Almost all tourists
and travellers love souvenirs. But being conscious of the local economy and
environment has been, until recently, sadly ignored. Luckily it seems like there’s been a dawn of
a new era of tourism where supporting the locals and their environment is
becoming more of a concern when it comes to spending money. More travellers these days want their tourist
dollars to go directly to local initiatives rather than ending up with
importers and exporters with no local footprint. With this in mind, we’ve come up with a list
of Roatan shopping and souvenir ideas to remember their wonderful Roatan
vacation.
Roatan Marine Park
The Roatan Marine
Park is a non-profit organization whose goals are to protect the island’s
marine and coastal habitats. By selling
mostly locally sourced and eco-friendly souvenirs, the organization helps fund
itself while promoting environmental sustainability and stewardship. Your money will help initiatives such as
plastic and invasive species reduction, community education and marine patrols
that enforce environmental laws.
Roatan Chocolate Factory
Roatan Chocolate
Factory makes 100% organic chocolate using Honduran cacao seeds. They don’t use the palm oil, lecithin or
preservatives that are found in most mass produced chocolates. In fact, their dark chocolate contains only
cacao and cane sugar while the milk chocolate adds only milk to the two main
ingredients. Part of the company’s
proceeds go to the protection of Honduran rainforests which are under pressure
from the cattle industry.
Rusty Fish
Rusty Fish is a
social enterprise with four island locations that recycles metal, wood, plastic
and glass to create sea life inspired souvenirs. Their slogan is, “We Have Nothing From
China!” They hire and train local
workers to create the mementos they sell.
Buying form Rusty Fish not only benefits the local people, it benefits
the local environment.
