BALI ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FROM BANANA LEAVES TO PLASTIC BAGS
Many years ago, the traditional Bali packaging – a banana leaf – was replaced by the plastic bag. This change was very rapid and many Indonesians, especially the older generation, could unfortunately not really grasp what this meant for the environment. Instead of banana leaves that decompose really quickly, we now have plastic bags in the ditches, rivers and, finally, in the sea, making environmental protection a key issue on Bali.
BALI'S RAPID DEVELOPMENT
Even if it seems very simple and superficial, the banana leaf example is typical of the entire development of Bali, which in recent years, has shown an amazing pace in all sectors. Every year the number of hotels, cars, mopeds and tourists increase in Bali, mostly concentrated in the south of the island. This rapid development also causes problems, in particular an immense problem with waste disposal, and as a business enterprise, we see it as our duty to make the greatest possible contribution, at least in terms of environmental protection on Bali.
HOW WE HELP
In our hotels we started with measurements that are “normal” for western standards, for instance asking our guests to switch off the lights, ventilator or air conditioning if they are not in the room, or to use their towels more often. We have installed a water-saving button for toilet flushing and equipped the entire hotel with energy-saving lamps. The beach clean-up actions that are organised regularly have in the meantime become very popular in Bali and are carried out by us and other business enterprises.
It is, however, more effective to tackle these problems at the source, and so we have banned one-way plastic packaging from our camp kitchens and restaurants and only use reusable containers for portioning and storing food, and for our take-away breakfasts – which is quite expensive in Bali.
Solar Photovoltaic System at Kima Surf Canggu
At Kima Surf we believe that every small effort counts in making a positive impact on the environment. We are continuously trying to find ways and solutions to reducing our carbon footprint, for example by using LED lights in the majority of our camp buildings. Of course, there is always more you can do but every step counts! As part of this we are happy to announce our latest step towards a greener future: 30 Solar Panels from SMART energy.tech installed on the rooftop of our main building at Kima Surf Canggu. Solar power system, is a renewable energy system, which uses Photovoltaic (PV) modules to convert sunlight into electricity and can be stored or used directly. That means we are using the power of the sun to generate clean and renewable energy. At the same time we are saving CO2 emissions. To put it into numbers: The solar panels are producing a daily output of 54.4 kWh. Hence, during daylight hours our main building at Kima Surf Canggu, that can accommodate up to 70 guests, is powered 100% by the natural energy and we are saving 15,876 kg/y of CO2 emission.
