Text Box: Cleaning Up Our Act Text Box: Remnants of renovations and kitchen garbage at ‘fill hill’ the destination for discarded items that cannot be burned. Text Box: Since the first humans settled in caves, colonies have created refuse and waste. In the 21st century, our waste is more plentiful and the materials more complex. It took many years for civilization to learn to deal intelligently with waste, as it is human nature to consider ‘out of sight-out of mind’. Discarded items on Mustique have traditionally been abandoned at the lagoon, where they have lingered for decades. Some materials have decayed back to soil, some have been burned or Text Box: buried, but a great deal of it still rests there. For many years, we have lacked the courage to take the top of the Pandora’s box waiting at the lagoon. Recently however, we began to study this area, testing the soils and trying to understand what we could do to begin the clean up. And now, finally, it begins. The metals and glass that have shed over the decades will be collected, sorted and sold or crushed for proper disposal. Text Box: The heaps and great mounds of soil will be smoothed, and ‘fill hill’ will become an orchard. The stone remains of the old plantation near the gate will be groomed and eventually, become an interpretive centre. None of this is easy, and it will take nearly a year to complete, but it is a good start. The ’dump’ will disappear, and we can begin work on the incinerator. We thank you for your continued support in sorting your household trash. Text Box: and finally the Carib populated these islands. Remnants like these pots found on Plantain beach tell a small part of the story. Artifacts like this and sites along our beaches and in the meadows will be the object of study when Mustique welcomes its first archeological team in the summer of 2008. We long to understand the origins and customs of these early people and with care and sensitivity, we can learn and preserve the details of the past. Text Box: Artifacts such as these are in our care here in Mustique. We are custodians of these items: they belong to the people of St. Vincent and the museums who will study them. It is our hope that in time we will be able to tell the story of these people in our own interpretive centre here on Mustique and be part of this important academic work. Text Box: A keen eye in just about any location on Mustique can spot fragments of pots like the burial pots shown here. Mustique was inhabited by many peoples before we arrived with our mules and our beach balls. Serious, all be it small, communities of fishers lived here for centuries. It is thought that settlements were sometimes defensive outposts to communities on nearby St. Vincent. We know that first the Ciboney, then the Arawak Text Box: Page # Text Box: The Birds and the Breeze Text Box: Text Box: Turn it Off Text Box: Stories Underground Text Box: On Mustique, all of our electricity comes from large diesel generators on the hill. We have recently added a new highly energy efficient one, but still, we could do much more Text Box: to reduce the noise and pollution these generators produce. The desalination plant is the largest user of electricity on the island, so water conservation aids in energy conservation. In villas, the greatest consumption of Text Box: systems and air conditioners. Instruct staff to turn off fans and air conditioners when rooms are not occupied, extinguish lights when guests have gone to bed, turn off appliances when they are not in use. In Mustique, we turn it off.

Arawak pots uncovered on Plantain Beach by a hurricane. These are likely used in burial ritual.