Cotton Tree Lodge and Sustainable Harvest International are strengthening their existing partnership with several new projects for 2008. Sustainable Harvest International, a local NGO, helps families in Central America improve income and nutrition by teaching sustainable agriculture techniques and organizing health improvement projects. Cotton Tree Lodge, an eco-lodge in the Toledo District of Belize, has been partnered with SHI since the lodge opened in early 2007. Cotton Tree Lodge's organic demonstration will host several projects this spring. SHI and CTL worked together to establish this garden in 2007, and it currently provides a location for SHI workshops and trainings, as well as a source of produce for the Cotton Tree Lodge kitchen.

SHI workshops teach sustainable agriculture techniques, offering local farmers an alternative to traditional slash and burn methods and expensive chemical herbicides and pesticides that are harmful to the surrounding ecosystems. In March, SHI will train farmers from the nearby villages of Santa Ana and San Felipe on the use of organic pesticides and fertilizers. Following the workshop, SHI staff and the CTL gardeners will work together to attempt two natural flood barrier techniques?vetiver grass and stone and mortar wall'to protect the garden during the summer rainy season. If the techniques are successful, they will become another demonstration aspect of the garden and the techniques will be shared with the local community.

As of this spring, the demonstration garden will produce nearly 50 percent of the fruits and vegetables consumed at the Lodge. Free range chickens and turkeys will provide fresh eggs and meat for guests. The organic methods used in the demonstration garden prevent dangerous chemical fertilizers and pesticides from washing into the nearby Moho River while reducing food-miles and the impact of CTL guests on the environment.

Chris Crowell, owner of Cotton Tree Lodge, is excited about the work SHI is accomplishing in the nearby community. He credits Sustainable Harvest International allowing the Lodge ??a way to interact positively with the local villages while reducing the overall environmental impact of Cotton Tree.? As a long term goal, CTL and SHI hope to train local villagers to sustainably produce crops and livestock used frequently by the lodge which will compliment the demonstration garden's production. Cotton Tree Lodge will pay a fair market price for these items, directing money into the local economy and further decreasing food-miles.

Cotton Tree Lodge and SHI are also initiating a carbon credit program. Guests of Cotton Tree Lodge will be able to make a monetary donation to SHI to offset the carbon emissions produced by their flights to Belize. Donations will directly benefit programs which reduce carbon in the atmosphere, including reforestation projects, wood-conserving stoves, and cacao tree (chocolate) plantations. Cotton Tree Lodge will partner with Sustainable Travel International and volunteer researchers to quantify the size and scope of donation needed to directly offset flight emissions. A feature will be added to the Cotton Tree Lodge website which enables guests to calculate carbon emissions and choose equivalent donations to SHI.