Breathing New Life Into Old Things

As we race along with building construction, I've been like a mad hatter here in KL, trying to source for the various other bits and pieces that will be needed to bring La Pari-Pari to life.

From the outset, the approach to creating La Pari-Pari has always been founded on the premise of building cleverly, utilising simple solutions where possible, and reducing the potential waste that can be generated from a construction project like ours.

Two days ago, some of the fruits of our labour arrived in my home - a result of pounding the pavement and discovering this gem of a shop that sells used hotel furniture.  If you haven't already been there, do go the next time you are looking for something new for your home or property.

Kin Peun is tucked away in a shoplot area somewhere along Jalan Ipoh.  As with any second-hand store, of course, what you find there can depend to a certain degree on your luck and timing.  And as it stood, our timing was pretty perfect, yielding safes, tables for our poolside area and outdoor courtyards as well as our most major find - curtains for our rooms!  All may I add, at unbeatable prices.

So, in addition to saving money, we've also managed to save quite a few things from going into landfills.

Needless to say, my home is looking more and more like a warehouse :-)  And the sight of yellow curtains hanging out to dry over my front gate is going to be a common one for weeks to come, owing to the quantity of curtains we purchased.

So, to those wondering if I am throwing a farewell party before I exit KL, don't bet on it!  By the time I am ready to go, I doubt there will be much room left in my current home for entertaining :-)

Of Beyonce, a Kerbau and some other updates

My apologies for being so delinquent with the blog posts of late. Combination of work and sheer laziness on some days. That and the added distraction of Beyonce, our English Bulldog who joined our household a couple of months back.

Work on La Pari-Pari has been chugging along, albeit at a slightly slower pace due to the recent Ramadhan and Hari Raya festivities. Thankfully things have picked back up. Sometimes I look back and I can't believe we've reached the point we're at already. Seems like only yesterday we were still hunting for a suitable piece of land.

Yet there are days when things can't seem to happen fast enough :-)

In early October, we finally began the process of submitting our plans to the town planning authority for approval. We thought it would take a while, as things have a way of doing, before they would even get to our case. Surprisingly, they've already come back with some initial feedback which may require us to make some changes. In a way, it's good news. It means someone's looking at our file! (I know, ain't it sad that in Malaysia the benchmark is whether someone even knows you exist in their mountain of paperwork....)

The other big development is that we are exploring a change in construction strategy. From the start, our resort was meant to be a brick-and-mortar deal. But there has always been a lingering concern as to whether we could get the quality of finish and durability we wanted with our limited budget. Plus, the skill level of local labour has always been questionable, judging from the quality of many buildings on Langkawi.

Of course, if we had a trillion dollars, it wouldn't be a problem! :-)

But of late, we've been exploring a new possibility. Ijam, through Mr Chan (of Bu House fame) is now looking at constructing La Pari-Pari out of timber and cement boards, in much the same way houses in the West are built. I guess for those of you who are familiar with Langkawi, it would be akin to how the Burau Bay cabanas were built. Although with today's materials, the results should be a lot better.

The main appeal to us where this method is concerned is the reusability of the materials. If for some reason, we decided to tear down the structures one day, the wooden beams are recyclable. Which is a lot more than can be said with brick and mortar. Plus, this way there would be little need for a concrete foundation, which translates into structures that sit lighter within their environments.

So all's well that ends well, I hope. There are some of you who have asked why we have not pursued the route of using wood completely, a la Malay kampung houses. The answer is - it's too expensive ;-) Plus, we do feel that kampung-style resorts are so over-done, especially in Langkawi. The island doesn't need yet another one, n'est-ce pas?

In other news (and this is just to give you a feel for the little vagaries we deal with in our quest): After our walkthrough of the site once it was pegged, a kerbau has since traipsed in and made compost of our wooden pegs and strings LOL! Ah well. I guess he had a few ideas of his own how La Pari-Pari should look :-)

Next: our recent trip to celebrate Tiga Langkawi's birthday.

Meanwhile, here's a snippet of our Beyonce, whose concert will NOT be cancelled :-) Click here.

Bu House

Aida wins hands down when it comes to uncovering gems off the beaten path in Langkawi.

The latest one she's shared with us is Bu House - the home of a man whose passion for bamboo has led to his creation of the Langkawi Carbon Exchange project. Tucked away in a hidden pocket of villages, Bu House is a sprawling homestead whose simplicity veils the important work that is being done there.

The founder, a Mr Chan, is a rotund fellow who didn't hesitate to welcome us onto his grounds and generously spent an afternoon telling us about his various projects. The one that caught our attention was his carbon exchange project which involves both Langkawi villagers and big businesses from around the world.

The idea is a simple one. Sell carbon credits to big businesses who need to pay penance for their pollutant ways by planting bamboo on local village land. The big businesses win and so do the Langkawi kampung folk. Apparently business is so good, Mr Chan can't keep up with the demand!

And the local folk who participate in the programme? Mr Chan tells the tale of how years ago, when the programme began, he only managed to persuade the local menfolk to permit the planting of a handful of bamboo thickets on their respective pieces of land. Now, several years later, some of these old folk have passed on, and their wives upon finding out how lucrative the bamboo have become, berate their late husbands for not allowing Mr Chan to plant more on their plots!

Judging from the figures Mr Chan shared with us, I can certainly understand why. A bamboo thicket nets the land owner about RM1,000 from the programme a year. All for doing nothing except allowing the bamboo to exist on one's plot of land, as all maintenance and culling is done by Mr Chan's team free-of-charge. An acre of land can host up to 270 bamboo thickets.

Anim did the math and almost decided against building La Pari-Pari! :-)

The money aside, we were very heartened to meet Mr Chan. Here's someone who has pursued a passion of his and not only made it pay off, but also figured a way to spread the wealth around. Now that's sustainable business practice.

Oh and the best part of visiting Mr Chan? We also got free reign to wander around his grounds which houses ducks, chickens, guinea fowl, a very playful dog and a clutch of goats from various parts of the world. One of them was even in the midst of giving birth when we were there and another was busy tending to her two-day old kid. It doesn't get more special than that.

To view photos, visit La Pari-Pari's Facebook page.

Green Fairy alert: The Real Magic Behind Frangipani

On Aida's suggestion during our last trip to Langkawi, we went to Frangipani Resort for a special little tour. I think this one's a bit of a well-kept secret, but if you're interested in sustainable living, be sure to put this on your list of To Do's the next time you are on the island.

Although Frangipani is already famous on the island for its eco-friendly practices, few know the real extent of their efforts on this front. But for a mere RM5, you can get a tour of their back-of-house along with a guide who will tell you all about the resort's already impressive progress in running their business along sustainable principles.

Here's the tip of the iceberg:

Old bottles and plastic containers are re-purposed as lampshades.

They've even got their own wetlands, where the grey water (water from the sewers) is channelled to fertilise a corn patch with the most GIANT corn plants I have ever seen, then into a pond where it is filtered again via water plants until it emerges clean on the other side of the pond.

The filtration pond where grey water emerges clean!

Their backyard houses free range ducks and chickens who were busy either lolling about under shrubs, taking a dip in the cooling pond or just clucking and quacking their way round the garden when we visited. The hens really have a sweet deal though - their henhouse for laying eggs is a repurposed spa hut! These ladies sure live in style.

There's more - organic rice grown in old bathtubs, a salt water swimming pool, rain-water collection, sponsor-a-tree programmes for guests, and the list goes on.

But don't let me tell you all the secrets - go see them for your self. Hopefully it will inspire you to also think about how you can incorporate some of those practices at home :-)

A Few Good Fairies

It may be months away from Christmas still, but we thought it might be nice to acknowledge a few good fairies who have been extremely helpful in providing us with some useful information and pointers.

Oprah has a famous saying, "You already have everything you need." With friends like ours, it is certainly proving to be true :-)

Sheliza Shahadan very kindly introduced us to the owners of Tanamera - a 100% Malaysian-born and owned brand of beautiful personal care and spa products made from natural ingredients. I spent a very pleasant afternoon chatting with one of the brand's founders, (who incidentally are a brother-sister team) at their office deep in Kampung Subang. It's the kind of place you just wouldn't call work, since it is set in a village and the aroma of gorgeous herbs being milled on the grounds hits you the minute you step out of your car.

Apart from containing natural ingredients, Tanamera products also don't contain some of the environmentally-damaging ingredients present in most commercial shampoos and cleansers. Plus, their plastic packaging is recyclable, and they were more than happy to explore the possibility of supplying us products in larger batches for dispensers.

If you haven't checked out their products already, do so. They also have spas around the Klang Valley.

The folks at my office (yes, we still have to find a way to pay the bills until La Pari-Pari is built) discovered a new retail outlet called Body Bar in Tropicana Mall. The owner, Michelle is a lovely lady who used to work in the technology industry. Now she's pursuing her passion for all things natural with her retail brand whose tagline is "If it's not good enough to eat, it's not good enough for your skin!"

Her products are sourced from around the world and she certainly is passionate about her quest to encourage more people to use ecofriendly, natural goods. In fact, this young lady even has an edible garden growing on her home balcony!

I couldn't resist playing with all the lovely products at the shop's bar - and yes, they really do have one. So much so I ended up going home with one of their products - an amazing facial cleanser that is made using a recipe African women have apparently used for years to bathe newborn babies. I swear by it now.

Both these companies are shining examples of how Malaysian businesses are waking up to the profitable benefits of doing business the green way. And, the more I dig into the subject, the more it becomes apparent to me that skin and personal care products in particular should be green. After all, as Michelle said to me, the skin is the largest organ on our bodies. Yet, we do little to ensure that the stuff we put on it isn't poisonous.

Makes a whole lot of sense to me. Now to get Anim to crunch the numbers and ensure we can get green products on La Pari-Pari's bathroom shelves.

Building To Last

Last night, for Earth Hour, we turned off all the lights and fans in my parents' house.  Dinner was by candlelight - a feast prepared by the loving hands of Mom and her enthusiasm for a new grilled, butterflied leg of lamb.

The nephews and nieces played in the semi-darkness, the TV off for a change.  Noise was from ambient chatter and the sound of children laughing as they raced toy trains on a double track.

From the start, our intention with our little resort in Langkawi was to create something sustainable.  Something that would leave the lightest possible imprint, or at least endeavour to do so, on Langkawi island.

La Pari-Pari, named after the Malay word for "fairy", will, when it opens, be a magical place.  Built from the ground up with heart, and a goal to incorporate as many ecological conservationist measures as we can.

Already, in our discussions with the architect and between the two of us, ideas have surfaced.

Solar lighting for the outdoors at night, to save electricity.

Rain water catchment pipes, to help irrigate the landscape.

An organically-fertilised outdoors, with edible plants and hopefully fruit that will adron our breakfast table.

A linen reusage policy, perhaps with rewards to incentivise our guests to join in and help us in our efforts to save water.

And if we can, a small contribution from our profits each year to a local cause nominated by our staff and chosen by our guests.

In looking for ways to green La Pari-Pari, we've uncovered some information.  Yet some others still remain unsolved.  How do we find a commercially viable solution for cleaning materials?  Often, ecological cleaning solutions are expensive, mostly imported.  And how do we ensure guests turn off their air-conditioners when they leave their rooms?

More importantly, how do we create a space that makes sense to the community and environment in which it sits?  Building a building is easy.  But building one that makes commercial sense and acts as a catalyst for something greater, something longer lasting, takes time, thought and deliberation.

But, as I've always said, if we don't do it, who will?