My first memories of water started off as mystical wonders. I was 3 years old and already living in an different state than I was born. A friend and her family took me on a trip to a stream and during the period of time that I was splashing around in the cool waters running over my feet, I found a rounded rock that rattled! Perhaps it was a gift from the river way to help me remember how special that day was. (I still have this rock to this day.) 

A few years later, when my brother was old enough to play with me, we would dance around in circles in our front yard of the church parsonage - where we lived - and chant and sing asking for rain. Sure enough, shortly after it would. Little did we know that soon after the water spirits would take us to the middle of the USA, in an area called the “Badlands” deepening my connection to water, yet in very dry land.

Water in our town was offered with ice, for free and advertised every mile of the interstate highway. It sustained the town with a steady flow of tourists who also purchased gifts and gimmicks. 

What wasn’t free and considered a luxury was access to a pool. My brother and I would typically go on special occasions. However, I wanted access to swimming more often and easily, so I made a deal with the local motel to pick up cigarette butts from around the property in exchange for use of their pool during off-peak hours on my elementary school summer breaks. As a child in the 1990s, I could manage the waste problem around a small, rectangular 3ft-8ft deep motel pool a few times a week. The experience taught me how tiny bits waste (most cigarettes do have single-use plastics) can add up to large amounts in very short periods of time. And once you start looking, you also find them everywhere! 

My transition from child to an adult started with a move as fast as I could to the ocean where I learned to design, consult, present and relax. My nomadic roots evolved with me and amplified by my design & hospitality career, took me to many hotels around the world. One particular hotel in Tulum - the one I splurged on for the last night of my weeklong Mexico visit - inspired me so much I decided to move there 4 months later. 

The year I spent in Tulum - from 2018 to 2019 - I saw first hand the pros but also the many hidden cons of tourism. Additionally, the sargassum issue was abundant and the rotting seaweed covered the beaches and left a stench that reached potential visitors via the news. Additionally there were also waste such as flip flops, water bottles and fishing nets washing up on the shores, too. 

How would you feel if you were on your hard-earned vacation and all you could see is waste? How much of your vacation lifestyle would you change to stay in a place that was zero waste? What would you take home to remember a zero waste vacation that you would use daily?

Imagine yourself on your next trip waste-free. Imagine coming home to your own getaway, everyday. These dreams are what make up the water-full world of L’eautelier.

Hi Impact!