The Village is located on a palm-tree lined, white sand beach island reached in only three minutes by boat from Phuket. Home to low impact luxury pool villas in a car-free setting, The Village has a strong ‘top to bottom’ environmental ethos that includes the construction of villas built by local tradesman using indigenous and sustainable materials, water conservation and recycling practices, the use of renewable energy, and solid and organic waste minimization initiatives.

• zero-carbon

The villas have been designed to be cooled by the prevailing breezes and have large sliding doors for natural air-con. Hot water is generated by individual air-conditioning heat exchangers, and supplement by solar thermal. Indigenous trees within the grounds have been moved where necessary to build, held in onsite organic nurseries and successfully replanted within the villa gardens. No walls or fences divide villa plots as natural flora boundaries give a tropical aesthetic and help offset the CO2 produced.

• zero-waste

Recycling of glass, plastic, paper and other materials is encouraged by the provision of different coloured refuse sacks and strategic collection points. During construction, fast-growing rubber trees that were cut down were used within the construction as supports (and as supports for when coconut palms were moved); the smaller branches were chipped and used as organic compost. Fruit and organic vegetables are grown – and composted - on the island for use in the restaurants at the resort.

• sustainable water

An effective water conservation plan has been implemented that includes rainwater being harvested and reused in different areas of the construction process. In the villas grey water is cleaned and recycled for irrigation. Less water toilets with a reduced water flush system have been installed. The depth of the villa swimming pools has been reduced to conserve water. Externally, the gutters have been designed to facilitate optimum rainwater collection, which is then recycled. Limited construction of impermeable surfaces and the management and (re)planting of indigenous flora reduces rainwater run-off.

• local and sustainable building materials

The local workforce makes concrete onsite from indigenous materials that reduce embodied energy use; and the timber-roofed, floored and balconied villas are made from sustainable, forested local trees. Local tradesmen, some of whom live and work on the island, make the villa furniture from indigenous fast-growing species. Training and education of the workforce in best environmental practices is constant and ongoing.

• sustainable transport

The island is a car-free zone which reduces noise, air pollution and CO2 emissions. Residents and guests are ferried to the island by diesel-powered boat. On the resort electric golf buggies and bicycles are provided for guests’ use.