By Glenn Jampol

The Harmony Hotel Playa Guiones, Nosara, Guanacaste www.harmonynosara.com Hans Pfister Marketing Director Tel. (506) 8371-7774 or (506) 8371-7774 Established: reopened as Harmony Hotel Jan 2006

Why did you decide to implement sustainable practices for your business?
The Harmony Hotel owners initially bought the run-down property in order to protect the site from development of a multi-story condominium building. They felt that Nosara, located in the Guanacaste region, was special and needed to maintain its vibe. Cayuga hotel management company that focuses on managing sustainable resorts and ecolodges, and Cayuga were hired and brought all of their sustainable practices and visions to the operation of the hotel. The owner’s commitment to sustainability, conservation and the community along with a sustainable hotel operator, made Harmony first hotel in Guanacaste to receive the five out of Five-Leaf Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) in 2009.

Of all the changes that have been made, which ones do you think have had the most impact?
Hiring only locals, training them, teaching them, seeing them grow. Educating the rest of the community
in sustainable practices and being the leader in the community in sustainable best practices from waste
water treatment to recycling to use of biodegradable or organic products.

Presently, there is a great push on behalf of the ICT to make Costa Rica a carbon neutral country by the year 2021. In your opinion, which sector of the industry needs the most help in order to achieve that goal?
We believe that the transportation sector needs the most help. Over 90 percent of the electricity in the country is produced from renewable resources; however, cars still run almost exclusively on carbon fuels.

In what way have sustainable business practices impacted the community?
Other hotels and business have followed the lead and have changed to sustainable practices in terms of
recycling and purchasing. There exists a sense of awareness that development cannot be stopped; however, it can be directed towards the right kind of sustainable development. There is a direct impact from employing 50+ locals and producing indirect employment by subcontracting services and purchasing goods and services in the local community.

What differences have the initiatives made in the community or in your business in terms of the economy or expenses?
Since we have implemented our programs we have seen a significant reduction of solid waste and wastewater production (through our recycling and wastewater treatment and the use of irrigation). There has also been an increased skill level of people in the community due to the fact that at Cayuga we make it a priority to provide constant training and educational programs for our staff. Additionally, these programs have allowed us to create more awareness of the surroundings, which allows us to better manage development in the region. We have also achieved cleaner beaches through our cleanup project, forestation programs, among others.

What future sustainable projects have been planned for your business and in your community?
The Harmony Restaurant strives to be the most sustainable restaurant in the country. Our straws are biodegradable and made by one of our gardeners, our vegetables and herb are organic and grown in our own garden. We thrive to become even more active in the community especially in promoting and supporting educational projects. We are setting up a Harmony foundation to support these types of projects. We continue to look for ways to save on energy (solar panels to power the ventilators), water use (we are changing the gardens to native plants that don’t require irrigation in the dry season) and continue to reduce our overall carbon foot print.

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