The Mitchell Great House on Folly Point, near the Portland/Port Antonio area on Jamaica's northeast coast, is almost too appropriate as a metaphor for what is going on here. The mansion was built by an American millionaire named Dan Mitchell at the turn of the 20th century. It sits on a breeze-swept hillside overlooking a turquoise sea, and was built to serve as a locus for the crème de la crème on their visits to a tropical paradise. The problem was it began to crumble a little more than a decade after it played host to the hoity-toities who visited here - an unwise mixture of cement and seawater said to have doomed the structural integrity of the mansion. Today, the crumbling, columned remains symbolize a place where the jet set once flourished then moved on, relinquishing a one-time lavish base to the inexorable reclamation of natural forces.

The region of Jamaica around Port Antonio has a fascinating, if variegated, history. There is a sense of rugged individuality here. Among the early post-colonial-period denizens were the Maroons, bands of black Africans brought to the island as slaves. The Maroons had other plans. Choosing to risk death rather than detention, they headed for the hills and valleys and fought the British to a standstill over many, many years. Their descendants maintain elements of their culture to this day centered around communities like Accompong, Moore Town and Charles Town.

Today, however, there are other manifestations of individuality at play here, among people with other agendas. The upshot is some garish contrasts in properties that indulge various attempts to satisfy their owners' concepts of what a tropical paradise should entail and, in the process, seem bent on turning back the clock to the area's in-crowd past. Baroness Sigi von Stephani Fahmi is perhaps the most extravagant purveyor of the over-the-top genre. Having begun her castle - literally - on Turtle Crawle Bay, a couple of miles east of Port Antonio, the baroness apparently ran low on sources of finance so castle-building wound to a halt until she sold the work-in-progress to Earl Levy, a well-heeled architect. Levy completed the castle, replete with stone walls, peaked roofs and turrets. It now rents out as a luxury villa, but mostly serves as an upscale restaurant and catering hall, specializing in weddings.

Goblin Hill Hotel

While Levy was completing work on the castle, Baroness Fahmi built a palace - the Jamaica Palace Hotel - on a hillside overlooking the bay. The blatant attempt at having the hotel present an image of opulence obliterates any sense of elegance. Paintings, which seem to emulate every school and multiple periods, hang everywhere - more than 1,600 decorating walls in guest rooms, function rooms and hallways. You almost trip over pieces of sculpture. A sizeable number works are by the baroness herself, who has had showings in local galleries. The swimming pool in the shape of the island of Jamaica, and surrounded by checkerboard squares of concrete painted alternately in black and white, would provide a fitting setting for a sequel to Alice in Wonderland. The baroness herself can often be seen flitting about the hotel, a cell phone in one hand, a pack of cigarettes in the other. The latter gesture seems appropriate in a lobby that is heavy with the smell of dead cigarettes. But, just before the start of last winter's high season, the hotel was virtually devoid of guests and the baroness was talking about refusing a catering function because she didn't want to move furniture.

Meanwhile back at the castle, there is another one of those anomalies that seem so pervasive here. Australian pines, which appear to have been planted as a windbreak on the property, have now begun to reproduce and creep down the road from the castle. Their origin is apparent in the size of the trees: largest near the property, smaller as you get further away. The trees have also made the leap across the road into nearby woodlands. Australian pine, imported to Florida also as windbreaks, has become one of the great herbivorous scourges in that state, elbowing out other vegetation in relentless infestations. It's sad to see this problem taking root along this coastline, with no apparent notice on the part of locals.

Surrendering one's ephemeral title as the once-favored “in” place is a story repeated throughout the Caribbean and where you go from there becomes the true tale of how a place defines itself for the longer term. That is where Hugh Cresser and the Environmental Audits for Sustainable Tourism project, or EAST, are trying to make a real impact on this beautiful area. Cresser, who has lectured at universities in the Caribbean and set up the degree program in hospitality and tourism at the University of Technology, is coordinating the EAST project, which has been underway since 1997. It has a list of objectives that the organization hopes will translate into a model for sustainable tourism development here and in other places in the Caribbean.

To demonstrate that this effort is not simply some glossy new element of destination marketing, EAST has sought certification from Green Globe 21, an international organization, established under the auspices of the World Travel & Tourism Council, a dozen years ago. Green Globe 21's benchmarking, certification and improvement system is based on the Agenda 21 sustainable development principles endorsed by the 178 states attending the United Nations Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992. The Jamaica program is unique in that it seeks to gain Green Globe 21 certification for an entire area, based upon a demonstration of active support on the part of such public and private sector organizations as the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Jamaica Manufacturers Association, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, Natural Resources Conservation Authority and the Jamaica Bureau of Standards. The Portland Parish recently received benchmarked status with Green Globe, an important first step toward Certification. But convincing local organizations to move in new directions is often a laborious process.

“Certification will be dependent on the Portland stakeholders,” Cresser says. “I do hope that it will be done within the next year. I would be happier with more [response] from the private sector, however they are really recovering from a long slump and being cautious. This is a long process and one should really be grateful of the fact that it is happening. Government is also becoming a bit more active in the process.”

Hotel Mocking Bird Hill

The paradigm for what the sustainable development and ecologically sensitive projects would seek to encourage in the tourism sector is the Hotel Mocking Bird Hill. Under the guiding hands of Barbara Walker, a native Jamaican, and Shireen Aga, a native of India and Barbara's long-time friend, the hotel was conceived from the outset as a place that would work within its environment, not against it. Every effort is made to reduce waste in water and energy and to recycle and/or reuse items that lend themselves to that. Even the cloth dinner napkins have numbers of the rooms on them, so guests can reuse them. Mocking Bird Hill has been recognized by the Caribbean Hotel Association as the most environmentally friendly small hotel in the region and was one of the first hotels worldwide to be certified by Green Globe as an environmentally and socially friendly property.

“The distinct value of green tourism to a destination is that it is most likely to regenerate and sustain the actual resources on which the tourism is based,” Aga says. “Environmentally friendly operations reflect the increasing preference for holistic lifestyles of more and more people who equate this criterion with quality of life. They do not just want a rum punch and a tan. They want to enjoy and experience nature, the country, the culture and understand it - and enjoy the rum punch. However, they do not want to enjoy their holidays at the expense of the environment. They do not want to endanger the sustainability of this earth for their children.”

This emphasis on ecology is not to say Mocking Bird Hill lacks for any of the physical elements or service amenities guests look for in a fine hotel. Rooms are large and airy, with desks and sitting areas. Furniture is handcrafted bamboo and the rooms are accented in lovely island fabrics and artwork. They are cooled by paddle fans that get the job done even on the warmest evenings. Bathrooms are modern with cool white tiles and include European-style showers with removable heads and water-temperature-control mixing valves. Hammocks sway in the breezes on outdoor verandahs with lovely views of the ocean. You can laze here for a while and see if you can spot some of the 40 different species of birds that have been counted around the property. The Mille Fleurs restaurant features absolutely top-notch cuisine, accents on nouvelle tropical Caribbean dishes, with local seafood prominent.

However, in addition to the benefits that accrue to guests, there is also payback in terms of perceptions in the local community.

“We have often been approached by taxi drivers, shop keepers etc., who are proud that someone from their midst is doing something positive and giving their community a good name,” Walker says. “They may not always understand what we do and why but they identify themselves with us when they watch television coverage or read about our achievements.”

John Crow Mountain National Park

But what is a green experience without the environmental elements to support it. For the down-to-earth, down-in-the-dirt ecological experience in the Portland/Port Antonio area, there is the nearby Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park. Here, you can wander a mist forest thick with giant bamboo and mahogany, cedar, mahoe, breadfruit, banana and cecropia trees. Some 570 varieties of fern carpet the forest floor, while orchids and bromeliads decorate the trees. Half of Jamaica's 300 species of birds can be found in these forests, including such stunners as the rufous-tailed flycatcher, yellow-throated warbler and crested quail dove. Among others are three of the island's 28 endemic species found nowhere else: Jamaican blackbird, yellow-billed parrot, and ring-tailed pigeon. The star of the avian universe in Jamaica is the streamertail hummingbird, with its long tail feathers so reminiscent of the tailcoats worn by turn-of-the-century doctors that it is known locally as the doctor bird.

There are other ways to immerse yourself in the environment besides humidity-soaked treks through a tropical forest. In the many print ads and TV commercials about Jamaica, vacationers are shown being poled down one of the rivers on bamboo rafts. It looks both relaxing and exciting and the experience does, in fact, deliver both. Rafting down the Rio Grande is a combination of rushing water and tiny placid coves. Above, birds and butterflies dance in the breezes. Shore-side vendors sell knick-knacks. Then, there is the occasional salesperson who offers you a libation in a reused bottled made with 150 over-proof rum. While the container may not look like a broad-shouldered Bordeaux bottle, you gotta feel the rum will take care of any unsanitary elements and, in fact, a couple of swigs will have you psychologically prepared to raft over Victoria Falls. Fortunately, the rapids here are anything but precipitous and, after you've negotiated a couple, you're poled up to a beach-side lunch with fare that includes a tangy fish and calaloo soup, chicken and rice and a hot sauce that is so fiery it will have you reaching for more of the mind-numbing rum punch.

What would a trip to the Caribbean be without the beach? The Port Antonio area has its share of the proverbial powdery sand beaches washed by clear, turquoise waters. Long Bay Beach is a mile-long stretch to stretch out upon or body surf in some surly waves, being careful not to get too adventurous, however, because there is a strong undertow here. Frenchman's Cove, on the property of a hotel of the same name, is a truly unique beach experience. A cool river empties, quietly into one end of the cove making for an interesting contrast with the warm ocean waters. Made up of stone units built into the cliffsides, the hotel once was reputed to be the most expensive resort in world. While still an impressive property, it is, once again, a testament to the area's former eminence.

Rafting the Rio Grande.JPG

But Jamaica is not simply about beautiful beaches, lush forests and lazy cruises down river. It is a place whose cultural elements are in evidence everywhere. Paintings, carvings, fashions and colorful fabrics are sold in shops and galleries. The island's unique musical contributions like Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae filter out of open doorways or car windows.

One of the area's oldest historical and cultural influences is the Maroons. Among Jamaicans, the Maroons are legendary. Their adamant unwillingness to accept slavery, their guerilla wars with the British over the centuries, even leaders like Cudjoe and their near-mythic wild warrior priestess, Nanny, are the subjects of much history, some of it clearly folklore. At the community of Charles Town, you can visit a small museum, whose mural depicts elements of Maroon culture. Here, you will be enlightened as to how the Maroons fought the British by literally fading into the jungle and harassing their adversaries with the most basic of weapons. You can also see how they supported themselves living off the land. At a nearby stage, adults and children demo the drumming and dancing that have been handed down through generations.

One lovely little gem of a retail operation is Sista P's in Port Antonio, where you can get a taste of a number of Jamaica's cultural influences. Some years ago, Sista P opted to encourage and support elements of a culture that could easily slip through the cracks of modernization. She opened a shop that specializes in vegetarian cuisine, then added musical and artistic elements. She creates her own herbal lotions, sells crafts and jewelry created locally and others imported from West Africa, which she visits frequently. She started school cultural programs, including a drum troupe, all the while raising a daughter who was exposed to her mother's cultural interests. Her home-schooled daughter is now at university overseas and has led a drum troupe which has won international awards. In contrast to some of the gaudier properties, Sista P's seems a refreshing, albeit small, counterbalance of a more genuine nature, another celebration of man's attempts to live in consort with the environment and to use history as a guide to a more harmonious future.

So where does the sustainable tourism experiment in the Portland/Port Antonio area go from here? Shireen Aga of Hotel Mocking Bird Hill puts it best:

“If we want to create a moral and socially responsible business, then we have to be responsible for the common good as well as for profit. Our human destiny is inextricably linked to the actions of all other living things. Respecting this principle is the fundamental challenge in changing the nature of business - and ensuring its success in the future.”

Trying to hang onto a glitzy past would seem a quixotic quest to recreate a faux existence. Fulfillment of a more promising future would seem to lie in the hands of those dedicated to gaining the advantages of a sustainable tourism program with realistic goals, as in the objectives of the EAST Project. To do that, of course, requires a commitment to a sustained methodology as yet untried in this part of the world. In effect, the people who live here would need to take yet another page from the rugged individualism of their Maroon models in creating an environment that works for them. The devils of less-than-successful systems be damned. Can they get there? History is often a great predictor. Stay tuned.