Print Page | Close Window | Text Only
by Intan Shafinaz
With the announcement of Wild Asia's Responsible Tourism Awards (WARTA) 2009 in March, SHAFINAZ SUHAIMI took the opportunity to go back to Japamala Resort in Tioman Island, Malaysia, to follow up on progress made since their first entry in WARTA 2006. A frequent visitor to Tioman's crowded beaches, Shafi was pleasantly surprised to have found a green nest that is uniquely elegant and has stayed true to their philosophy of jungle luxury living.
Stairs... and there were lots of it. Linking wooden lodges named 'Sea View', 'Jungle Sarang' (nest) and 'Tree Top', I trudged the many steps and paths between Japamala's chalets, armed with a checklist and a seriously heavy camera hanging off my neck.
I was on assignment that sunny morning of April 4, 2009, walking around the resort premises and verifying Japamala's good practices against the first global standards called the Sustainable Tourism Criteria. Launched by the Rainforest Alliance, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Foundation, and United Nation's World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) during the World Conservation Congress in October 2008, the criteria serve as the fundamental standard any tourism business should aspire to comply with in order to protect and sustain natural and cultural resources.
The annual Wild Asia Responsible Tourism Awards (WARTA) is an initiative established in 2003 with the main aim of recognising tourism accommodations that are making a difference. The awards' checklist encompasses elements of local economic development, respecting local cultures and investments in social capital, efficient use of resources, protecting the local environment and biodiversity, and developing capacity for continuous improvement.
A performance-based set of criteria that have been tried and tested within the region by accommodation providers ranging from luxury boutique resorts to community-based eco-lodges and homestay ones, the checklist is the first of its kind in Asia for excellence in responsible tourism.
Now that the WARTA checklist has been aligned with the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, Japamala was eager to put itself to the test after participating in the Awards when it was first launched in 2006.
Getting it right from the start.
Tioman has historical significance for its use as a place of rest and replenishment for seafarers during long sea voyages. Located off the state of Pahang, Tioman Island is an area of 135 km2 surrounded by crystal clear waters with rich fringing coral reefs. The island, and the sea zoned within 2 nautical miles from its shores, was gazetted as a Marine Park Area in 1994.
Japamala Resort, sited at the southern part of Tioman, is tucked away from the more famous and crowded beaches of Tioman Island, making it a unique getaway for those seeking peace of mind. Far from the common type of in-your-face activity packages most other resorts offer, Japamala's guests are already informed during their booking process of what to expect. In Sanskrit, the name 'Japamala' means the 108 meditation beads - so one would expect that all you would end up doing is hibernate in total green space and, immersed in utter peace and serenity.
During the visit, Japamala's thirteenth chalet was being built. Based on traditional Malay-kampung designs, the construction of each individual chalets are set in areas with minimal trees so that no felling is required.
"The chalets are built one at a time without the use of heavy machinery. We do not want the to process to be destructive and noisy", resort owner Federico tells me, who himself walks the hill forests to identify suitable spots to erect the chalets.
"It is okay if the contractors build the door at the wrong corner of the chalet," quips Federico. "However, they will be penalised for cutting down trees during the construction. They know how it works around here, and we have been using the same builders for the past 7 years," he adds.
Federico travels all over Malaysia to source for recycled wood. Leaves of palm fronds and bamboo are sourced from an indigenous village in Negeri Sembilan. This helps support their livelihood in a sustainable way. Every two years, Japamala's chalets are stripped to the core and rebuilt for a fresh new feel and design, however making sure that the older materials are reused in any way possible.
All rooms are designed with glass windows and panels where possible to allow for natural light, thereby reducing electricity consumption during the day. Even with walls of glass, thick forest canopy keeps the chalets cool, and the trees and shrubs in between the chalets, maintain guests ultimate privacy.
Cosily structured around streams, cliffs and mighty boulders within an eleven acre land area, the chalets are further buffered from other nearby resorts and villages by thick natural vegetation and orchards. Fruiting trees, like durian trees and the majestic fig tree by the resort's restaurant, offer a perpetual buffet spread for wildlife.
Japamala also has a 'No Hunting' policy, which they communicate to their staff. However, Federico is not too concerned about the possibility of the resort staff hunting.
"Food is provided for and the average staff's salaries are amongst the highest offered on the island. In addition to that, they get annual salary increment, employees provident fund, free housing, transportation to return home, medical, group hospitalisation, and annual holidays, of course. Both our local and foreign staffs of the same job category get equal terms, and the same goes for women. There is no discrimination in that respect," says Federico.
"We also employ from the local minorities. We have staff from the indigenous villages of Endau Rompin and Muadzam Shah (both in the state of Pahang, to which Tioman is also part of). Some of them have worked for the company from the very beginning", he adds.
Responsible practices.
With a small operation and a dedicated staff of multi-taskers, Japamala keeps environmental impacts in check.
Working closely with their suppliers to deliver items in reusable containers, and avoiding plastics where they can, the resort makes arduous attempts to reduce waste generated from consumables. For example, refillable water bottles are provided to guests in their rooms and on the beach, thereby minimising waste from plastic water bottles. Even hand-woven pandanus waste bins are lined with newspaper instead of black garbage bags.
Every chalet has a designated sewage system which uses effective microbes (bacteria, specifically) to naturally decompose the organic matter. The aromatherapy toiletries provided to guests are made from natural locally-obtained plant ingredients. In addition, the resort's laundry (i.e. housekeeping) is carried out using biodegradable detergents which the resort purchases from Kuala Lumpur.
To add to the list of good practices in ensuring that the sewage system does not clog up, Japamala's kitchen is equipped with oil traps in its drainage system. By also keeping the menu simple so that it does not involve a lot of deep-frying, Italian food is provided as variety to the resort's obvious Indo-chinese concept. The menu does use a lot of local products - fruits like bananas and lemongrass are bought from neighbouring villages on Tioman, seafood from local fishermen, as well as meat and vegetables from Mersing (mainland).
The company has pledged for all properties within the Relais & Chateaux Group - this includes their restaurants in Kuala Lumpur like Tamarind Hill and Tamarind Springs, and Japamala Resort, to not serve sharks fin and frogs (due to the brutal way the animals are killed in the process), as well as turtles and their eggs.
Looking at the sea's horizon...
It seemed like Japamala had scrutinised every aspect of their operations. But the scuba diver in me could not help but look beyond the resort premises and squint at the reflections of the blue sea. Federico, who has been diving since the age of 7 and have been in Malaysia for over 30 years, opined that one of the main reasons behind what is apparently affecting the health of our reefs is polluted rivers.
"Sea currents are moving sedimentation and siltation along. All the rubbish that is being dumped into the rivers is being carried out to sea," said Federico.
And there are simply too many tourists, thus generating too much waste with hardly a proper system in place to effectively deal with it.
The resort itself faces annual sand migration, which is a natural phenomenon, but Federico fears that altering currents due to over-development on the island will make the migration permanent, which means that the resort would end up without a beach and in its place a 7-foot drop of rocks and rubble instead.
But just like the never-ending stairs at Japamala, the journey of responsible tourism is about taking holistic approaches and stepping up towards achievable goals. Federico and his team seem to have gotten it right from the very onset... and their appreciative guests keep returning to their cosy green nests, extending their stay more and more each time.
Still the jungle luxury it promises to its guests, it goes to show that responsible tourism does make good business sense.
Print Page | Close Window | Text Only
Original URL: http://www.wildasia.org/main.cfm/RTI/Japamala_Resort
Published: 14 April 2009
© 2012 WILD ASIA
All Rights Reserved