Growth & Jobs | Sustainable hotel farming at Charela Inn

With the practice of sustainability becoming even more important within the hospitality industry, “sustainability in the kitchen” has been at the forefront of hotelier Daniel Grizzle’s efforts for the past four decades.

Grizzle operates the La Vendome Restaurant, located on Negril’s Seven Mile Beach at the renowned Charela Inn.

Fulfilling his ‘personal farm legacy’, the hotel operates a vegetable and livestock farm which spreads across an impressive 30 and 172 acres of land, respectively.

The family farm which is located in rural Hanover in Green Island, 25 miles from Charela Inn, uses sustainable agricultural practices to supply La Vendome Restaurant all year round. Breakfast and dinner menus are based on a farm-to-table concept, using 90 per cent locally sourced produce and seasonal vegetables from the hotel’s vegetable garden, while the livestock farm produces cattle, sheep, goat, and eggs.

The farming and hotel operations have at their core the concepts of sustainable living and being as eco-conscious as possible.

In a world where farm-to-table has become a catchphrase, hotels in Jamaica are joining the movement with their own produce-rich gardens and farms. However, Charela Inn boasts an extensive farming operation that focuses on growing, nutrient-rich, high-yield organic food, and has created a self-controlled ecosystem for its hotel.

“Our goal is to create dining experiences that spark joy. To inspire and encourage connection with food by experiencing unique flavours from our locally sourced and healthy ingredients and by other local Jamaican farmers. We do not use imported vegetables. When we produce our dishes we ensure that maximum amount of local products are used,” Grizzle says.

As a small boutique resort, Charela Inn and the La Vendome Restaurant serve as a model for a successful operation that is sustainable, healthy and environmentally friendly. The primary objective of the resort’s Sustainable Management System (SMS) is to be self-sufficient. The resort directly connects the cultivation of the farm to the hotel’s restaurants and bars, which results in a combination of quality and responsible consumption and gastronomy, a release notes.

As part of environmental practices, the farm focuses on using organic matter and carbon-based waste recycling to produce compost. “This is a crucial aspect of being self-sustainable. People have the desire to eat healthier,” said Grizzle.

THE FUTURE OF FARMING

Other practices to ensure that their agricultural production is sustainable include: - crop rotation which reduces the need for synthetic fertilisers and helps to increase the availability of nutrients in the soil; organic farming, drip irrigation, composting and crop diversification.

Weather conditions, especially heavy rainfall, are always a challenge in farming, as they cause soil erosion, loss of crops and nutrients, and waterlogging, and often result in a decrease in yield.

Grizzle outlines the farm’s approach to managing this challenge, saying: “We have invested in installing huge and wider trenches to remove the excess water to help maintain an optimal moisture level for the crops to grow. The alternative solution is to have greenhouses. However, I am not keen on this, as greenhouses are a controlled environment which affects the flavour of vegetables.”

Another challenge he identified was that of recruiting capable and bright youngsters to work on the farm, as, often, youth perceive farming to be antiquated and not fashionable. The suggestion is for public schools in Jamaica to include a more robust agriculture programme, in order to change the mindsets of youth and to develop a sector of future farmers.

Outlining the operation’s impact on the community, the release notes that the farm has created employment opportunities for people living in the surrounding communities, and continues to support their school-feeding programme by donating eggs from the farm. School tours are also arranged to expose and inspire students on operating a farm and seeing farming as a viable and dynamic career. The hotel has also officially launched the Sylvia Grizzle scholarship.

Charela Inn, with its extensive farming programme, continues to look towards the future of agriculture and the impact on tourism and the country as whole. As such, within the past two years, the farm has planted approximately 600 trees – cedar, mahogany, mahoe and coconut trees. Grizzle praised the partnership with the Jamaica Coconut Board, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and the Forestry Department, for their contribution in supplying seedlings and providing technical support. With the emergence of mega hotels on the island, there is the desire to expand the farm’s production of vegetables which will then be sold to other hotels, and to create an agri-tourism programme to further engage hotel guests who have an interest in local farming.