Re-Branding Los Cardones

As I had mentioned a briefly a few times before, last week I was able to work with a eco-lodge for a few days in my municipality, who was looking to revamp their image. To start, the municipality of Villa el Carmen has upwards of 30 kilometers of Pacific Coast beaches. Beaches that are located 15 – 20 km of dirt road, making them inaccessible without private transport. Sure, I could ride my bike, but when the roads are terrible, and you’re carrying a surfboard, it isn’t the most ideal mean of transportation. So usually, I have to take the bus out of the municipality farther south to San Rafael del Sur, and the beach communities of Montelimar, Masachapa, and Pochomil. Los Cardones is one of these tough to get to beaches in my municipality, and although it only about 20 km away from my front door, I’ve never been able to get out there, although I’ve always wanted to. So you can understand that I was excited when this opportunity came about.

Los Cardones turned out to be even more incredible than I could’ve thought. The owners, Laure and Issac, have been running the eco-lodge for 12 years now, and have carved out their own little piece of paradise at this remote beach front property. Scattered around the property, amongst the fruit trees, palm trees, and flowering plants, are small cabanas for the guests and in the middle of the compound is a giant rancho. A rancho is a like a big canopy tent, that is supported by hopped down tree trunks, and roofed with palm fronds. This is where you find the bar, restaurant/eating area, and community lounge. And what makes the lodge so unique, is that they operate almost completely without electricity. There is full electricity in the kitchen and a solar panel on the rancho for soft music and light while you’re eating dinner at night. But more often than not, we ate dinner under the glow of candles, instead of electricity. And what’s more, the property is right in front of a beautiful beach, a beach that is perfect for beginner and intermediate surfers. You can guess what I was doing in my spare time. I surfed my brains out.

The whole mentality behind Los Cardones is that you go there to disconnect from society and reconnect with yourself and nature. You rise with sun in the morning, and fall asleep as the it sets. The only noise you really hear is the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, and they offer surf lessons, yoga sessions, turtle releases, and environment walks and trainings to help your self reconnect with yourself and nature. And did I mention the staff is incredible? They not only ran the place without any managers there, but become part of the relaxing, tranquilo experience.

So, what were we doing there, sports fans*? My friend Kelli and I were there to help re-brand Los Cardones. Los Cardones had just qualified for the Rainforest Alliance, an international environment group that promotes protection and conservation of the environment through sustainable tourism. It’s a really great accomplishment, and few hotels have that status in Nicaragua. Although formally accepted, the owner Laure, felt as though she needed to re-create her mission and vision statements, which were practically non-existent ahead of time. This was part of Kelli’s job pre-Nicaragua, and Laure reached out to her for her problem. I got dragged along because I’m the closest volunteer in the area, and I’ll be able to do follow up work on a moments notice. Lucked out on that one huh? So in exchange for a series of group workshops Kelli and I got put up in our own private bungalow for four days, all food included. I not only got to surf my brains out, but I got to sleep in a comfortable bed and eat to my hearts content. Despite all the surfing, I probably added on some lbs, something my frame could use these days.

What was so unique about this experience is that Laure wanted to include the staff in creating the new mission and vision statements. Most managers down here take it upon themselves to do this sort of work, and don’t take their staff, who are in charge of day-to-day operations and work hand-in-hand with the guests, into consideration. It just shows how much the staff is respected, and just as important as the boss lady. It’s not something you see much down here, but you could tell right away. The employees were proud of their job and completely empowered, and as a result, the guest experience is that much better. So Kelli and I spent three day working with all the employees in small group settings, from waitress and guards, to the upper management, to identify what their values were, what was important on a day to day basis, and what everyone wanted to happen in the future. We held discussion sessions, had everyone make a collage of what Los cardones meant to them, and most of the work was one on one, getting to know the staff at a personal level. For me it was great, because it meant four days of in-depth Spanish, which is always fun and good practice. And as the days progressed, we focused in on the principals and driving force of the lodge, so by the end we constructed the “House that Los Cardones Built”.

*Anyone have any idea what character from what book calls his kids sports fans?