed each
member of staff, and asked them, in a friendly and simple manner,
various questions to help him establish that they all had a fair
understanding of the green work we do, and they really were an integral
part of our environmental management system, as well as verifying my
claims about each individuals work, such as using only organic
pesticides, or biodegradable cleaners. He also spoke with a few guests,
to find out if our claim that we educate all visitors about our
environmental work was true, and to find out if our green work was one
of their reasons for choosing 3 rivers for their holiday destination.
Together with myself, he then spent some time touring the property,
examining our eco systems, and finding out what methods we use for
checking that everything is in good working order, and how we respond to
problems and breakdowns. He also viewed some guest rooms, to check that
we do indeed have eco soaps and washing liquids, educational books about
our environmental work, and all the other little eco gismos that we
claim to have in our paperwork and publicity materials. Paperwork is an
important part of Green Globe 21 membership, as this is a major way in
which our claims can be verified. Accordingly considerable time was
spent reading through our files, checking our educational literature and
community correspondence, ensuring we had an official environmental
& social sustainability policy, examining our licenses, permits and
emergency procedures, and reading through our plans of green action and
green team meeting minutes, staff training records and verifying that
our various claims had indeed been put into action. Paperwork may sound
scary and arduous, but once you get used to the regular monthly reports
it really and truly does not take long. We also found that the
requirements guided us towards an efficient system of paperwork which
has made our record keeping far more practical and useful. He gave
constructive help on some minor observations which he made around the
property, and advised on how best to correct them. The day was long, but
pleasant, and was well worth it. The inspection was complete, and the
time spent with the auditor was an enjoyable experience. Basically, as
long as the truth has been told to Green Globe in the paperwork which is
sent to them then the audit is nothing to be concerned about. As long as
he does not discover big inaccuracies or major defects, a pass is likely.
Jem Winston, Dominica
3 Rivers Dominica Ecolodge
ECOCLUB Ecolodge Member
http://ecoclub.com/3rivers
After
the monsoons, the Saga continues
 We have reopened the Saga Eco Camp on Chilika Lake after the
monsoons. The Lagoon is in full bloom now, the good (though late) rains
of the monsoon and hinterland drainage giving her the looks of a plump,
pregnant and inwardly happy expectant mother. We went out on a fishermen
boat trip yesterday, the mystic pre-full moon light was sparkling with
silvery reflection on shoals of fish. With so much fish, it appears to
be the ideal situation for our winged friends from far-a-away lands to
arrive by the millions soon, starting mid-November. The frolicking
Dolphins are as yet missing, or may be I did not move around adequately
in the 1100 sq km spread. The trees we planted two years ago have reached their adolescence,
like naughty teens they are spreading around their leaves and twigs
indiscriminately, making the camp almost invisible from 50 meters into
the lake. I have stopped trimming them, somewhere down the line I felt
that retouching the works of the original painter gives the painting a
cheap look. The State Tourism Minister, Tourism Secretary, Tourism Director and
other bureaucrats made an un-announced visit.
Like any number of visits before, announced or unannounced, they were
quite impressed by the simple, environment compliant features of the
Camp run almost wholly by locals ( except myself, two cooks and one
Manager -cum-Engineer, 14 others are locals, mostly fisher folk; in two
years they have picked up quite a bit of the hospitality service). In Mid November we are having a 4 Day
Eco Adventure Camp with 30 boys
and 3 teachers from Kolkata's prestigious La Martiniere Boys' school.
End November it will be for the Girls' School. The activities will
consist of Nature Study, Rock Climbing, Sky Watching ( it is during the
new moon phase) and Beach Trekking, besides the usual Camp Fire etc. I
had a smaller version of such a camp last season, this year it'll be
more organized. I love these camps, those young faces gleaming with a
hidden joy of escape from the metropolis and finding a different level
of interface with life, with this vast, elemental beauty, with life in
myriad form. This is our green army of future, they will not plead like
us to "Give earth a chance" but will actually be the Green
Earth that you and I are striving for today. I am sure evolution will be
on their side.
Shomnath Chakravarty, Orissa, India
Saga Eco Camp
ECOCLUB Ecolodge Member
http://ecoclub.com/saga
ECOCLUB
Ecolodge Award 2004 - Winning Project Progress
Phase 4 of the award-winning
Ranweli Holiday Village project, continued apace:
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| 1- The School green house is
upgraded |
2- Upgrade completed on
schedule |
3- Meanwhile, September
efforts are already bearing fruit |
Vijitha Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
Ranweli Holiday Village
ECOCLUB Ecolodge Member
http://ecoclub.com/ranweli
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New Ecolodge Member in
Thailand
 We warmly welcome
Golden Buddha Beach, on an island in the Andaman Sea, near Kuraburi, and
about two hours north of Phuket. The island, despite its considerable size, has
escaped the notice of the outside world, with beaches, hills, woods and
wildlife relatively untouched. Golden Buddha, has kept the land in its
natural state and donates 100 baht of every room night to a local
conservation fund. The resort also sponsors a sea turtle conservation
project, a coral reef watch, and a mangrove conservation project. More
details at:
http://ecoclub.com/goldenbuddha
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Eco
Lógos
"There are no luxuries. We should reflect Sri Lanka"
Chandra de Silva, General Manager, Ranweli
Holiday Village
8 August 2004 - Lankabusinessonline.com
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