Sustainability on the Maldives: Reethi Beach and its initiatives to be more eco-friendly
My last destination on the Maldives leads me to the tiny island of Fonimagoodhoo located in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Baa Atoll. A short 40 minutes ride from Coco Palm Dhuni with the speedboat and I arrive in another paradise. Reethi Beach is a very remote location, everybody is relaxed, the staff is very friendly, a mixture of Germans, Swiss, Maldivians, Bangladeshis and Indians.
Sourcing local and organic farming – Eco Tour with Peter
Today I will meet Peter, the General Manager of the resort for an eco tour. We start with the staff village which is located in the middle of the island and is home to the staff from different cultures. Usually they go home every two years, most of them have families in their home country.
From there we have a look at the laundry, bakery and the room where the drinking water is bottled. Sustainability on an island? Reethi Beach bottles their own drinking water in re-usable glass bottles, which saves since August 2010 over 400 disposable plastic bottles every day. The seawater is desalinated and purified and after that mineralized.
Operating a resort on the Maldives is a great logistic challenge. At least 90 percent of all things needed have to be imported from Male, Dubai or India. Reethi Beach grows all herbs and some vegetables in the garden, which is lovely to walk through and guests are being invited to stroll around. Also fish is sourced locally from fishers from the neighboring islands.
Wastemanagement
Trash is a big problem on the Maldives. All waste, despite wet waste, has to be taken to a special island for waste, where recyclable garbage like Aluminum is being shipped and sold to India. Reethi Beach has developed an unique system for recycling and re-use focusing on raising awareness among staff and local communities. Recyclable materials are segregated and compacted for shipping. plastic waste is transported to Male where Reethi Beach works with a small company set up by a Maldivian Woman who recycles plastic and sells it to companies likes Adidas or Nike, who use it for producing shoes
What guests can do to help preserving this paradise
In order to help the resorts, avoid increasing the amount of waste and take your waste like plastic, aluminum, batteries back. Help protecting this wonderful paradise for the Maldivian people and for the next generations
Litte Lime sharks hunting
Back in my Water Villa which facing the open sea and some neighboring islands, the view is breathtaking. While still admiring the different blue and turquoise colors of the sea, I am amazed seeing little Lime sharks swimming between the stills, hunting for food and enjoying themselves in the soft waves, carrying them to the beach and back. It is a touching eperience to watch those animals with such a bad reputation, playing and hunting. Hopefully this will help to create more awareness.
Experiencing marine life
Having watched the little sharks, I want to see more marine life. After I have picked up my snorkeling equipment at Sea Explorer, the dive school, together with some good advice on where to snorkel and currents in the sea, I am ready to explore the underwaterworld. My trip starts right at the water villa and takes me to the reef and on my way, I see numerous colorful fishes, right in front of me a big turtle crosses my way. At the reef edge where the water gets deep I spot two baby sharks swimming right underneath, corals in all their bright colors and fish swarms. I am fascinated by this diversity of fishes and corals. Everything feels so calm, slow and quiet. It is a touching experience and one understands why we have to protect the oceans and support those who contribute towards.
