Fond Doux Eco Resort is widely known as a big proponent for pushing the Eco-Tourism notion—and hence attaining an award at the recent World Travel Awards event that Saint Lucia hosted last weekend, was no big surprise as the resort was duly recognised for its sterling work ethics.
And not only is the resort recognised locally, but the coveted title of Caribbean’s Leading Green Resort was awarded to the Fond Doux Eco Resort.
It was another stellar accomplishment for Fond Doux, adding to the wide repertoire of awards in this specific category that the resort has garnered over the years.
Co-owner and Managing Director of Fond Doux Eco Resort, Eroline Lamontagne was all aglow as she spoke to THE VOICE following this latest achievement. She expounded on some pertinent points that can be factored into the thrust for implementing sustainable development initiatives on the island.
What about the Fond Doux product that makes it stand out among its competitors?
“Fond Doux is authentic. It is black-owned, Saint Lucian-owned …and one of the most important things about Fond Doux is the historical aspect of it,” said Lamontagne.
“So, you’re hearing a phrase coined now about ‘Plantations by the Sea’, but the interesting thing about Fond Doux” is that it encompasses 200 years of history, “and when you travel to other parts of the world …how do people deal with that historical aspect? What do they do, they benefit from it and they profit from it,” she added.
“So, why is it that in Saint Lucia we are ashamed to be able to profit from all of what is natural in our country,” Eroline enquired.
Lamontagne said, initially, they received some negative comments about the project that they were set to embark upon.
“People told us we were completely mad to think that anybody would want to visit us …and why would we want to compete with the likes of Jade Mountain,” she said.
However, Lamontagne insists that “this is not about competing with other hotels, this is all about Saint Lucia and all of the various places and all of the things that are natural to our country.”
In that regard, she said, the resort won this latest award, “because of our sustainable efforts; we employ Saint Lucians, we develop (our) culture and we utilize the (local) food.”
Eroline says that one of their ‘chocolatiers’ has been with the business for the past 20 years and they produce a ‘Fond Doux 100% Brand’ authentic product. Also, another young lady from Choiseul is involved in producing hand-woven straw baskets and other items.
Considering the wider spectrum of the burgeoning sustainable development mantra, the veteran resort owner feels there is scope for the country to utilise this component to create more employment for its people “because that is so important.”
Lamontagne observed that due to Saint Lucia’s growing involvement in the sustainable development field, the country should by now be aspiring to make it to the list of the 20 Most Important Sustainable Countries globally.
“Why is it that we are not on that list … it means that we have to go back to the drawing board. We need to look at plastics, and we need to look at how we (can) develop our agricultural sector sustainably,” she added. “We need to look at our buildings, and how we (can) be sustainable with our buildings. At Fond Doux we do not cut down our trees, we work around these trees. So, with all of this, there are so many important points to think about in tourism.”
In 1999, Fond Doux began operating as a Heritage Tourism Site but quickly transformed from an agricultural plantation into an eco-resort.
Cognizant of the dwindling fortunes of the banana industry, Lamontagne explained, “We diversified into tourism, so we were able to merge all of our agriculture …and our colonial buildings.”
The task of bringing in old buildings to the resort began in 2008, and the Lamontagnes broke out deals with homeowners from the north and into Central Castries to purchase these structures, which were broken down and later taken to Fond Doux to be rehabilitated and erected.
Currently, Fond Doux has an accommodation of 20 rooms, complemented with a spa, swimming pool, and restaurants included on the property. Some structures identify as Honeymoon Suites with ‘plunge pools’ on the hillside, as the resort caters to 70% of its North American clientele.
“We have merged all of those sustainable aspects, we are Green Globe certified. We have instructors that come in twice every two years and they’re able to first instruct our staff, and then we go through a vigorous process of being examined and certified to become Green Globe,” she explained.
Lamontagne mentioned that the process to become Green Globe certified also entails management of water usage, electrical installation, and other requirements that must fall in line with measures to reduce carbon footprints.
Catering for local and international guests, she said Fond Doux has unveiled a new initiative entitled the 758 Promotion that includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner and also birthday and anniversary packages, wedding packages, and day passes “where persons come in and they’re able to sample some of the tours …and so we have several promotions that we call our 758 Specials.”
Added to this, Fond Doux boasts of the Historic Park, the Piton Natural Trail— the Lamontagne Trail, where visitors can view “one of the Pitons on our trail, and we also have a Taste of Fond Doux Tour” where individuals can see “how chocolate is made.”