Dear Maho Bay, Harmony and Estate Concordia Friends and Family: 

Guests who come to the Maho resorts year after year know that we have been a leading innovator in the field of eco-tourism. Our walkways, our efforts at power self-sufficiency and turning recyclables into useful and artful objects have brought us attention and acclaim. 

We now plan to make Maho and Estate Concordia "inclusive destinations," a place where people with disabilities may share our unique vacation experience. Groundwork has already begun. Last summer we invited a group from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to offer preliminary suggestions about how to make Maho resorts and the island of St. John accessible to people with special needs. Meetings with representatives from the U.S. Virgin Island Government, the National Park and local businesses, resulted in a proposal to have the RISD contingent and a group of guests with disabilities visit Maho in late July. They will help us evaluate and modify facilities and activity programs. 

The test group will consist of two children and three adults with severe disabilities, along with their care givers, who will spend a week at Estate Concordia where wheelchair-accessible eco-tents have recently been constructed. They will be accompanied by two design consultants from Multi, Design for People, LLC and ten RISD graduate students who will translate comments and suggestions into 'inclusive design' solutions. 

To date, Maho has contributed $10,000 in cash and services to the project, which will include access to the National Park trails and assistive/adaptive equipment for sailing, snorkeling and even scuba diving. 

But an additional $20,000 will be needed. Donations to help Maho and Concordia open their tent flaps to all will be greatly appreciated. Since airfares will be a major cost of this pilot project, contributions of award miles would be most welcome. 

For further details please see the proposal that follows below.   For information on how you can contribute, please respond to this e-mail by contacting the consultants, Multi, Design For People, LLC at info@designforpeople.org or me at stansel@hamptons.com

 Stanley Selengut

St John, US Virgin Islands: Building an Inclusive Travel Destination
Multi, Design for People, LLC in collaboration with Stanley Selengut, President, Concordia Campgrounds, Inc. on St. John, USVI

Opportunity for St. John, USVI
This proposal is an opportunity for St. John, USVI to capitalize on the increasing market demand for Accessible Travel and Tourism. 54 million Americans with disabilities (including the senior population) and their discretionary income of $175 billion dollars is currently an untapped market. This constitutes nearly 24% of the total U.S. population; adding to the market need for Accessible Travel and Tourism options. The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) claims that disabled travelers take 31.7 million trips a year and spend $13.6 billion annually*

The Story
During the summer of 2004, Stanley Selengut sponsored a design study by the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to advise how Estate Concordia and the island of St. John can capitalize on the market of senior travelers and travelers with disabilities. Fifteen advanced design students and two professors/design consultants for Multi, Design for People, LLC, visited St. John and met with representatives from the Virgin Islands government, National Park, local business and organizations, and the staff of Selengut’s resorts. As a result, design recommendations that accommodate people of all ages and abilities were presented, and four of the recently completed units at Estate Concordia are wheelchair accessible.

The Challenge
    First and foremost, develop St. John as an inclusive island destination by inviting local resorts, villas, restaurants, businesses and shops to participate and contribute in this effort.
    Work with Virgin Island National Park to plan and develop beach access, activities and wheelchair accessible trails.
    Organize and promote vacation options for persons with disabilities, including senior travelers, and purchase assistive equipment for local transportation, beach access, recreational activities, shopping, dining, etc.
    Partner with the Virgin Island Government to promote St. John USVI as an inclusive travel destination.

Event Proposal
Bring a group of participants-three adults and two children with disabilities- to stay at Concordia Campground’s accessible Eco-tents and participate in a week long series of activities on the island of St. John in late July 2005. In addition to the participants and their caregivers, the event will involve ten advanced design students from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and two design consultants from Multi, Design for People, LLC. The ‘design team’ will spend the week with the participants during all planned activities to analyze and discuss their experiences; ultimately offering inclusive design solutions throughout the island of St. John to increase its level of accessibility and visitability for travelers with disabilities and the mature. After identifying and documenting the responses to the activities and equipment arranged for the participants, RISD students and design consultants will submit recommendations that can be implemented to develop the island of St. John as an inclusive travel destination for people of all ages and abilities for the winter 2005/06 season.

Finances
The Maho Bay Resorts have committed $5000 plus food and room accommodations for the 5 participants, their caregivers and the Multi™ design consultants. Additional funds must be raised for airfare (20 tickets), local island transportation, student expenses, and assistive/adaptive equipment for the activities being planned.

About Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
Founded in 1877, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is a vibrant community of artists and designers with more than 2,000 students from around the world and about 350 faculty and curators. Academic programs include research and design initiatives, the exploration of art criticism and contemporary cultural concerns as well as international exchange programs. For more information, please call 401 454-6100.

The Relationship
In the summer of 2004, Mickey Ackerman, head of the Industrial Design Department at RISD, met Stanley Selengut at Maho Bay Camps and shared the concept of inclusive design; focusing on how it can provide options for Accessible Travel and Tourism for people of all ages and abilities. Ackerman then introduced Selengut to Rosanne Ramos and Kat Darula, Principals of Multi, Design for People, LLC, an inclusive consulting and design firm. In addition to the professional relationship established between Multi and Selengut, a Fall 04 advanced design interdisciplinary studio at RISD was immediately launched to explore the feasibility for the island of St. John to be developed as an inclusive travel destination.

Multi, Design for People, LLC
Kat Darula and Rosanne Ramos established Multi, Design for People, LLC in 2003. Multi™ is a consulting and design firm that specializes in inclusive built environments, products and information graphics. Expertise and services provide holistic planning and design solutions that accommodate people of all ages and abilities. Multi™ consults architects, businesses, organizations and individuals on the planning and design of existing structures and new developments. Both Kat Darula and Rosanne Ramos are graduates of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and hold masters degrees in Industrial Design (MID). For more information, please visit www.designforpeople.org

*US Access Board and the 2002 Open Doors Organization market study on Travelers with Disabilities