Founded in 1976 by Stanley Selengut, Maho Bay Camps is a grandfather among eco-tourism destinations. Built right next to the Virgin Islands National Park, the camp has grown from eight tent cottages to 114, flanked by the more luxurious Harmony Studios. Twenty-five minutes up the coast, Maho Bay expanded its reach with Estate Concordia, a second property featuring larger -- but still super-green -- eco-tents and studios.
The common denominator between all of Maho Bay’s lodging options is their commitment to earth-friendly vacationing. The resort was built with the goal of disturbing the land as little as possible. Tent cottages are connected by elevated walkways to avoid digging up vegetation. Composite lumber makes up the backbone of Harmony Studios and the Concordia lodging. The camp has quite a history of building with “trash” wherever possible, from the more obvious (the beer bottle fountain) to the less so (crushed glass is mixed into the concrete).
Of course, when you first get to Maho or Concordia, you may be too busy to gape at the long history of good green behavior here. Marketing manager Melody Smith suggests taking one of the multiple daily guided snorkeling trips or hiking in the national park. After that, you’re going to want to grab a chair at Maho’s new outdoor pavilion restaurant, which sources as much food as possible locally to create a wide variety of dishes – vegetarian options always included. Melody claims they have the best salad bar on the island! Massages and yoga are available to erase any stress you couldn’t shake just by taking in the ocean view.
As expected on an island, water is precious on St. John. The camp pays careful attention to its water consumption and uses earth-friendly cleaners to keep their water toxin-free. All waste-water is filtered through its natural aeration system, then used to water the organic garden. Guests who choose Maho Bay’s tent cottages share cold-water bathhouses. The cold water feels good in the hot climate, and the camp can pride itself on low water and energy usage. Keeping the camp’s carbon load low, Harmony Studios are powered by a photovoltaic system (and do have hot water). Concordia’s tents use wind-generators, solar water-heaters and passive solar practices to power and cool the rooms.
On an island as small as St. John, recycling is difficult – where do you send the materials you can’t use for construction purposes to be recycled? Are the energy costs of shipping waste materials worth it? Because of these difficulties, Maho Bay created its own recycling program (the only one on the island). First, they reduce the amount of trash the camps create by careful purchasing, reuse everything possible, and then cycle the rest through its “Trash to Treasure” program in their Maho Bay Art Center. There, glass bottles are melted down, then blown into bowls, vases, and sculptures. Old linens become bags; dryer lint becomes hand-made paper. Not only does the center help the camp turn its waste into profit, but it also has become a center for eco-education on the island. Guests can take classes in everything from paper-making to tie-dying.
Sound good? See tomorrow’s post for a break-down of Maho Bay Camps and Estate Concordia’s rates and some suggestions for pre-Virgin Island reading.
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