Supply and quality of water: We are actively engaging with the main water provider of Careyes in order to ensure that the service will be sustainable and sufficient for the coming years. This includes the building of a new water line that will replace the old line and reduce significant water leaks and waste.

Monitoring and optimizing usage in homes: We suggest improving the landscaping of the gardens to use more endemic plants (that need less watering), and trying to reduce the use of grass. See below for more on this under Land. It is also important to teach staff to clean houses without watering the terraces after having chlorinated the floor.

Information on filters and best practice for homes: We have no need for more plastic than is absolutely necessary - this includes the plastic bottles we take on the boats, those that are served in the restaurants, in our homes, etc. Better options include:

• Berkey filters: Many studies have found that the traditional 'garrafon' water containers often have bacterias, viruses, heavy metals, chemicals, nitrates and fluorine. We suggest installing Berkey filters in your homes, shown to be highly efficient in filtering out the above toxins. More information on them here.

• Once a filter is installed, it is easy to buy glass jugs and stainless-steel water bottles that are topped up from the filters of your home.

  • You can contact Asaea Di Savoia for information on how to install a Berkey Filter.

• We have a convenient printout (click on link) that we use at Casa Triton beside water jugs in all the rooms for guests! Just print, laminate, and voila.

Gardens: See below in Land / Gardening practices

Plastic

• Reduce single-use products in Careyes (such as plastic cups, plates, straws, small water bottles): If you receive them from your home or see them being used, please complain or refuse them. This will encourage behavior change from all stakeholders.

• Water in homes: See above for solutions. Berkey filters, handy printouts for rentals, etc.

• Fundacion Quinto Sol: Actively involved in education initiatives on the coast with local communities and circular value chains for re-integrating PET and plastic polymers into the system. Contact Manuel Matos Gil.

• Useful educational links on how to reduce your plastic usage (or, we dare you, try to go plastic free!!) : https://oceanic.global/oceanic-standard/ /

• https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/get-started-living-plastic-free // https://upgyres.org/educate/

Open air Landfill: We have been engaging with Veolia Mexico to consider options for the permanent closure and sealing of the Careyes open air trash site. Their engineer visited the site in summer 2019 and a proposal is being made that will be sent to all homeowners soon for a charitable raise.

Recycling: Rincon de Careyes has implemented the community’s first Association-led recycling program! A local provider comes by 3 days a week to collect all recyclables, and houses have been informed to buy separation bins.

• Please read the communication to homeowners here to see how you can bring this to your association.

• Please download posters for recycling here and for trash cans here.

Composting: We are currently implementing the first community compost in Careyes with the Rincon de Careyes Association.

• We have set up approx 100m3 composting facilities. Our intention is to process all the organic matter and the organic waste of each household.

There are many ways to make compost! Many times we are afraid to try it because of a myth that compost smells bad. Bad smelling compost is not compost, it is an organic waste dump. The secret is to mix different types of materials: wet materials with dry materials, earth, wood chips, the previous compost, etc. The more diversity there is in it the better. An important point is to watch over the humidity in the pile. If it is too wet it rots, if it is too dry it dehydrates, and the microorganisms die.

Organic and non-toxic suppliers for home products

• Cleaning products for the home // Terrenal https://www.amayal.com/es/terrenal-tienda-organica // Kepler (available for shipping from Grand Velas in Vallarta) https://www.keplerproducts.com/

• Organic botanical/cosmetic products for homes // Loredana https://loredana.mx/ // CBDies https://cbdbies.com/ // Green Land http://www.vivegreenland.com/

• Homemade cleaning products // Some ideas here

Education of staff for sustainable practices

• Using alternatives to chlorine for cleaning, etc // (Need suggestions for trainers)

Energy: Guidelines for the construction and improvement of more sustainable homes, with rainwater recollection, ecological treatment plants, cross ventilation to reduce A/C, solar panels (TBC)

Locally grown products and producers (“huertas organicas”)

• Jehan le Maille, Arroyo Seco, Rancho 3r // +52 1 315 100 2113 (message to enquire for availability!)

• Guille, San Mateo // +52 315 112-7121 (message to enquire for availability!)

Biodynamic farming

• Cuixmala’s Organic Biodynamic farming // Follow the Cuixmala Director of Agriculture through the organic biodynamic farm as he talks of the program's ethos, and explains how he fosters an incredible connection between farming, health and wellness, not just in people, but in the world overall (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7jEmW4YOVI)

Best gardening practices (from our very own Diego, expert on landscaping and special land projects. His contact is below if you’d like to delve deeper on the subjects)

• Conscious watering // The best and most effective ways to water a garden in this area is early in the morning until 10am (then the sun stars to hit very strong) and/or late in the afternoon from 5pm onwards. The other option is at night with a timer if you have an automatic system. If the garden is being irrigated at midday, the water will be lost by evaporation, the soil will be hot and the roots will boil.

• Avoid at all costs pesticides // Having native or adaptable plants to this environment is the best option because we eliminate a massive percentage of plagues. For the gardens that have plants that come from other kind of climates, there's always natural alternatives that are very common and easy to produce even at home. For example, there's options to prevent bugs that kills coconut palms with a trap made of wood and a coconut inside instead of using the most poisonous chemicals.

• Swap the fertilisers for compost // Compost nutrients last much longer and are richer in real nutrients than the synthetic fertiliser, that “helps” in the moment but gets plants hooked to the product. This means your entire garden becomes “addicted” to the product, making it very expensive to maintain in the long term and resulting in the degradation of soil overtime, not to mention the toxic pollution from water runoff entering streams and the ocean, and killing bees and other essential pollinators.

• One of the best ways to have a better garden in terms of costs and contamination is not having big extensions of grass which need an excessive quantity of water, fertiliser, pesticides, gasoline, oil, and man time.

• Try not to take out all the branches, leaves or mowed grass because all of it can be re-used in the same garden to make compost, soil retainers, etc. You save money and time instead of sending it all to the trash dump.

• Use natural containers, for example a big basket, instead of the black plastic bags they usually use for gardening.

• Overall, it is just very important to remember that plants and trees are living organisms so we have to treat them with care and love!

• Diego contact for more on the above — dqacareyes@gmail.com