Turtle Island's Owner and Managing Director, Richard Evanson, was a typical entrepreneur on the fast track to success. He earned an Engineering degree, went on to study at Harvard Business School and made his fortune in the then new world of cable television. By 1972, however, he was burnt out and found a welcome escape in the Fiji Islands. Richard purchased Nanuya Levu, a 500 acre barren, uninhabited island in the Yasawa Islands where he arrived with little more than a generator, refrigerator and tent.

The Island had been completely overrun by wild goats and Richard made it his life work to rejuvenate the land and build himself a new home. Richard employed a team of local villagers, and they went about planting hundreds of thousands of trees in order to reverse the damage inflicted by the previous owner's goats.

Renamed Turtle Island, Richard was approached by the producers of the remake of the movie 'Blue Lagoon' starring Brooke Shields in the late 1970's, after they had searched the world over for the perfect location to film. After completion of this project, Richard realised how much he enjoyed having people on the Island who loved it as much as him, and thus decided to open the property to guests.

Since opening in 1980, the development of the bures and guest facilities has been continuous, while at the same time, respecting the integrity of the Island by keeping the number of visitors to a minimum. Richard's commitment to putting something back into the local communities through sustainable tourism projects has also continued to gain momentum. In addition to employing over 120 local Fijians, the following projects have been highly successful in making Turtle Island one of the world's leading sustainable tourism destinations:

• Planting of more than 300,000 trees over more than 30 years developing into lush forest land
• Environmental audit every five years from independent US Agency
• Green Globe 21 benchmarking of environmental management
• Preservation of mangroves and coconut groves
• Introduction of freshwater ponds to encourage bird life

• Establishment of a four acre hydroponic and organic vegetable garden to supply fresh produce for guests and staff year round
• Regular medical and dental clinics to treat children and villagers from neighbouring islands
• Turtle Release program which is designed to help save the threatened Green and Hawksbill turtles
• Building, carpentry and woodworking department responsible for making all furniture on the Island and other items for the Gift Shop
• On-site Chapel for staff and guest worship, complete with six stained glass windows
• Operation of a secondary school on the Island to educate young people from seven local villages. More than 50 students attend the school, at Turtle's cost.

Richard also founded the Yasawas Community Foundation in 1992 with a view to generating funds for special projects in the immediate area surrounding Turtle Island. The essence of the Foundation is to ensure that the funds collected are applied to projects which are considered to be important by the people themselves, and not by what European values dictate.

Richard made an initial personal donation of $50,000 to establish the Foundation. Settled as a charitable trust in Fiji and in the USA, the Foundation has been drawn specifically to provide assistance in the areas of health, transport, education and the development of cultural activities amongst our immediate neighbours - the villages from which the majority of our staff come.

The Turtle Island Vision
Comprehensive information on Turtle Island's sustainable tourism efforts is provided on the Island. Turtle Island will provide a genuine and loving FIJIAN experience for caring people and will be a vital resource to its communities.

Mission Statement
We are passionately committed to enriching the lives of our guests through staff who feel proud to belong, proactive partnerships with our communities, and by embracing innovation.