Issue 21: November 9, 2012
Efforts and Challenges of a Grenadian Business Going Green
Being green isn’t without its challenges but we all must do what we can. Below, Jana Caniga writes
about her dream for a green establishment. Read about her efforts and challenges in making La
Phare Bleu a greener place.
The Dream: A Green Marine and Boutique Hotel
By: Jana Caniga, Director La Phare Bleu, Grenada
Being keen sailors Dieter and I once had a big dream: to join our experiences and skills and develop a
business which has to do with sailing boats. As the nicest grounds and the longest season for sailing
are in the Caribbean we decided to build a marina and hotel resort in Grenada. The project Le Phare
Bleu was born. It took us two years to build the whole place and since five years Le Phare Bleu is the
place with a blue lighthouse and a green touch.
Both of us have been raised and educated in Switzerland, an affluent society and a country rich
enough to care extensively about environmental issues. With this background some behaviours
became like a second skin to us: you don’t leave your car running whilst waiting; you avoid plastic
bags by carrying your own shopping bags with you, you don’t let the water run, you don’t litter, you
separate the paper from the organic waste and white glass bottles from green ones, you collect
plastic bottles, you collect old oil and batteries and dispose of them appropriately, you don’t waste
electricity, etc. Very importantly, in Switzerland you pay for this specialised disposal either through
taxes or separate fees, you get punished in case you violate regulations and the state has set up
proper structures so you as a citizen are able to deal with these issues in a relatively easy way.
With this in mind we consider ourselves as practical conservationists: we do everything for the
environment which can be done with a reasonable effort and to reasonable costs. When you run a
business reasonable means what guarantees the survival of the company with all the job
opportunities and assets and that means calculating the investment properly and to control the costs.
Some of the green opportunities like solar energy are simply still too expensive. Especially in Grenada,
the law isn’t favorable at all to investments for solar plants as protection for Grenlec‘s position. Were
you to have your own solar plant (without storing possibility) you would have to feed your solar
produced electricity into Glenlec‘s grid to a very cheap price and would have to buy electricity back to
the actual very high price. This system blocks any investment which we would have considered
would there have been any economical benefit for our business. At least we have solar panels to
cover the hot water needs of each Villa of the hotel. And for the time being we rely on energy saving
bulbs and would like to change to LED. But as we invested in storing many of the energy saving bulbs
these have to be used first.
But as everyone knows the environmental awareness starts with the little things in daily life. So
coming to live on a small island makes you look at most things you were used to differently, it’s like
learning in reverse, you learn to undo certain behaviours and you start questioning everything. I’m
quite sensible to the unnecessary emissions of carbon dioxide, so when there was a car standing in
our car park with a running engine I used to go to the driver and asked him or her kindly to cut it off
for the sake of the environment and the peace of our guests. The reaction was always close to
indignation. Even when I addressed this person in a kind way I always got the feeling of overstepping
the lines by lecturing a local person as a foreigner. Another example of us regressing is already a daily
joke between Dieter and me. He still can’t bring himself to throw a glass bottle directly into the bin, he
puts it next to it and I have to do the rest. But there is no sense in separating glass from the other
waste while there is no recycling plant for the glass on the island.
Concerning the waste water at Le Phare Bleu we had scope for control and decided to install a
"Cromaglass“ recycling waste water system, which treats the black water (sewage) organically and the
grey water (from sinks, showers, etc) is reused for landscape irrigation. We are very happy with this
decision now. But it took us nearly two years to get it right because of lack of experience with this
technology on the island. At that time there were only two other sewage plants of this kind installed
in Grenada.
Looking back I recall that we had big issues during the whole construction phase with the storm
water management. Sitting in a sort of basin in the small Calivigny Bay it was clear that there was,
when it rained, always a lot of water coming straight to our place. It was difficult to find a sufficiently
experienced person who could advise us how to design an effective drainage system. During the first
three years of operation we had experienced regular flooding in our resort, but step by step we
adjusted the infrastructure and today we are well protected.
The combination of a hotel with a marina in front of it puts us under pressure to keep the marina as
clean as possible. The natural conditions in Calivigny Bay help with this: there is a protecting reef
coming from Calivigny Island on one side and from Adams Island on the other side. But there is a
deep enough channel for boats to sail into the bay, and this channel provides a constant water
exchange. We have no brackish water in the marina, on the contrary: the water at Le Phare Bleu is
probably the cleanest all around the Caribbean. Sometimes it is so clear that you have a visibility
down to 30 feet.
To understand what a challenge it is to keep a marina clean we have to explain some things about
the functions of a marina. A marina is a place where boat owners bring in their boats either just to
park them or to live on their boats. The boat is their house with all the amenities and facilities a house
has: toilet, kitchen, electricity and water. So each boat produces wastage, black water etc. As a marina
you have to be able to deal with this. Of course you are asking your customers not to use their onboard toilet during their stay in the marina or to have it pumped into their wastewater tank. But you
also want to make it as easy as possible for them to follow these rules. That’s why we had this idea
with the lighthouse ship, a floating ship that is also a restaurant, close enough to the moored boats so
that no-one has to walk too far away to get to the shower or toilet. And of course our lighthouse ship
is properly connected to the "Cromaglass“ waste water system. A marina is also providing shore
power and water for the boats. As these consumptions are metered and invoiced one principle of
environmental awareness is followed namely that when you pay for your usage you are more
inclined not to waste it.
Onshore we have right now another environmental friendly project going on: finally we have the
time to put a proper composting procedure in place. This will enable us to lower the amount of solid
waste. We won’t have to burn garden waste anymore and will be able to enrich our soil in the
gardens.
Last but not least we are not only talking about being green but being sustainable which extends the
awareness also to social factors. From the beginning it has been Dieters and my philosophy that
being immigrants in Grenada we are in the best case guests on the island and have to behave as
such. We are seeking integration by having an open door in our hotel and restaurants for tourists as
for locals as well. Our staff is 95% local people, we support local producers and have many links to the
local communities such as in Woburn, St. David’s, etc. Also the smallness of Le Phare Bleu doesn’t
strain any community infrastructure. We embrace the initiative of the Government of Grenada to
build Marine Protected Areas and are playing our part in the whole procedure together with all the
different stakeholders in the designated area.
To summarize our experience to pursue environmental issues in Grenada we would point out the
following:
- The smallness is the key factor for Le Phare Bleu to sustainability.
- To be successfull we need very reliable business partners and it is noteworthy that one of our
most reliable partners is Southern Waste Management Services.
- There is not enough knowledge about the interdependence of our activities and the
consequences for the environment.
- Dieter and I, as the developers and managers of Le Phare Bleu, are convinced that to take care
of the environment and to be an integrated part of our new home is the future of the business.
30.10.2012
About SGU Green House:
SGU Green House is a publication created by Dr. Joanna Rayner and Dr. Clare Morrall to raise
awareness for environmental issues. Look for it fortnightly in the SGU Bulletin. Articles will include
green initiatives, problem areas (both on and off campus) and practical suggestions. We hope to help
you to think about - and do something about - your impact on the environment.
We want to hear from you! What are you doing as an individual to lessen your environmental
impact? What initiatives have been introduced into your department, building or home? Please share
your information with Dr. Joanna Rayner ([email protected]) or Dr. Clare Morrall ([email protected]).
We look forward to hearing from you!