Hurricane Ivan has prompted Southern Cross Club in Little Cayman to go greener faster.
‘We have a beautiful island here, so we want to make it sustainable so the grandchildren of customers can enjoy the same experience,’ said Mr. Peter Hillenbrand, owner of Southern Cross Club in Little Cayman.
The popular dive and fishing resort lost four of its beach cottages in Hurricane Ivan and is now re-building five, which will result in 13 in total, over 900 ft of beach, bringing the capacity of the intimate dive resort up to 26.
Although solar power is being installed into all of these bungalows, the five new units will have more in the way of solar power.
This power will supplement the bungalows’ electricity connected to the grid, and the system is set up in such a way that guests can use as much or as little electricity or solar power as they choose. ‘There is a switch to turn off a good part of the electricity,’ explained Mr. Hillenbrand. With full electricity and a/c available, the guest has the choice to stay with regular electricity powered comforts and to also go green whenever they choose to while on vacation.
All the new rooms are designed to maximise air flow, including being elevated to invite a breeze to blow through.
Another key area of his sustainable tourism will be a system connected to the new cottages that re-uses the grey water that comes from sinks and showers for watering plants.
Although he admits the whole green system has not been cheap to install, Mr. Hillenbrand believes that with energy prices going up the way they are that his payback will be pretty quick.
‘But it’s also a feel-good thing. It’s a system that’s very solid,’ he asserted. His photovoltaic (sun powered) energy will not make use of batteries, which can be unreliable. Therefore no sun energy can be stored up, and whatever goes into the system is what can be used.
The resort owner admits that he has become more than more interested in sustainability in the 10 years that he has been running The Southern Cross Club, but Hurricane Ivan pushed him to get into it even deeper.
‘In my opinion the Caribbean is going to become more and more popular, especially with Americans, and more crowded, and if we want to hold on to natural resources we’d better start thinking this way in order for people to enjoy the same experience in the future,’ he said.
The solar system will be up and running in December, and with a very strong looking high season at the resort, there should be plenty of feedback from guests on what they think of the new dual energy system.
The reaction of a small number of repeat guests who have been informed that the new system is coming on line is very encouraging, but there won’t be any solid feedback until people see it for real, he said.
This is one of the original resorts that the Department of Tourism had selected for Green Globe 21 certification, which is the worldwide benchmarking and certification program which facilitates sustainable travel and tourism for consumers, companies and communities.
Now, with this resort getting so far ahead with its sustainability systems, Mr. Hillenbrand hopes other resorts will be encouraged to become interested in installing similar systems, as he feels that in the long run it will be cheaper along with being better for the environment. ‘These sustainable energies are a lot more viable,’ he said.
Other participants in the Green Globe certification programme are: Brac Reef Beach Resort, Little Cayman Beach Resort, Pirates Point Resort on Little Cayman, Compass Point and Sunshine Suites on Grand Cayman, Pedro St. James Castle, Turtle Farm/Boatswain’s Beach, Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park.
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