Soneva Fushi is the original Robinson Crusoe retreat and a firm favourite of Turquoise for many reasons. In particular we love the eco-friendly aspect which is essential to a biodiverse future for our precious world. We want to share with you the ways in which the team work towards preserving their stunning environment.
There are pockets of the island’s coastline which remain untouched to encourage turtles to continue nesting in a safe environment. All villas are smoothly hidden among trees, all rooms are thatched and set apart. Where possible natural materials are used, even the TVs are hidden behind coconut wood, but they are there for the techy lovers in the world!
Soneva really feels like an island! Unlike quite a few resorts in The Maldives, Soneva Fushi’s villas are not overwater, they are found on the beach and further inland in the jungle-esque setting! Most importantly, this protects the marine life. There is a marine conservation programme in place looking after the coral and underwater habitats – the fish found here are really impressive as the island is located in the Baa Atoll, a UNESCO marine conservation heritage site.
A huge part of the island’s food is grown and sourced locally where possible, from lettuce to all herbs and spices, mango, avocado and many more! The resort has several rooms to produce mushrooms which is quite spectacular and not something you will be likely to find on any other Maldivian island!
Soneva Fushi has put in place a purpose-built Waste-to-Wealth centre to handle solid waste and an incredible 74% of waste is recycled. Along with this they also compost 70% of their food waster, which is incredibly high for a Maldivian island. This compost is then used in their herb and vegetable gardens.
Now onto the seriously cool bit- glass recycling! The Island has a state of the art glass factory which recycles its own waste along with that of neighbouring islands. There is a session every Tuesday afternoon which demonstrates how the glass recycling works, you can enjoy some bubbly while learning the tricks of the trade. You will see how the used glass bottles are crushed and mixed in cement which then turns into designer table tops!
Soneva Fushi sources all water sustainably and is 100% self-sufficient. One huge way in which they do this is practices such as water-saving showers – don’t worry they don’t seem any different to normal! In 2008 Soneva banned imported bottled water, and since then they treat and filter water, and use recycled glass bottles to give you still and sparkling water replaced in every villa twice a day.
