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ECOCLUB, Issue 95
January February and March broke all our business records for busiest months, so we
promptly closed in April. Seriously, we closed from April through June 15th in order
to add 4 private bathrooms, purchase orthopaedic mattresses, build new furniture and
doors, add purified water dispensers, paint walls, refinish floors and countertops,
install 2 gray-water systems and rebuild the kitchen sink (literally). During this time,
we also travelled to Belize, became scuba certified and attended Andy’s mothers 70th
birthday party in the USA.
Michelle organized, tested and gave away 3
scholarships for continuing education in
May. This was supported by generous
donations from our guests. Somehow we managed to do over 8 months work in only
2.5 months.
Upon reopening in June the Inn has been thriving even with substantial price
increases. Guests love the new spacious private bathrooms which all have composting
toilets, hot water and beautiful bottle walls (see photo). The hot tub is a great addition
to the sauna and heats off of the same woodstove via a thermal siphon, in other words
no pumps or gadgets. The waterslide has become a popular way to go from HOT to
COLD and get the guests adrenaline up! Playing the nine basket Frisbee golf course
is a great way to share views and upper fields with the llamas. The garbage transport
Tuk-Tuk has been repaired and a local youth is now on the Municipal payroll to
sweep, separate and transport waste to the BSI/ECOCLUB Recycling Centre. On
November 14th, World Responsible Tourism Day, we painted the Tuk-Tuk to look
like a Chuk-Chuk and added important public messages about recycling.
Currently, the Yoga room (which still awaits its finishing touches) has been inaugurated with an Andean Folk dance
performance and we are making over 500 bags of candy to give away in the schools for holiday celebrations. Anybody want to
work with us managing all this at the BSI?!
In 2007 El Momo went fully vegetarian: being vegetarians ourselves we got more and more into personal, moral trouble
preparing dead animals for our guests meals. We felt guilty supporting the disgusting meat-, poultry- and fish- industries by
making profit from it. We do n?t want to have bloody fingers and just refuse. No more ham for breakfast or sandwiches and no
more shrimp, fish, chicken or meat for any meals. We still keep offering our homemade natural yoghurt, local eggs and a nice
selection of cheese. Angelika prepares awesome organic veggie dinners, sandwiches, wraps and salads. Her ?talian roots
combined with the passion for Indian/Caribbean Currys results in a unique mixture of flavours which makes even bloody steak
lovers enjoy the El Momo veg food!
In addition we are proud that Saba started a great or?anic garden project which is very successful. El Momo always tried to buy
as much as possible the vegetables and fruits locally, but now there are even more choices for organic veggies.
Our Wireless Zone got improved: We added a super-strong outdoor antenna and installed a megabooster, too. The zone range
increased a lot now. Surf with your laptop while relaxing in your El Momo hammock, bed, sunchair or the dining room while
slurping a fresh organic island fruit smoothie and enjoying the sunset. Of course this great service is still free of charge for all El
Momo guests.
El Momo also became the first 100% smoke-free hotel on Saba. El Momo is dedicated to provide a clean, comfortable and
relaxing environment for its guests. The hotel's new policy is a result from guests expressing a clear demand for a healthy,
smoke-free hotel experience. Introducing a smoke-free policy is a natural evolution for the hotel which also follows an eco-
friendly philosophy. Our goal is to provide a place where guests can relax and restore their mind, body and spirit in a healthy
way. At El Momo we strive that our guests walk out feeling better than they did when they arrived. Industry research, as well as
our own experience, confirmed a clear consumer demand for a clean, smoke free hotel environment. El Momo’s staff will
benefit enormously from this effort to improve the quality of life rather than being required to enter smoke-filled rooms,
experiencing holey sheets, burned matresses, stinky ashtrays, smelly rooms, curtains and walls. No employees should be
required to risk their good health for the sake of their jobs. Second hand smoke toxins and residue can stay in fabrics anywhere
from a couple of hours to a couple of months after initial exposure, even after they have been washed. Like the airlines, we hope
it will one day be possible for all hotels to be smoke-free. We felt it was not enough to simply limit the number of smoking
rooms, or designate smoking areas. We believe the best experience for our guests is a hotel that is completely smoke-free.
