This article will appear in two parts, this is part 1.

1) What is environmental business for you? What triggered you to build your eco-friendly resorts, such as Panigram Resort in Bangladesh? What is so special about this location?

I have been interested in environmental issues since I was a child. In junior high I was assigned to do a paper on alternative energy cars. I have been hooked ever since! In my opinion we have finally arrived at a point in time where there is no excuse for NOT being green. It is so easy to incorporate sustainable features into any building or business and Panigram will be a good example.

For many years I wanted to combine my passion for environmentalism with my love of travel and my acumen for business. I had the idea to create a collection of sustainable boutique resorts before I left New York, but I certainly never thought that I would start in Bangladesh!

In 2006 I quit my job to do a year of service internationally. I was selected as a Fulbright Fellow to Bangladesh and spent a year researching low income housing for the garment workers. Once I finally got out of the dirty, crowded, noisy city of Dhaka, I was amazed by the beauty of the Bangladeshi countryside! I travelled around the country quite a bit and spoke to many of my foreign friends and realised that there was a strong demand here for the type of product that I wanted to build and virtually no supply!

When my Fulbright Fellowship ended, I did a survey and a market and feasibility study and determined that there are about 30,000 foreign expatriates and approximately 40,000 wealthy Bangladeshis living in Dhaka who would love to escape to a luxury retreat in the country. As a result, I decided to turn down the job offers that I had in the US and UK and stayed in Bangladesh to start Panigram Resort.

Panigram Resort and Spa will be a small, sustainable boutique resort in southern Bangladesh that will give guests a taste of village life in the world’s largest river delta.

First, I started looking for land. I chose Jessore strategically at first: it is close to the Sundarban Forest (Bangladesh’s main tourist attraction), it is a half hour flight from Dhaka, it is on the planned Asian Highway Route, and it is close to India so it has the potential to capitalise on tourists coming from Kolkata. Then I went to the area and absolutely fell in love! Jessore is one of the most fertile areas of Bangladesh, so there are always things growing in the fields (vegetables in the winter, yellow mustard in the fall, and green rice in the spring and summer.) There are many rivers that criss-cross the area and most of the villagers still live in traditional mud homes

The site that I have finally selected is located at the intersection of two rivers. There are many trees on the site – mango, papaya, banana, date palm, mahogany, bamboo, etc, that we will be preserving during the construction process.

2) How much have you invested in building Panigram Resort? Is luxury in your view compatible with an eco-lifestyle? How do you balance the two?

I have invested almost two years of my life and just about everything that I own into this project! We are right now in the process of trying to obtain financing ($2 million of equity and $2.25 million of debt) so that we can start construction.

Luxury is definitely compatible with an eco lifestyle! In fact, some of the most luxurious things are inherently green. For example, at our resort we are going to hand-make our toiletries from fresh ingredients grown at the resort. Skin is the largest organ of the body and it absorbs what is put on it. Instead of using chemically produced products, we will use natural ones. It is better for the environment and for our guests!

Kristin has been interested in environmental issues since she was a child. (Right) Jessore Mondir archaeological site.

Hand-crafted items are another example. Our bedspreads, furniture, dishes, etc. will all be made by hand, so little or no electrical energy in consumed in their making. Our laundry will also be hand-washed.

We are building with mud, but the resort is designed by one of the top architects in Bangladesh. She has won many international awards and has an amazing aesthetic. In my opinion BECAUSE the resort is made of mud it will be more beautiful than other luxury resorts, not in spite of it.

3) What are the obstacles and problems that you faced while planning and building Panigram Resort? What do you do to minimise the impact to the environment? Panigram resort is at what stage now?

Oh goodness! Building anything in a developing country requires a lot of patience. So far my main obstacles have been finding the land (I lost several pieces for various reasons) and getting all of the appropriate registrations and licenses for the company. Everything in Bangladesh takes a lot more time than you originally anticipate…

We are minimising the impact on the environment in several ways: first, we are not going to cut down any trees to construct the resort; we will design around them. Second, as I mentioned, our building materials are readily available in the area and are completely renewable. Third, we will have waste treatment systems on site so as not to pollute the waterway. Fourth, the largest piece of “machinery” that we will be using to build the resort is a water buffalo; the buildings will be entirely hand constructed so we will use virtually no electricity.

Right now we are at the fund raising and design stage. I am hoping to close on the first round of equity in the next month so that we can stay on schedule and start construction right after the monsoon season this year in September. (Our anticipated opening is September 2010.)

I think my biggest challenge will be training the employees to be environmentally responsible. They just don’t have an “eco” culture here yet…

Designed to harmonize with the community and powered by alternative energy, Panigram will be committed to social and environmental sustainability.

4) Could you share with us some of the unique green concepts, designs and features of Panigram Resort? What could be the challenge in running an eco-friendly resort?

The unique concepts and features of Panigram Resort include:

Building with mud and bamboo – both of which are readily available, local, and 100% sustainable materials. The mud and bamboo construction also allows the resort to be passively heated and cooled which substantially reduces our energy usage.

Powered by alternative energy – the power grid in Bangladesh is so unreliable that it is actually more practical to use alternative energy than municipal power. Right now we are exploring solar and wind options.

Recycling and composting – Recycling is already entrenched in the way things are done in Bangladesh so we will be able to recycle and reuse extensively. We are incorporating grey water and rainwater collection and recycling. In addition, we aim to recycle 100% of our human waste and to compost all of the organic resort waste.

Organic farming – a large percentage of the fruits and vegetables that we will serve in the restaurant will be organically grown on the property. This re-establishes our connection to our food (guests will be able to pick mangos, bananas, and papayas themselves!) and provides for a fresher, healthier meal.

We will use recycled paper and jute products. If we retail some of the items we produce for the resort, we will use fair trade.

I actually think that it is easier to run an eco-friendly resort in a developing country because you don’t have all of the “un-eco” products and systems easily available to you. For example it is cheaper and easier to build the resort by hand because the power tools we would want are not readily available here. We really NEED to use alternative energy because in the summer time we will probably only get 1-2 hours of municipal power a day. Labour is very inexpensive here so it is less expensive to have items (like furniture, bedspreads, etc.) made from hand locally than to import them. (Especially since the duty on some of these items can be more than 100%.)

(to be continued)

© EcoAsia 2009