subject: The Lodge, Grenada - Where Ethics Meet Paradise [print this page] In the unlikely setting of a small Caribbean isle a guest house proclaims itself to be the only totally vegan residential establishment in a very wide region which includes the West Indies, Latin and South America. Indeed, The Lodge is probably the only truly 100% eco-vegan guest house in the entire world. The magic of The Lodge is about more than just providing a venue at which vegans and vegetarians, as well as those with unavoidable dietary needs or religio-cultural demands, can relax in the knowledge that those preparing their food are themselves entirely aware of what a vegan diet entails and rest sound knowing that no unwanted ingredients will find their way unwittingly into their food. It is also about providing an environment in which like-minded people, proprietors and guests, can feel at home and unaffected by the challenges that they would usually face in an outside world in which lifestyles and values are often so different, not to mention prevalent. Nothing about the guest house is at all gimmicky. Its proprietors are deadly serious about their desire to make their operation sustainable. A tree is planted for each new guest that arrives, offsetting the carbon emissions generated on their flight across. Rainwater from the roof is filtered three times before being used for drinking and cooking. The food is local and organically grown, and not only is The Lodge self-sustainable for fruit but enough is left over to produce smoothies and sorbets. The uniquity and popularity of The Lodge confounds the prejudicial view of vegetarianism and veganism being regimes steeped in dour sacrifice and grim self-depravation. It is a place, truly, where ethics meet paradise.
