Dear Friends,
I am so happy today to send you our first official newsletter ever. It is to inform and share with you how our Eco Lodge Project, after finally achieving all the permits and papers, is getting underway here in Southern Rakhine State, Myanmar. You may learn what it takes to get such an exotic business like a fully fledged Eco Lodge started in a location with almost nothing but amazing
coastlines, forest hills and simple fisherman’s villages in place.
Myanmar is going through an incredible transformation with big hopes and dreams finally within reach of a people that have fought for democracy and change for so long, with such high tolls already paid. These dramatic changes over the past few months are being manifested not only politically, but also economically and socially.
A newly formed government is starting its work just now. It remains to be seen how this government under Aung San Su Kyi‘s NLD party will be able to bring about the positive changes so much anticipated by so many.
Myanmar is a country with a great potential for tourism growth in Southeast Asia and really has a lot to offer – as well as a lot to catch up with. One of the specific side effects of military dictatorship over the past decade is that many parts of the country are still stunningly authentic (the other side of the coin is it being backward and poor). Myanmar’s authentic scenery, and the cordiality of its people together with the simplicity of its daily life are what hits tourists as most unique.
However, military rule has left scars that can be seen if one hops off the beaten track. These scars include reckless deforestation, the inhuman exploitation of people, the additional exploitation of the land areas through mining for gems and other minerals, and the general poverty of a farming population that makes up 70% of Myanmar citizens. Also to be taken into account is the fact that those who were better off under military rule lived and thrived in an inefficient economical “non-system” which has fed into a phenomenon among those with cash-in-hand to become richer as fast as possible and by any ways and means. The result is shortsightedness. With regard to tourist facilities, be it in Yangon or elsewhere, I have witnessed how many new hotels have sprung up in no time in a “gold-rush” manner, being extremely ugly if not harmful to the scenery, lacking all regard for history, sustainability or ecology. Unreliable power supply, for example, is nearly always backed-up by generators where solar systems would be much more ecological, quieter and easy to install. Yet since this involves a substantial initial investment, short-sighted hotel owners are just not on board with this concept. Proper sewage water treatment and waste management are other topics to tackle.
With our Arakan Nature Lodge, we want to make a real difference right from the start. We aim at becoming Myanmar’s first true Eco Lodge at a completely new, amazing tourist destination.
What is an Eco Lodge? Those of you not quite so sure what features and policies an Eco Lodge should have, may read a very good definition here:
http://hummingfish.org/cbet/what-is-an-ecolodge-2/
Sunset at the Beach in Zikhone – Sonnenuntergang am Strand von Zikhone
In short: We are setting up an 11-unit beach retreat according to Eco Lodge guidelines on a stunning beach property facing the Bay of Bengal, right off the beaten track. The core of our building concept is that we build with recycled/easy to regrow building materials only. It also means we will be fully powered by solar energy. We manage our water and waste responsibly and plan to introduce a garbage collection/waste recycling system within our community.
The very core of our Eco Lodge is to provide a truly authentic ethnic living experience. We will achieve this by buying and renovating old Rakhine wooden houses. Our local teams then reassemble them on-the-spot, adding just the essential features like neat attached bathrooms that visitors enjoy having.
Our houses are rustic and original, providing natural comfort, including the feel of our beautiful lands and coastal views around. We employ local carpentry teams only that work with traditional manual tools and skills. In this way we can ensure that our building budget is spent and shared out among the locals who need the income the most.
In this spirit I am happy to welcome you, dear friends and readers, to follow us and the adventures we encounter in doing what we are doing, either on our website directly or by means of this newsletter from time to time – till we are set to open. Of course, we hope to catch your fancy for you to be our future visitor and guest. Our target for our soft-opening is February 2017.
We are always happy to receive your comments, encouragement, feed-back, or even specific input on one topic or the other.
Stay in touch.
On behalf of the Arakan Nature Lodge Team, with best wishes
