Cabilao Divers is THE place to go to dive in the beautiful seas of The Philippines. A small island lost in archipelago. Loraine tells us more about it.
Who are you?
My name is Loraine, I am from France and I love scuba-diving. So much that I made it my job !
I became a scuba-diving instructor in 2015 and been travelling ever since ! My work led me to the Philippines where I’ve been working seasonally, but soon I’m going to try and settle here ! We’ll see where life takes me !
Can you tell more about your activity ?
You can find me on a small island called CABILAO, off the coast of Bohol, in the Visayan part of the Philippines. I work as the manager of a dive shop called CABILAO DIVERS which belongs to the resort CABILAO SANCTUARY BEACH & DIVE RESORT.
It’s a first time for me to have a job as a manager and I really like it. We are a team of 10, and we work together like a family. Another instructor and myself do all the dive courses and we have 2 dive guides for the local dives here !
Diving on Cabilao Island’s reefs is the best ! It is one of the TOP 10 best diving spots in the world, with the highest biodiversity of the Philippines underwater.
We have macro & big fish, wall dives or slopes, huge and amazing corals as well as sandy bottoms, we have everything and that is the reason why I love it here so much !!
What is the local reality about waste and environmental protection in your location?
About the waste… vast subject ! Like I said before, we are a small island. There is no such thing as a waste reception center.
We bring food to the resort and other things that may be covered by plastic, but we bring back everything to the mainland in Cebu, all of our trash, with our own speedboat.
The problem that we are facing is the following: we can pick up plastic from the beach, this is easy. But it didn’t come from us, so it should go back to the mainland with the garbage collector. The latter is supposed to come and pick the trash of the locals and the island once a month. I am answering this interview in March and the last pick up was in December… We can help the planet but people need to follow the movement. We are currently working on this issue.
How do you integrate tourism and sustainability at the same time?
There are only 4 resorts on the Island, all of them with dive centers. It is a small island, not so easy to get to, that is why there isn’t so much tourism compared to other places. For example, we don’t have any bars, or restaurants (apart from the ones in the Resorts), or markets etc.
People come here to dive, mainly, and relax !
The divers need to pay a government fee every time they dive. This money is collected, and is used to help create new buoys for boats to moor (instead of boats anchoring and breaking corals).
Our resort already made a few changes like using metal straws, and not giving out water bottles anymore. Every guest that stays with us will have its own tumbler and can get water from our water dispensers.
We have only 1 trashcan per room instead of one in the bathroom and one in the room, to minimize plastic bags.
Why do you partner with My Green Trip?
I like seeing people acting for a good cause.
I think that My Green Trip is going to make a change on people, not only a physically (picking up trash), but also mentally: people will change the way they think, it will affect them in a way, and if it’s done properly, they will take action and avoid plastic, they will talk about it to their friends and family.
Do you have special news currently?
We are organizing movie nights for our guests, but mainly for our filipino staff. The next movie we will present will be “A PLASTIC OCEAN”, which I hope will have an impact on their day-to-day use of plastic. Plastic here in the Philippines is a nightmare. I hope I will be able to make a change in their life…
Any last word?
Come visit us !!!
Our island is a little piece of paradise, you won’t be disappointed, especially if you are a scuba diver !!
How can we contact you?
- Website: http://www.cabilao-sanctuary.com
- Facebook Dive shop and Resort
- Instagram Dive shop and Resort
- Email: contact Loraine at cabilaodivers@valcie.com
