Munduk Moding Plantation is a luxury resort in North Bali that has built itself, and its entire reputation on sustainability. You can see this reflected in every aspect of working life at the resort, from the water they use in the plantations and gardens, to the shampoo dispensers in Villa bathrooms. Their recent Sustainovation Week, held at the resort and attended by local companies that are leaders in the field of Sustainability, showcased not just how far they have come, but the future goals that they are right on track to achieving.
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Table of Contents
- What is Sustainovation?
- Preserving the Balinese Environment
- Creation of long term change
- Meeting the challenge
- MMP Foundation
- Sustainovation for the future
What is Sustainovation?
For those outside the industry, Sustainovation may be not only a foreign concept, but a term that they have likely never heard before. So what does it mean exactly?
Sustainovation is, in fact, a concept. This concept combines both sustainability and innovation to discover new ways to create a future that is environmentally and socially responsible. In this regard, Munduk Moding Plantation is forging a path, creating a blueprint for other luxury resorts to follow. Partnering with local communities, and embracing sustainable practices within the resort itself has allowed them to create a brand that leaves a very small carbon footprint upon the world.
Their goal to to get this to zero.
The way they are going, that goal may be realized sooner, rather than later.
Preserving the Balinese Environment
The problem with Sustainovation is that you have to sell it. Marketing new concepts to the public can be challenging, even within communities that are open to change. In Bali, and Indonesia as a whole, this can be nearly impossible.
But that is not to mean that it can’t be done.
One of the major environmental issues that the Balinese face is waste disposal. This has been a problem in Indonesia since the day that plastic was invented, and it only takes a walk along any beach in southern Bali to see how big the issue is, washed up right in front of you along the high tide mark. At certain times of the year, it becomes so bad that they have to call in front end loaders to clear it away.
So where does the waste come from?
The sad story for Bali is that the majority of the garbage washed up on her shores come from other islands. Pushed out to sea by rivers in Java, Sumatra or as far off as Kalimantan, garbage flows with the ocean currents, eventually washing up on Bali’s idyllic shores. This doesn’t mean that Bali doesn’t have her own issues though.
Waste management in small villages around the island has always been negligible, almost to the point of being non existent. Plastics and other rubbish is tossed beside the road, or thrown into the nearest river, never to be thought of again. Eventually, this garbage begins to block the river, causing major flooding and other issues that arise, particularly during wet season.
In the mountains, around the Munduk and Gobleg villages, things are no different. The same issues are faced, and the only bonus is that they have no upstream villages to worry about. What they do in their own village however, affects those downstream, and the pollution they might pour into their own river will have a flow on effect into other villages.
Around the lake at Tamblingan, where tourists and locals gather, camp, picnic and enjoy sports such as hiking and kayaking, garbage is strewn about. In such an important, and beautiful, part of the island, this has always been not just an embarrassment, but a growing environmental issue.
The other big impact to the environment around the Munduk area, and the Buleleng Regency itself, has been land and soil erosion as a result of the planting of crops. Just as Palm Plantations are causing a major impact is far off places such as Kalimantan, crops such as coffee can cause similar issues locally.
This is where Munduk Moding Plantation has been able to make an impact, and the results are amazing.
Creation of long term change
Sustainovation may be a relatively new concept, but sustainable living has been around for a long time. In 2007, when a young Dutch family first visited Munduk, fell in love with the incredible views, gorgeous lakes and the friendly, welcoming nature of the people, they decided to make it part of their lives forever. Little did the Buleleng Regency, Munduk area or the little village of Gobleg know just how much their fortunes were about to be changed.
The first domino fell when they found an old, abandoned coffee plantation and made the decision to purchase the land. From then on, things just seemed to flow. Hiring an award winning local architect, they created a small resort that not only boasted everything needed to make a resort successful, but one that worked seamlessly with the local community. It was the people and the land itself that the owners had fallen in love with, after all.
At first, the resort was small, designed to lessen the impact on the environment, and allow the plantation to flourish. Hiring local people to work at the resort, and teaching them responsible environmental practices then began to have a flow on effect for the rest of the community. The resort began to grow, but as it did, the same ideology was maintained throughout.
Minimum impact on the environment, and responsible, sustainable tourism practices.
This has been achieved by using new, ground breaking and innovative ways to meet the challenge. In a word, Sustainovation.
Meeting the challenge
The key to forward progress at Munduk Moding Plantation is Sustainovation. This is backed by every member of the staff at the resort, and all are held accountable, as is laid out in the annual Sustainability Report that can be easily located on their website.
So how, exactly, are Munduk Moding Plantation making such significant inroads at a luxury resort located high in the mountains? What processes and initiatives do they have in place to be making such a positive impact on the environment?
The answer to this question becomes apparent right at check in for guests at MMP. The MMP Experience is an initiative that has been set up to allow guests to not only learn about Sustainovation, but to gain first hand experience about sustainable living. A full schedule is provided for all guests of days packed full of events that can be attended, featuring everything from reforesting programs to soap making. Whilst at the resort, guests are able to learn about some of the incredible, innovative operations of the resort, and how the resort, plantation and local community work in harmony to create something that is truly amazing.
The first of these is waste management. All waste from the resort is sorted and composted, then to be used around the plantation and gardens. MMP prides itself on having “zero waste” and everything is recycled. They have a total ban on single use plastics, and everything is recycled, including plastic, papers and oils.
Plastic, in particular, goes through a rigorous recycling process at Munduk Moding Plantation. In their state of the art facility, plastics are collected, sorted, washed and shredded. They are then melted and stamped into large sheets. These are then able to be used to create a seemingly infinite manner of products, from signs, to tissue boxes, furniture or even soap dispensers. Literally, nothing goes to waste.
What this recycling facility also allows is community participation. MMP not only accepts the plastics and waste from the local communities, but actively goes in search of it. Events such as “clean up days” are organised where the local community will scour the area for plastics and waste, and staff from the resort Green Team will take it back to be recycled. A recent day, cleaning the area around Pura Tamblingan on the shores of Tamblingan lake, saw close to 200 local volunteers attend, and over a dozen large bags of waste collected.
The roof of the recycling plant is also home to a large array of solar panels, where if the conditions are right, their own power is able to be harnessed from the sun. As it stands, it is currently the largest solar facility in the region, with plans afoot to expand it even more in the near future. There are also studies underway to install a mini hydro plant on site.
Plastic recycling is only the beginning of the Sustainovation story at Munduk Moding Plantation. A large water treatment facility is also located on site, where all of their waste water is mixed with rainwater and treated in an Ecological Waste Water Treatment Facility (EWWTF). This process involves running the waste through numerous underground tanks and filters, until it is clean enough to then put through several ponds. Here, it is naturally filtered by the water plants. By the end of the process the water is able to be used on the plantation and gardens.
In another activity that is very popular for guest participation, the resort runs a reforestation program. This allows guests to assist in planting trees that regenerates the soils around the plantation areas, helping to restore it to its natural state. The MMP Green Team also provide over 1000 trees to the local community annually, used strategically to assist restore and regenerate the soil, as well as protecting the groundwater tables.
MMP Foundation
When Munduk Moding Plantation was in the planning stage, well before the first ground had been broken on construction, an important decision was made by the owners. This was due to the concerning fact that the incredibly beautiful region of North Bali was still largely untouched by tourism, and the introduction of a high end, luxury resort could negatively impact the environment. To limit the impact, the decision was made to do all they could to limit the impact that a sudden influx of tourism would bring to the community and environment.
One of the first innovations they introduced was the MMP Foundation. This was created to support the local community in any way possible. As the resort grew, so too did the foundation, to the point that it is now a large, integral part of the community.
The support that they provide the community comes in many forms. From free English classes for children, to Karate classes and tournaments. There are scholarships offered to the brightest students from the area, that might otherwise struggle to continue their own education due to difficult family financial positions. Balinese dance groups are run for local girls, and funding is injected into the community coffers to be put toward Independence Day celebrations, and cultural events such as the Ogah Ogah Parade.
As mentioned earlier, the Munduk Green Team donates over 1000 trees to the community, but it doesn’t stop there. With an interest in maintaining, supporting and growing the local coffee industry, over 2000 coffee seedlings are contributed annually to local farmers. Support is also given toward the training of young people in coffee farming, thereby ensuring the longevity of the plantations.
The MMP Foundation, in working so closely with the Community, are able to maintain great, personal local relationships with community leaders, right through to the youngest of children. This allows them to assist in educating them along the way about sustainability, and introducing them to the concept of Sustainovation. As a result, children who attend English classes, or martial arts classes, will bring in plastics they have gathered for recycling. This begins a ripple effect that is growing swiftly in North Bali, and the results are plain to see when 200 local community members volunteer for something as simple as a Sunday morning lakeside cleanup.
MMP Foundation are making a difference, and the lives of the local community are all the better for it, with the environment of North Bali being the clear beneficiary for the long term.
Sustainovation for the future
Sustainovation is clearly the way forward for Munduk Moding Plantation. The big strides they have made in their recycling efforts, zero waste policy and community education is only the beginning. Only recently they have purchased even more land, with a view to extend their plantations and reforesting efforts, and no plans whatsoever to extend the resort itself. Their impact on the local environment will only lessen in the future, and all plans and efforts are aimed toward the single goal of having zero carbon emissions.
Recently, the resort held a Sustainovation week, with the single aim of educating attendees about Sustainability. Over the course of the week there were many events held, and guests at the resort were able to participate in special events, tours and talks about everything from recycling, to reforesting and the vision of the future for North Bali.
For those in attendance on the weekend, special guest speakers were in attendance from companies that have partnered with Munduk Moding Plantation in their battle to preserve the environment. This wonderful event and initiative was able to put everyone in the one room, exchanging notes on the best ways to operate, compare results and find ways to tackle some of the bigger issues together. This was a big step forward for Sustainovation, and with future events in the planning, something that can only be seen as a massive positive for the preservation of the environment of the entire island of Bali.
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