Despite hundreds of people "liking" Facebook Groups dedicated to keeping Maho Bay Camps from going dark in a year, no one has stepped forward to organize an effort to purchase the land or extend the lease.
- Let's Save our beloved Maho Bay Camps
- Save Maho Bay Camps – A Guest-Led Ecotourism Preservation Effort
Kristin Hawk posted on one of the groups she thought Richard Branson could be a white knight "He's close by, a nature lover, and filthy rich."
Scott Drennan, general manager of the Camps, was quoted by the International Business Times saying, "If we could just get 23 million people to donate a dollar each, then we'd be fine." That's the price the owners of the Camps' land are asking for the property.
Drennan said the plan right now is to "pack up and leave" June 1, 2012 when the lease expires. "All improvements – anything bolted down - stays on the land," he told the Business Times.
Where do we send the money?
Why not sell lottery tickets at $1 ea. on well exposed website until you reach desired goal. The winner would get two weeks free per year for a lifetime, perhaps transferable to children upon death.
Split the cost into ‘penny’ shares and sell at $1 each – nominally buying a sq in of land or a minute of timeshare. Not a lot, but like paying to name a star it’s in the romance of the concept – a little piece of a tropical paradise. Well-publicised, you’d get worldwide interest not to mention takers, some of whom if they purchased enough could actually get something worth using. The difficulty would be the organisation. Surely you have lawyers/business people locally who would donate the time to put together a plan?