Fall - Stanstead College

Resort manager, tour guide, eco-advocate,spokes-athlete for a women’s clothingcompany – Tamara Jacobi is wearing alot of hats these days, all of them labelled“adventure.”Tamara (Class of 2002) spends most ofher year living and working outside SanPancho on Mexico’s Pacific coast, whereshe and her parents Walter and Judi runTailwind Outdoor, an environmentallysustainable jungle lodge.The venture, which opened inDecember 2007, is just the latest adventurefor the Jacobi family who, with brotherRhett (2004), have climbed Mexico’s18,490-foot Pico de Orizaba, backpackedthe 220 miles of California’s John MuirTrail and sea kayaked 900miles down the Baja’s Seaof Cortez.“All of our wildernessexperiences prepared uswell,” says Tamara. “Butthis is definitely ourbiggest adventure ever”It was during the 2007Baja voyage that the plansfor Tailwind came together.But its origins wentback a few years earlier.In 2005, while Tamarawas in Australia studyingsustainable development,Walter and Judi purchasedfive acres of Mexican jungle.“This was our chance toturn our family’s passionfor the outdoors into afamily business,” Tamara recalls.Tamara took a semester off to help thefamily prepare and plan, then returned toMiddlebury College in Vermont to completeher studies by writing a business planfor Tailwind.The result was a sustainable junglelodge, retreat centre and adventure traveldestination, where guests live among thetrees in open-air hillside palapas, casitasTamara Jacobi at home at Tailwind.and bungalows. The resort includes rainwatercatchment systems, greywater recycling,minimal electricity, low-impacthousekeeping (sun-driedlinen, natural soaps), andlocal foods and buildingmaterial.These sustainable effortspaid off this past Marchwhen Tailwind became thefirst certified eco-lodge inMexico. This earned theresort some press and hassince attracted a number ofguests with strong sustainabilityvalues.The venture has not beenwithout its challenges, notleast of which is working inanother language;Stanstead College Spanishgoes only so far, Tamarasays.“It was really difficult tocommunicate in Spanish ata level that would properly explain how toincorporate the environmental aspects,”she says.When the resort opened in 2007, it hada capacity of seven, a level that made itdifficult to turn any kind of profit. Butthat wasn’t the only problem.“None of us had any experience in hospitality,”Tamara says. “We made all thewrong mistakes, like trying to feed guests13alumni newsTamara Jacobi ’02 living the jungle lifeevery meal, driving them everywhere, basicallytrying to be an all-inclusive resort. Itwas hard on us, plus people who come onthis sort of holiday don’t necessarily wantto be babysat.”Since then, the resort has expanded tosix units (capacity of 16), and the serviceshave become more flexible.“We’re in our third year, and you canreally feel the personality of the place takingshape,” says Tamara, who is the resortmanager, meaning that she’s her parents’boss – another challenge, she admits. “It’sa serious role reversal,” she says.Among the guests who have stayed attailwind was a makeup artist for thewomen’s athletic wear company Athleta.Impressed by the resort and Tamara’s rolenot just as manager but as a surfing andsea-kayaking guide, he suggested she applyto be one of the company’s featuredwomen athletes. She did and now contributesa regular blog to the website(www.athleta.net/chi/).Tamara’s ongoing athleticism is a carryoverfrom her time at Stanstead College,where she was a multiple Major S winnerin basketball, soccer and rugby, three-timeRoger Marino Cup winner for rugby, andtop female athlete in Grade 12. A “lifer,”Tamara was also a prefect and had thehighest average in her Grade 12 year.“All my athletic endeavours, StansteadCollege included, have taught me suchinvaluable skills for the real world: self-discipline,determination, how to work as ateam. The playing field is where almost allof my College memories are.”Tamara is loving life in Mexico, particularlythe simplicity and intimacy of beingpart of a small community – not unlikeStanstead, she says. Looking down theroad, she is considering returning toschool to study nutrition therapy and thenbringing this aspect of wellness back toTailwind in the form of nutrition retreats.“The future is very bright,” she says.You can learn more about Tailwind atwww.tailwindoutdoor.com.