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| Kids and their Handcrafted Signs |
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HOLISTIC SUSTAINABILITY= Community + Ecology + Economy
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We did it! Tailwind achieved STEP Sustainability certification, yip yip!
We have officially become the first certified eco-lodge in Mexico!
Some recent press about our achievement:
Travel Daily News
Virtual Vallarta
Adventure Travel Media
So what does all this mean? Well, basically Tailwind has now officially committed itself to a path of holistic sustainability. This certification has united us, as a family and as a business, under the rubric of sustainability. We are now acutely aware of all aspects of our impact (ecologically, economically and socio-culturally) and have set new goals in all of these arenas.
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At Tailwind there are three overarching elements that mold our definition of sustainability and govern the decisions that we make for our business. Our idea of sustainability takes into consideration;
1. The health of the natural world
2. The health of the San Pancho community—culturally and economically
3. Tailwind family and our ability to make low-impact living realistic, comfortable and affordable.
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| Kids on the Trails |
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***KIDS IN THE JUNGLE***
Every couple of months Tailwind hosts local children from the Entre Amigos after-school program. EntreAmigos is a wonderful non-profit in San Pancho,(www.sanpancho-sanfrancisco.com/Entre_Amigos/Index.htm). Tailwind regularly invites the children to our headquarters for an afternoon of exploring and learning in the jungle. In 2008, the kids turned old pieces of scrap wood into beautifully painted and shell decorated signs for our interprative nature trail. Together, the kids and the Tailwind staff wander the jungle and identified the different tree species, learning together about the
different leaves, barks and fruits.
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San Pancho Organic Garden
by Emerald Coast
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| san pancho garden |
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This year Emerald Coast (www.emeraldcoast.com) created a new organic garden in the town of San Pancho, just off the main street. Tailwind is really excited about this new garden and has been grateful for the beautiful veggies we've been enjoying out of the garden. Tailwind staff volunteer weekly in the garden and are eager to help Emerald Coast make this garden a success. Join us at Tailwind for a sea kayaking or surf tour, and a taste of the garden's fresh veggies at lunch time!
Thanks so much to master gardener Joaquin for his many hours of work in the garden!
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WHAT MAKES TAILWIND GREEN?
WATER
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Rainwater catchment system— Water captured on roof top deck and main bungalow deck are channeled using gravity feed into a specially designed cistern that is used for irrigation our gardens.
Greywater recycling system— Greywater from bathroom and kitchen is recycled by gravity feed to our gardens. (only natural soaps used)
Low flush toilets and composting toilets in eco-bungalows.
We also encourage our guests to practice minimal water usage.
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Passive cooling
(no need for heating around here!)
(North West Facing Buildings, constructed into hillside, shaded from heat of the midday sun)
Local food sources, little packaging, low embodied energy
Energy efficient refrigerator and CFL light-bulbs
Minimal electric lighting, candlelit evenings
On demand electric hot-water heaters
Propane stoves
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CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS
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(Local labor and materials)
Strangler fig posts from our land (fell in hurricane)
Royal Palm, used in roof construction, a wonderful renewable resource
Local, hand collected, rocks used in rock walls, stair risers and floor and pool designs
Local tiles – Puerto Vallarta factory made
Construction by hand- excavation by hand, shovel after shovel, fueled by tortillas and paid a fair wage
Bamboo used in construction of composting toilets
Drift wood for outdoor showers
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Sun dried sheets and towels
Natural soaps used for all cleaning purposes
Small structures, constructed lightly on the hillside (little disruption)
No pesticides used in gardens
Little clearing- narrow trails, jungle undisturbed
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Recycling and composting required
Purchases with little packaging
Reusable containers, napkins (each guest gets a handkerchief napkin), cloth bags for grocery shopping
Composting toilets for eco-bungalows
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(three branches of education)
Educating ourselves, our employees, our guests and the local peoples about environmental and economic sustainability.
Understanding and passing along the theories of ecological design to other developers in the area.
Understanding our impact on the land and the other life with which we share the Tailwind headquarters.
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1% of our profits go to the following groups in San Pancho:
Entre Amigos (non-profit for children)
Turtle Conservation
Hojanay (Jaguar protection)
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Tailwind tries to keep the money that we generate cycling back through the local community. Our daily food purchases are made in the local community. We’ve used a local builder and local labor in the construction of our headquarters. We encourage our guests to dine at local restaurants, shop locally themselves and visit the San Pancho organic garden. We also support local artists and yoga studios. We are proud of San Pancho and are looking forward to seeing it develop in a sustainable direction.
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