GAÏA Riverlodge: Growing a Sustainable Community

GAÏA Riverlodge is perched atop the magnificent Five-Sisters Waterfalls in Belize’s secluded Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. GAÏA Riverlodge is named for the Greek goddess of Earth and the mother of life and all creation, which fits perfectly with its deep rainforest surroundings teeming with native birds, butterflies, and remarkable flora

Remote, private and sustainable by design, GAÏA Riverlodge was first certified by Green Globe in 2014 for its environmental and socially responsible management. The lodge prides itself on operating with hydropower and offers an electric tram to transports guests from the lodge to the river.

Gaïa Riverlodge General Manager Nigel Richards strives to keep pace with the many opportunities available to improve his business, impress his guests and support his staff and community. As Nigel says, “Sustainability is ever changing and we must adapt to the times.”

Most of GAÏA Riverlodge’s fruits and vegetables are farmed on-site by local staff in their Mayan organic garden. The gardeners also employ an innovative air-layering technique for propagating their lime trees. This is a method of growing a fruit tree from an existing one, which will bear fruit sooner with the taste being the same as the mother-plant. Most citrus trees can be propagated by air-layering and the lodge’s lime trees have produced fruit after one year rather than five years, which is the case for regular budding. The benefits are a reduction of four years for fruit, and from one lime tree 14 other trees have been grown. 

Limes are highly utilized at GAÏA Riverlodge’s restaurant and bar. Along with the limes, the lodge’s curated signature cocktails use a bounty of fresh ingredients from the organic garden, offering a farm to bar experience. Cocktails include Balam Mojito, Gaia Chaya, Basil Mint Gimlet, and all enjoy the fresh taste of local grown herbs such as mint, basil, ginger and lemongrass.

Within the local community, GAÏA Riverlodge has partnered with the Pack for a Purpose organization to assist the El Progresso Community School. Pack for a Purpose helps to facilitate guests who want to assist local schools by bringing supplies. Guests who are traveling to Belize should follow the Pack for a Purpose link to find out how they can bring much need school supplies and equipment to support education.

While enjoying a remote location surrounded by nature, GAÏA Riverlodge has also kept pace with the latest technology to support its tourism enterprise. The lodge recently switched to cloud base systems for property management and accounting. With reports and other data available virtually, employees may work from any location rather than having to travel to the lodge itself. This innovation results in less fuel consumption for staff, while also reduces telecommunication between the lodge’s two separate offices and minimizes the risk of data loss from hardware malfunction.

Paper use is further reduced using Revinate, a cloud base software that allows the lodge to send automated messages to guests and paperless surveys. The utilization of a channel manager, Siteminder, now allows online inventory to be consolidated among all interfaced OTTAs which results in increased visibility in a more efficient manner.

Contacts:

Nigel Richards
General Manager
Gaïa Riverlodge
PO Box 173, San Ignacio
Cayo Belize
Central America
Phone: +501-880-5005
Whatsapp +501-604-0581
nrichards@gaiariverlodge.com
gaiariverlodge.com

Bradley Cox
Director Communications
Green Globe Certification
1223 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 925
Santa Monica, CA 90403 / U.S.A.
Phone: +1-310-337-3000 ext. 105
Skype Direct +1 760 536 6581
Mobile +61 400 848 746
bcox@greenglobe.com
https://www.greenglobe.com/

About Green Globe Certification
Green Globe Certification is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe is based in California, USA and is represented in over 83 countries.  Green Globe is an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). For information, please visit https://www.greenglobe.com/