On the eco-lodge trail

It takes more than just a remote location to build an 'eco-lodge'.

Eight acres of undisturbed and serene forest in Kerala's Spice Village could be your next holiday destination. No, there won't be rooms in trendy designs, instead your little haven done in mud and thatch will have minimal furnishings.

The architecture at Spice Village is inspired by the jungle dwellings of the area and the construction is in the same materials that the local communities use.

The tribals of the area, the Mannans, live in tree houses or huts with a distinctive grey thatch. And that's exactly what Jose Dominic, managing director, CGH Earth, that owns Spice Village, has tried to reflect in the designs of the cottages in this vacation resort.

But is a "remote location" where "conservation techniques" are used enough to describe a building as an "eco-lodge?" What is an eco-lodge, what are the principles of design that make an eco-lodge, well, an eco-lodge?

Hitesh Mehta, director, eco-tourism and environmental planning, EDSA, a landscape architecture, planning and graphic design firm based in Florida, has a definition.

According to him, "An eco-lodge is a 5-75 room, low-impact, nature-based, financially sustainable accommodation facility that helps protect sensitive neighbouring areas; involves and benefits local communities; offers tourists an interpretative and interactive participatory experience; provides a spiritual communion with nature and culture and is planned, designed, constructed and operated in an environmentally and socially sensitive manner."

At Spice Village, this definition finds a fitting description. Step into this retreat and you'll find yourself entering typical Mannan tribe-like cottages with some modifications to suit travellers.

The structures blend into the surrounding forest environs. Most of the material used is renewable, and instead of plastic and distemper, simple terracotta tiles have been used. Even water is re-used and solid waste vermin-composting implements along with bio-degradable waste composting is followed.

While the local community inspired the design, it has also partnered with CGH Earth to produce organic spices for international buyers, a spectacle that tourists are encouraged to experience.

Over the last years, there has been a silent but steady movement towards developing accommodation which is, to say the least, low-impact.

Mehta feels that essentially the eco-lodge concept is best suited only to natural areas. In the cities though, the concept has been taken up as green hotels, which incidentally are growing exponentially too.

"This low-impact design takes care of the natural, the cultural and the metaphysical," says Mehta. It is supposed to create the least amount of disturbance while you design, develop, construct and operate.

With a design that respects the environment and is in harmony with the landscape and cultural setting of the area, an eco-lodge is constructed using natural and locally produced building materials.

Ideally, it relies on solar or other alternative energies, recycles the waste and wastewater it generates, serves locally grown and produced foods, and usually donates part of its profit to local conservation efforts.

"Kenya is the grandfather of eco-tourism and community based eco-lodges. There are some very high-end eco-lodges in Kenya, some owned by the Masai themselves. Costa Rica and Australia are other places where eco-lodges have been adopted well, but truly, eco-lodges are now spread across the globe," says Mehta.

In India too, the trend is catching up. The Green Magic Nature Resort in the tropical rainforest at Vythiri in Kerala offers tree houses and eco-lodges designed with ethnic materials using local craftsmen, local materials and indigenous techniques.

The tribal people were extensively involved with the construction and now with the maintenance of the Nature Resort. The energy source is a unique combination of solar energy, gobar gas from cow dung and hurricane lamps with kerosene.

Other places to use eco-lodge design techniques include the Krishna Jungle Resort close to the Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh and The Hermitage in Karnataka.

A big player, Taj Hotels along with international major CC Africa is also in the process of setting up eco-lodges by investing up to $ 8 million in India.

According to the CC Africa's website, the first four lodges will open from October 2006 and a fifth one will be added in early 2007. Their lodges at Bandhavgarh, Corbett, Kanha, Panna and Pench tiger reserves, with 6-12 suites each, will be designed with a light footprint and will offer guests expert guides.

Inder Jit Singh is developing eco-lodges on a three-acre site above Rishikesh. His SpaAshram River Mountain Resort will have no electricity, only solar panels. His design is obviously local and he has used local slate for construction. Since slate quarrying is illegal, he purchased it from the locals who had torn down their houses to build concrete structures.

While the use of cement is limited, a lot of limestone is used. Since the eco-lodges are on the river bank, a lot of care has been undertaken for effluent disposal. Sewage is passed through a septic tank where the solid waste is cleared.

The semi-cleaned water is then pumped up the hill by solar motors to pass through gravity falls on its way down (taking advantage of the landscape), with three levels consisting of pebbles, charcoal and then sand. This water in turn is used for gardens.

From what we've heard, even poachers in the area have been converted to wildlife and fishing guides for the tourists. Interestingly, even the soaps used at the resort are made by the locals using the bark of an indigenous tree.

With eco-lodges catching on in India, maybe it's time you looked for inspiration from them for your own home.