Jetsettersblog

Hansar Samui’s innovative and creative General Manager Indra Budiman, has rented a former unattractive wasteland adjacent to the hotel and converted it into an organic veggie farm and aquaponic fish and veggie farm. Additionally he plans to introduce a hydroponic berry farm in the near future. Produce from these facilities will be used by the hotel to create fresh, chemical free herbs, fruits and veggies for guests and staff.

The half hectare of land adjacent to the hotel was previously used as a dumping ground. In addition to making this land now more attractive, it is being put to excellent use growing organic veggies which are in the second season of planting. Varieties currently growing are herbs ( 3 different varieties of ginger, galangal, turmeric, lemongrass, rosemary, holy basil, thyme, tarragon, Italian basil – vegetables: morning glory, chinese kale, several varieties of lettuce, green cabbage, bunching onions and green pai tsai . Fruits: Sweet potatoes, sweet corn, baby corn, pea eggplant, cucumber, round egg plant, seedless yellow water melon, seedless red watermelon, Tomatoes ( cherry varieties: yellow, black, purple), bell peppers, chilies, papaya. Other varities will be added at a later date. Dried leaves and refuse are used for compost and harvested back into the ground.

Intercropping – Using One Plant to Protect Another (Natural pesticide)
Intercropping is also being used in the hotel’s organic garden – where one plant creates natural enzymes can that kill any disease or bugs on another plant – for example; if lemongrass is grown together with chili or tomatoes, it will provide a natural remedy for the tomatoes or chill plants to be immune from white spots as the enzymes created by the lemongrass are beneficial to the neighboring plant, without using any chemicals.

Cooking Class
Hotel guests participating in the popular cooking classes can now pick their own herbs and veggies for use in their class – it doesn’t come any fresher than that. Produce from the farm is also used in food for the staff restaurant.

Fish Farming
The land being used has two large ponds that were being used for water tanks previously and the hotel team has converted these to fish farms. Currently there are 3500 Tilapia fish being farmed which will be used to provide nutritious protein in the hotel’s staff restaurant which serves four meals daily. The fish are harvested every three months.

Team Effort
Rather than have only the kitchen and landscaping teams involved, Hansar Samui’s management have the whole hotel team working on the project. Each department has their own plot within the land and are provided with seeds to plant; whereby they enjoy a friendly competition to provide the best farming result. Each year there will be four seasons for planting/harvesting and the team with the best result will receive a sustainable certificate award.

Community
In addition to harvesting the produce for use in the hotel, the Hotel plans to sell organic veggies to other hotels on the Island and use the revenue for donations to local temples and schools in the area.

Hydroponic Berry Farm Coming Soon
Indra plans to utilize some empty space in the hotel’s basement to create a hydroponic farm to grown strawberries and other berry varieties in the near future.

RESERVATIONS:
Reservations can be made through the resort’s reservations office direct on:

Telephone: +66 77 245 511 Fax: +66 77 245 995
Email: reservation@hansarsamui.com Website: www.hansarsamui.com