Paradise Regained
Thursday, 03 December 2009 18:39
As with eco-tourism, the debate over what constitutes an eco-lodge is heated. Without a clear definition and no obvious guidelines, it appears that an eco-lodge is really whatever you say it is. Mark Bibby Jackson talks to three people who have opened “eco-lodges” in Cambodia.
Eco-tourism in Cambodia may be less developed than in other countries in Southeast Asia, but in the small village of Tatai two green entrepreneurs are hoping to leave their footprint on the country’s fledgling tourism industry while leaving the environment unharmed.
Set on a stretch of the Tatai River, close to the Thai border, 4Rivers Eco-lodge, which opened just before Christmas, is Cambodia’s latest venture into the world of green accommodation. At the very least it conforms to the first pre-requisite of an eco-lodge – the setting is stunning.
“The location needs to go green,” says Valentin Pawlik, the resort’s general manager. “When you have a location like this you cannot spoil it. You can not imagine not doing it green.”
Preserving the local environment was a major consideration in the construction process. “There is zero footprint,” he explains. “We didn’t cut down any trees and we used composite materials.” If the adventure proves a failure, the pontoons can be dismantled and the tents taken down without leaving any outstanding blot on the landscape.
Not that the Romanian considers 4Rivers foremost as an eco-lodge.
“First 4Rivers is floating, second the rooms are tents and third it’s eco,” he says. “It is the only floating tent hotel in the world as far as I know. I couldn’t find any other places on the Internet.”
Although both water treatment and waste management is environmentally friendly with septic tanks under the pontoons, only 10 percent of the power is solar.
“It’s not perfectly green, but it’s a step forwards,” says Pawlik. “If I were to go totally green the investment would be two to three times greater.”
The financial cost of going green is one that Janet Newman knows all too well. A relative veteran of the Cambodian eco-tourism business, she established Rainbow Lodge – a short boat ride up the river from 4Rivers – on Jan. 1., 2008.
“Solar is very expensive – a 120 x 60cm panel costs around US$620,” she says. It takes 20 panels to run the lodge’s seven bungalows, the restaurant and her house. “However, generally it works well and the maintenance is low.”
Whereas Pawlik admits that establishing 4Rivers is part of a process of going green himself, Janet is green through to the core.
A successful criminal barrister in the U.K., she decided to take a year off and volunteer for environmental organisation Frontier. “I’ve always been interested in conservation and animals,” she says. After a spell as a volunteer in Mozambique, Newman ended up in Cambodia and fell in love with Tatai. “Every time I came up this way I had a big smile on my face.”
She chose the site because it was already partially cleared, so she could build the lodge without cutting down any trees. “Now there are more trees than there were two years ago,” she says. The lodge was built as much in keeping with the local environment as possible. “We used sympathetic materials in the design. The bungalows are stilted with leaf roofs, and the wood is from trees that are plentiful and grow quickly. We used the local style and products as much as we could.”
As well as being 90 percent solar powered – there is a back-up generator for certain activities – the lodge’s water comes from its own reservoir. This is then pumped by the generator to a holding tank and finally to the rooms by solar panel.
Waste treatment is equally green.
“Each bungalow has its own natural drain-away,” says Newman. “We don’t use any chemicals. It all naturally flows away through the ground and then the worms and the bugs do their bit.” You soon get a feeling that as a barrister, Janet was very thorough in examining her briefs.
Stressing that it is all very much a learning process, Newman is constantly looking for new ways to make Rainbow Lodge more green. “I would love to get bio-degradable products, washing powder, shampoo, soaps, etc.” She says there is nowhere, even in the capital Phnom Penh, where she can find these products.
She follows the 3 Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle – as thoroughly as is realistic in Cambodia. “Plastic bottles and big cardboard are reused,” she says. “We don’t provide plastic straws, soap or shampoo sachets because people throw the plastic away. We even try to reduce the use of plastic bags, wash them and take them to the market.” At first traders used to laugh at her as she produced her old plastic bags, but now they are beginning to understand. “Little steps,” she says with a smile.
Both Pawlik and Newman agree about the long-term commercial potential of going green.
“We’re as busy as we could possibly be – we’re constantly turning people away,” says Newman. “People want it these days. People are looking into their carbon footprint. There’s definitely a future for more and more places like this in the future.”
Despite her success, Newman vehemently resists any suggestion of expansion.
“Definitely not,” she says. “It would ruin the place and we’d lose the personal touch.” A sentiment echoed by Pawlik who says 4Rivers will never have more than 18 tents.
They both welcome the arrival of more eco-lodges, but only so long as they are sympathetic to the environment. A potential pitfall of the relatively unregulated state of tourism in Cambodia is that in bringing more tourists closer to nature, the environment itself will suffer.
For the moment Tatai remains an untouched paradise far removed from other less sensitive tourist sites in the region. If Pawlik and Newman have their way, it should remain that way.
“Eco-lodges” in Cambodia
4Rivers
Reputed to be the only floating tented accommodation in the world, 4Rivers opened near Tatai in November 2009. Constructed with zero impact on the environment, there are currently six tents due to expand to 18. Waste is treated in chemical septic tanks. Has a fine dining restaurant serving French / Asian cuisine. Activities include kayaking, fishing trips, hiking, water-skis, mangrove tours, and massages in the two floating massage pavilions. Access is only by boat. Take the road to Koh Kong getting off at the fourth bridge (Tatai). Management will pick you up on the lodge speedboat.
4 Rivers, Tatai, Koh Kong, Tel: 017 240 859/013 602 091
www.ecolodges.asia
Eco-tourism in Cambodia may be less developed than in other countries in Southeast Asia, but in the small village of Tatai two green entrepreneurs are hoping to leave their footprint on the country’s fledgling tourism industry while leaving the environment unharmed.
Set on a stretch of the Tatai River, close to the Thai border, 4Rivers Eco-lodge, which opened just before Christmas, is Cambodia’s latest venture into the world of green accommodation. At the very least it conforms to the first pre-requisite of an eco-lodge – the setting is stunning.
“The location needs to go green,” says Valentin Pawlik, the resort’s general manager. “When you have a location like this you cannot spoil it. You can not imagine not doing it green.”
Preserving the local environment was a major consideration in the construction process. “There is zero footprint,” he explains. “We didn’t cut down any trees and we used composite materials.” If the adventure proves a failure, the pontoons can be dismantled and the tents taken down without leaving any outstanding blot on the landscape.
Not that the Romanian considers 4Rivers foremost as an eco-lodge.
“First 4Rivers is floating, second the rooms are tents and third it’s eco,” he says. “It is the only floating tent hotel in the world as far as I know. I couldn’t find any other places on the Internet.”
Although both water treatment and waste management is environmentally friendly with septic tanks under the pontoons, only 10 percent of the power is solar.
“It’s not perfectly green, but it’s a step forwards,” says Pawlik. “If I were to go totally green the investment would be two to three times greater.”
The financial cost of going green is one that Janet Newman knows all too well. A relative veteran of the Cambodian eco-tourism business, she established Rainbow Lodge – a short boat ride up the river from 4Rivers – on Jan. 1., 2008.
“Solar is very expensive – a 120 x 60cm panel costs around US$620,” she says. It takes 20 panels to run the lodge’s seven bungalows, the restaurant and her house. “However, generally it works well and the maintenance is low.”
Whereas Pawlik admits that establishing 4Rivers is part of a process of going green himself, Janet is green through to the core.
A successful criminal barrister in the U.K., she decided to take a year off and volunteer for environmental organisation Frontier. “I’ve always been interested in conservation and animals,” she says. After a spell as a volunteer in Mozambique, Newman ended up in Cambodia and fell in love with Tatai. “Every time I came up this way I had a big smile on my face.”
She chose the site because it was already partially cleared, so she could build the lodge without cutting down any trees. “Now there are more trees than there were two years ago,” she says. The lodge was built as much in keeping with the local environment as possible. “We used sympathetic materials in the design. The bungalows are stilted with leaf roofs, and the wood is from trees that are plentiful and grow quickly. We used the local style and products as much as we could.”
As well as being 90 percent solar powered – there is a back-up generator for certain activities – the lodge’s water comes from its own reservoir. This is then pumped by the generator to a holding tank and finally to the rooms by solar panel.
Waste treatment is equally green.
“Each bungalow has its own natural drain-away,” says Newman. “We don’t use any chemicals. It all naturally flows away through the ground and then the worms and the bugs do their bit.” You soon get a feeling that as a barrister, Janet was very thorough in examining her briefs.
Stressing that it is all very much a learning process, Newman is constantly looking for new ways to make Rainbow Lodge more green. “I would love to get bio-degradable products, washing powder, shampoo, soaps, etc.” She says there is nowhere, even in the capital Phnom Penh, where she can find these products.
She follows the 3 Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle – as thoroughly as is realistic in Cambodia. “Plastic bottles and big cardboard are reused,” she says. “We don’t provide plastic straws, soap or shampoo sachets because people throw the plastic away. We even try to reduce the use of plastic bags, wash them and take them to the market.” At first traders used to laugh at her as she produced her old plastic bags, but now they are beginning to understand. “Little steps,” she says with a smile.
Both Pawlik and Newman agree about the long-term commercial potential of going green.
“We’re as busy as we could possibly be – we’re constantly turning people away,” says Newman. “People want it these days. People are looking into their carbon footprint. There’s definitely a future for more and more places like this in the future.”
Despite her success, Newman vehemently resists any suggestion of expansion.
“Definitely not,” she says. “It would ruin the place and we’d lose the personal touch.” A sentiment echoed by Pawlik who says 4Rivers will never have more than 18 tents.
They both welcome the arrival of more eco-lodges, but only so long as they are sympathetic to the environment. A potential pitfall of the relatively unregulated state of tourism in Cambodia is that in bringing more tourists closer to nature, the environment itself will suffer.
For the moment Tatai remains an untouched paradise far removed from other less sensitive tourist sites in the region. If Pawlik and Newman have their way, it should remain that way.
“Eco-lodges” in Cambodia
4Rivers
Reputed to be the only floating tented accommodation in the world, 4Rivers opened near Tatai in November 2009. Constructed with zero impact on the environment, there are currently six tents due to expand to 18. Waste is treated in chemical septic tanks. Has a fine dining restaurant serving French / Asian cuisine. Activities include kayaking, fishing trips, hiking, water-skis, mangrove tours, and massages in the two floating massage pavilions. Access is only by boat. Take the road to Koh Kong getting off at the fourth bridge (Tatai). Management will pick you up on the lodge speedboat.
4 Rivers, Tatai, Koh Kong, Tel: 017 240 859/013 602 091
www.ecolodges.asia
Nature Lodge
Located a in a scenic valley a few kilometres outside Mondulkiri provincial capital Sen Monorom, Nature Lodge offers accommodation in bungalows, tree houses, and tents, with hot showers and a sauna. The lodge is run on electricity generated by a home-built small hydro system which provides green power 24/7. Furniture is made from recycle timber leftovers. Activities include trips to waterfalls and indigenous villages, as well as jungle and elephant trekking. Elephant treks are organised following traditional elephant-care customs.
Nature Lodge, Sen Monorom, Mondulkiri, Tel: 011 494 449, 012 230 272
www.naturelodgecambodia.com
Rainbow Lodge
This eco-lodge consisting of seven bungalows, set just above the Tatai River is only accessible by boat. Take the highway to Koh Kong and get of at the fourth bridge. Management will pick you up on the lodge boat, so please arrange in advance. Ninety percent of power is solar, water is pumped from a natural reservoir, and waste is disposed of naturally without the use of chemicals. Materials are recycled and re-used wherever possible. Activities include river trips, kayaking, trekking to the nearby waterfalls and overnight camping. Accommodation is full-board.
Rainbow Lodge, Tatai, Koh Kong, Tel: 099 744321 / 012 160 2585
www.rainbowlodgecambodia.com
Yaklom Hill Lodge
Certified by Australian organisation Green Globe 21 as “Benchmark Accommodation” and by Athens-based International Ecotourism Club as an “Ecolodge Member”, Yaklom Hill Lodge is located 5km east of Ban Lung. Established in 2002, the lodge functions as a tree conservation area with the principle of “keeping all trees while doing our business”. To this end, no trees are cut to make way for buildings. Power for the lodge is partially generated by solar panels, and the lodge also collaborates with organisations and communities to promote responsible tourism in the area.
Yaklom Hill Lodge, National Route 78, Phum Phnom, Ban Lung District, Rattanakiri, Tel: 011 790 510 / 016 490 486 www.yaklom.com
The Vine
Ecologically conscientious guesthouse and organic farm, the Vine opened near Kep in September, 2009. Although the power is off the grid, there is a bio-diesel generator that charges a Sunny Island battery bank system. Management hope tso incorporate solar panels or wind turbines in the future. Other plans include a naturally filtered swimming pool, a rainwater harvesting and wind turbine pumping system. Regular activity retreats including photography, yoga and trekking are run and guests can take a tour of the nearby livelihood centre, where they can buy fair trade products.
The Vine, 4.5km off Highway 33 (main road between Phnom Penh and Kep), Tel: 011 706 231
www.thevineretreat.com
Yaklom Hill Lodge, National Route 78, Phum Phnom, Ban Lung District, Rattanakiri, Tel: 011 790 510 / 016 490 486 www.yaklom.com
The Vine
Ecologically conscientious guesthouse and organic farm, the Vine opened near Kep in September, 2009. Although the power is off the grid, there is a bio-diesel generator that charges a Sunny Island battery bank system. Management hope tso incorporate solar panels or wind turbines in the future. Other plans include a naturally filtered swimming pool, a rainwater harvesting and wind turbine pumping system. Regular activity retreats including photography, yoga and trekking are run and guests can take a tour of the nearby livelihood centre, where they can buy fair trade products.
The Vine, 4.5km off Highway 33 (main road between Phnom Penh and Kep), Tel: 011 706 231
www.thevineretreat.com
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