Country: Canada

Organization: Nipika Mountain Resort

Website: www.Nipika.com

Project Description:
As an eco-resort, Nipika operates in harmony with its beautiful, natural environment. The philosophy at Nipika is to fully engage and enjoy the spectacular setting using self propelled activities, while utilizing clean energy sources, and recycling everything they can. It is Nipika’s goal to enjoy the Rocky Mountains in non-consumptive ways.

Kootenay Rockies Tourism's Story:
Nipika’s power is sourced from the sun, the stream, and the forest. Nipika is completely off grid. Being solar & micro-hydro powered, all of the eco-resort’s electricity is generated via clean and natural means. The majority of Nipika’s heating needs are satisfied by salvaging dead wood from the woodlot and burning it in a central boiler to provide hot water heating to the guest cabins and other buildings. Hot water is supplied using the same system. All of the buildings and much of the furniture at Nipika have been built from trees killed by the Mountain Pine Beetles. Nipika employees selectively horse log the woodlot, mill the dead wood on Nipika’s own bandsaw mill, and build everything on site, in their woodworking shop. The team at Nipika creates all of their own designs and do all the construction themselves. They take great pride in the fact that the majority of the building materials are selectively pulled from the surrounding forest from trees that are already dead.