Green Somethings: The Blog

Green Destinations

Here's a list of the world's top Green Destinations in 2008 according to TripAdvisor.com:-

Campi ya Kanzi, Kenya
The Maasai-owned eco-award-winning luxury Campi ya Kanzi or Camp of hidden treasures

Why is it eco-friendly:-
Benefits the local people, maintaining their culture while providing visitors with a way to experience that tradition and some of the most beautiful areas on this earth. All the electricity comes from solar panels; the hot water is heated via the sun; it recycles waste

Friday's Place, Kerela, India
"Friday's Place is the place to wake up to bird song and be dazzled by the greens and to scarlets of the gardens."

Why is it eco friendly:-
Its carbon footprint is miniscule, drawing power from the sun, water by osmosis from the surroundings and disposing through a field. They support the community by providing training and employment in hospitality and eco stewardship

Daintree Eco Lodge, Australia
The multi-award-winning Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa has an extensive range of treatments, based on Aboriginal plant knowledge.

 

Lapa Rios Ecolodge, Costa Rica
Lapa Rios is among the world's best 500 Hotels and voted as "One of the country's – and the world's – most earth-friendly addresses"

Why is it eco-friendly:-  
Built from local materials and employing green practices such as recycling and energy-efficient cooling system.

Concordia Eco Tents, St. John, U.S, Virgin Islands
The eleven high-tech fabric and screen tents perched on platforms above the dramatic and arid southeast coast are filled with prototype projects.

Why is it eco-friendly:-  
Solar and wind power along with composting toilets. The tents have running water and beds, amenities seldom found when camping, and offer great views of the turquoise sea and hillsides.

Gaia - Green Vacation Home at Nuvem, Goa

Bangalore based Biodiversity Conservation India Ltd (BCIL) has been around for over a decade offering Green architectural solutions to Indian corporates and homes. oSadly, India did not wake up to the necessity of a Green lifestyle, until maybe recently. Well, it's never too late they say...

BCIL's offerings include Green office spaces, and sustainable residential buildings and now they have developed some very beautiful Green vacation homes; among the first ones to come up are in Goa and Coorg.
                                                                      
                                                         
GAIA (Mother Earth)

This unique set of vacation homes, about 27 Km from Panaji, Goa offers a complete 'Green' experience to holidayers. I was impressed to read about the energy saving solutions that they have integrated into these vacation homes:-

 

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- No ‘sand-depleting’ beach property - Away from the din of the city; set in an idyllic village environment.

o- No laterite - Custom made building blocks from mining wasteo
- No bore wells - Clear long term water security for campus and community through shallow aquifers

o- Reduced demand for grid power - Greater independence on energy demands; lower power bills

o- No waste to city dumps - Bio digester for comprehensive organic kitchen waste management 

o- Latest technology - custom fabricated structure

o- Lower heat gain and better indoor thermal quality due to ‘passive architecture systems’

o- Double skin roofs, south shading and south side pools

o- ‘Green’ air-conditioning system

o- Better indoor air quality due to zero VOC (non toxic) paint

o- Ready to move in homes, with full interiors and amenities

o - Indulgence through exclusive and cluster pools; individual terraces/sky gardens

Reading the founder Chandrashekhar Hariharan's interview, I learnt that it was the Uttarkashi earthquake in 1991 which killed thousands that inspired him to take on the mission of developing sustainable buildings. I hope that we too would realize after seeing the vast turmoil that occurs every year now, in form of quakes, floods and droughts that it's time for us to embrace Greener lifestyles!

A Great Sun Retreat

I have been daydreaming of floating house recently and this has happened because of multiple reasons. For somebody living in Mumbai, the mere thought of the free space around a floating house will evoke fascination...mine I think happened because of the recent rush of floating candles for the Diwali season in flea markets across the city, my recent (and sometimes successful) efforts to use the pool at our health club and a recent feature at Skona hem online this month.

My first thoughts were OMG for the sheer ‘sky space’ one would have…mine is about 4ftX3ft in our matchbox in the city. Though it looked small at first what I just loved was how the floor to ceiling white was used to make such a small space seem larger, and with the wide open sliding glass doors it just adds to its much larger than a room view from the inside.

I am a compulsively cluttered-free woman…unlike my man but I think a floating house would be a great way to reform him because there’s only so much you can pack in this baby. Given this he might shoot this down, this particular house is a distant daydream.  But in my mind, a daydream is a healthy escape every now and then. If nothing else, a great excuse to think about how personal space is defined.

There are several things that attract me to the floating home: first off, it takes me back to my childhood, when summer weekends at the lake with my grand mom, aunts and uncles were routine, and wide-eyed curiosity was easy.

Despite my proclivity for motion sickness, there is something intriguing about the gentle motion of floating in a lake.

No big waves and I'd imagine freshwater-sea legs would come rather quickly. It could, though doubtfully, be a metaphor for the abject womb, but much more likely be that floating on my back in water is one of the most relaxing activities I can think of (hey I do that in the pool!).  The ability to calm the mind, feel the sun, stare at endless blue skies (not possible in the city…even my pool doesn’t have that!), and melt away to a state between sleep and wakefulness. Imagine integrating that feeling into daily living.

A big plus to this one…imagine having this in one of the big lakes around Mumbai and taking the weekend off there. That reminds me…Saguna Bagh in Neral (Karjat) has a Pond House which you can rent for the night…happy chilling