The Road that Led to Dominica 


Over the last few years, Beyond Vitality has relocated from Canada, to Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago, and now, the beautiful nature isle of Dominica. Our community has grown and we’ve had the pleasure of working with individuals from around the globe.

Our approach has always been clearly defined by the principals of holistic health, nutrition and fitness, but our philosophy continues to shape itself as we go through exciting new adventures and life’s journey, and continue to learn along the way. For more on our approach, see Our Creed. But it’s safe to finally call this home. Out of all our moves, this one has been the toughest, but most rewarding. It has been a long road here, with some days easier than others, but the sacrifices have all been worthwhile. Many have been wondering what led us to choose Dominica.

Here’s a little more on our journey to The Nature Island from an interview we had.

What exactly prompted you and Stephan to move and buy a property in Dominica and why? Tell your story from the heart.

Stephan and I both really enjoy being outdoors, living a simple, healthy and conscious lifestyle and being surrounded by positive people and energy. The most important aspects of a happy life for us came down to health and safety. I come from a small community in Northern Ontario, Canada and Stephan from a coastal town in Anzoátegui, Venezuela, where family and community were of importance. We decided to relocate to the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago) where we could be together in a more relaxed but semi-urban setting to grow our wellness company locally and internationally. Previously I had moved to Venezuela, but the Latin culture was a bit challenging for our company to flourish. We loved it, but there was something missing.

The lifestyle that we had in Venezuela and in Trinidad was not the true lifestyle we wanted to embrace. We lived in an enclosed 2-bedroom apartment and barely had any outdoor green space. The growing crime rate and high costs of living also didn’t fit with the freedom and independence we wanted – holistic living in nature. Another reason for deciding to find a new country to live in was the fact that the business that we really wanted to grow into (a health and nature retreat) wouldn’t work well in Trinidad. The country is not known for being a wellness or eco tourism destination, hence why we began our search for a new home to start our venture - to really find our own little piece of paradise. 
 
After months of research and chatting in online forums and talking to friends and family, we narrowed it down to 2 choices (Costa Rica was the other) and finally decided to settle in Dominica.

Before moving to Dominica and fully making the decision, we took a small trip for 10 days and visited the island in search of properties and to get a “feel” for the island. What we found in Dominica was something we had never seen before - a huge diversity of natural landscape, rich culture, music, wellness, eco tourism, amazing people and community living, an enormous array of activities and the true simple living that we have always imagined. Very important on our list of priorities for our growing family was also the safety. The fact that we feel at ease on the island is important to us - we can adventure off onto an unbeaten path and know in our hearts that we are safe. Of course, like everywhere else in the world, we understand we must not be naïve and completely let our guard down, but the feeling here compared to other countries we lived in or travelled to is so positive. 
 
 

What is your dream and vision as you settle in Dominica?

Our dream is to live a healthy, simple, holistic lifestyle. To provide a place for our daughter to grow up free of the negative influences that modern society offers, to build Beyond Vitality Health and Nature Retreat and offer a truly amazing, unique experience to our guests while immersing ourselves in nature and wellness.

What is about the island that attracted you there?

The island is an untouched gem in the Caribbean; the natural world here is completely secluded and unique. Also, it’s one of the islands with such genuine and good-hearted people - people that are willing to help you out even if they don’t know you. The safety of the island is extraordinary, and possibly one of the safest places in the Caribbean. How many places in the world do you know of where children can stand on the side of the road and get drops to school from complete strangers? That is unheard of these days, but the community of Dominica is like that. 
 
 

What are the main reasons for living on this Island?

The main reason is that in Dominica we feel that we can accomplish our personal lifestyle goals and our business goals. The island is centered on eco tourism and wellness, which is what our company, Beyond Vitality, is centered around. As mentioned, we were also looking for safety. Somewhere we can relax and enjoy raising our children.

What is your passion and how does that connect with living the way you do?
 

Our passion is living a healthy and happy family life, and achieving our dream, which is opening Beyond Vitality Health and Wellness Retreat.

We walk our talk. Our business is our life and passion – everything we do we love.

Within our passion, we enjoy our own hobbies, which we can freely enjoy as part of some of the offerings at our retreat – Stephan sings, I run and hike, we practice yoga, garden and have plenty of opportunities to visit waterfalls, beaches, and other natural wonders as a family. We are very family oriented, and strong on raising conscious, creative, independent and freethinking children, hence why we are unschooling our toddler. 
 
 

What is a day like in your actual life in Dominica?

When there are no guests at the retreat, or we don’t go to town and our toddler cooperates, a typical day in our life in Dominica can look like this:

Rise at dawn, or a bit earlier if Skyla (our 2 year old) decides she’s ready to wake. Change diaper – or potty train. Drink some lemon water or bush tea. Daddy does laundry to catch the morning sun for drying – often lots of cloth diapers. Go for a run, hike and/or practice some yoga. Walk around the property to harvest fruits. Have a very quick shower, or rinse under the hose. Daddy or mommy plays with Skyla while the other makes breakfast, or often vice versa - sometimes just a wholefood smoothie in our Vitamix. Feed our puppy Goji and kitten Maca homemade breakfast. Have family breakfast in our outdoor kitchen. Clean dishes and put some beans or legumes to soak and sprout (for lunch/dinner or the next day). Take fresh food scraps to compost. Care for and water our seedlings. Check the veggie garden. Start some gardening or a project around the house – while Skyla “helps” out and plays with lizards and other interesting critters. Work until Skyla needs a break. Read some books, play, dance or sing with Skyla. Change diaper. Nurse and put Skyla to nap. Mommy does gardening, more laundry or cleaning and website maintenance, answering emails, Facebook messages, marketing, blogging and works on client health programs online, while daddy works on the land, or vice versa. Skyla wakes up from her nap. Change diaper – or potty train. Mommy or daddy plays with her while other makes lunch. Sometimes Skyla helps in the kitchen (cuts soft things, tears lettuce, etc.) and helps harvest fresh vegetables or herbs for the meal. Set table. Feed Goji and Maca lunch. Have family lunch in our outdoor kitchen. Clean dishes. Take fresh food scraps to compost. Do some more work around the house or land – until Skyla gets tired of collecting sticks, rocks and flowers. Read books, dance, play or go for a swim in our stream or nearby river. Take an evening walk around the property or exercise (if we didn’t already that morning). Mommy or daddy prepares dinner, while other plays or does a small project with Skyla. Skyla helps harvest fresh vegetables or herbs for the meal, and turns on candles and or incense. Set table. Feed Goji and Maca dinner. Have dinner in our outdoor kitchen. Clean dishes. Take fresh food scraps to compost. Take turns having quick shower, and get Skyla ready for bed. Admire moon, stars and the sounds of the jungle. Change diaper. Read books and snuggle time. Nurse Skyla and bedtime. Mommy and daddy sometimes have a little raw chocolate treat made by our local friends (after lunch if we are going to bed early). Read a book or work on the website, do accounting, marketing for the retreat or work on client programs. Get ready for bed. Get our flash lights out and shut off our solar power (until we have an upgraded system). Bedtime is normally around 9pm, but can sometimes be later on nights we have lots of online work. Join Skyla in bed and fall asleep to the sounds of the jungle or the rain on our tin roof.

What is wellness to you?

To us, wellness is living a life where we are truly in tune with nature and our surroundings. It’s going back to basics and being sustainable and doing what we can to help our community and planet to be a better place to live in/on. Our approach to health and wellness is by living a holistic lifestyle. Health is not merely the absence of disease.

We strive to achieve, not just good health, but great health!

We are encouraged by taking control of our own health by seeking the tools and knowledge to do so. Holistic health emphasizes balance, which includes all aspects of a person’s health - physical, psychological, social, economical, and cultural. We understand the body, mind and soul connectio, and look at the body as a whole - not just a specific disease or symptom. We get down to the root cause of our health problems (which we rarely ever have), instead of using medications that just mask the symptoms of a real issue, or may cause more harm. Our philosophy follows the concept that one heals by returning to a balance. The wiser you get, the more you begin to understand the importance of balance in life, and food is no exception. It is only when we take personal responsibility that we can truly begin to be healed. Nutritionally dense food is the first and most important healing step.  
 
 

What is important to you when eating and why?

I think to us it’s a simple rule, try to eat as natural as you can. By this we mean staying away from processed packaged foods. If you can’t read what’s on the label then it’s probably not good for you. We believe in eating what we love and makes us feel good, but we create our own healthier alternatives. We eat with an open-mind, and try new foods and recipes every week. To us, healthy equals yummy and flavorful. No bland and boring here. We use herbs, spices, unrefined sea salt and natural sweeteners to give great flavors to our food. All your taste buds should be satisfied, even the sweet ones! Fall in love with your food! And at the end of the day, we must all lighten up – we’re all human. We love good food, and we love cultural experiences. If you eat healthy the majority of the time, then it’s perfectly fine to indulge now and then – guilt free! Don’t let the guilt hurt you more than the food ever could! We make it fun and creative – we put on some music, get our toddler in the kitchen, laugh a lot, make a mess and are not afraid of trying new foods. The best meals are recipeless and made with love!

What is your point of view on healthy nutrition and how it affects your life?

It comes down to a few concepts and guidelines. It’s about getting back to our roots and bringing it down to basics – the closest to the way food was found in nature. Foods that are whole, real, unprocessed and natural give our body what it needs, and let it thrive. If our great grandmother wasn’t eating it when she was a child, chances are it’s not a whole natural food. We avoid refined, processed and packaged “food-like-substances” that were made in chemical labs or processing factories.

We make our own foods from scratch, with fresh produce that we grow on our own land or simple ingredients in our own kitchen.

It is of great importance to us to keep it organic and non-GMO as much as possible – we opt for local small scale and farm fresh, grown with no, or minimal pesticides, hormones or antibiotics, and we started our own organic garden and food forest. 
 
 

Why is Dominica among the top choices for following your lifestyle and living well?
 

Dominica is among the top choices for following our lifestyle and living well because there is a community of very conscious, sustainable and healthy people here. We were fortunate to meet a great homeschooling group of like-minded parents, who follow our same philosophies and values when it comes to wellness and raising children. Here in Dominica, we have a lot of support and are free to live off the grid in nature, growing our own food and producing our own renewable energy. We are so grateful to still have our basic human rights – fresh natural food, pure clean water and nature.

What is your philosophy around wellness retreats (the why, what, how etc.)?
 

Wellness retreats are a great way to see the world, rejuvenate, learn about health and get exposure to new ways of life. Everyone should have the opportunity to participate and broaden their horizon when it comes to health, wellness and culture. There is so much to learn from different areas of the world, so many life changing areas of wellness and a wealth of information within different cultures. Sometimes we can all become stuck in a rut, be progressing slowly or surrounded by a lack of positive energy. A retreat is the perfect way to change that flow, open your eyes and mind, and get support and inspiration.

For more information on our new home and Beyond Vitality Health and Nature Retreat, see our Retreat page.