Soneva Eco Resorts, Maldives
Soneva is a collection of luxury eco island resorts in the Maldives and Thailand, with a mission to work in alignment with nature and sustainable practices. They specialize in providing unique back-to-nature guest experiences.
About the project
Soneva wanted to improve and expand their Waste-to-Wealth program in their two Maldivian locations as well as enhance their guest experiences.
My aim was to introduce the easiest, multi-functional solutions that that would have the biggest impact. I focused on introducing more permaculture-related systems to both staff and guests, providing better quality produce from the gardens, and closing the loop on more of the waste streams to turn them into wealth.
What we didOrganic herb & vegetable garden development
Helped organic garden team increase vegetable and herb production by focusing on growing more high-value produce, which provided fresher ingredients for guests and further reduced Soneva's carbon footprint.
Multiplied the variety and quality in the Permaculture vegetable and herb gardens to provide the kitchens with increasing amount of fresh produce - helping to reduce the carbon footprint
Focused on growing more high-value produce—ingredients with the highest cost of importing into the Maldives.
Introduced companion planting—growing varieties that pair well together to enhance the quality and quantity of the produce
A room with a view! Soneva offers a unique in-garden dining experience where guests can select the produce they'd like to include in their meal. Dishes are then prepared in the garden and served fresh.
Designed and grew vertically as well as horizontally and using the space in the most efficient way
5 layer no-dig bed using: tin/metal to prevent bio-mass in upper layers leaching out into the sand. On top of that, added carbon/charcoal, soil and compost, cardboard to suppress weeds. And finally, coconut fibre to protect soil in the form of mulch, to keep moisture in the underlying layers.
Compost and soil production
Oversaw the development & design of a new compost-making building
Introduced new compost system that produces @ 20,000 kg of new compost every month from kitchen and shredded jungle trimmings
We grew and developed soil with a pH between 6 and 8, most optimal range for most vegetables to grow in abundance.
For compost not needed for Soneva's gardens, we created a new revenue stream by selling surplus compost to off-site sources.
Liquid Gold! Making worm farms and amazing compost worm fertilizer for the gardens at Soneva Fushi, Maldives. Closing the loop #permaculture #organic #sustainable #wormfarm #composting #eco
Waste processing
Developed new waste segregation area and system for the resort - allowing collection and processing of waste to be handled in more efficient way
Eco Centro - Compacting and baling plastic , Aluminium and Metal allows the waste to proceed to the next stage of recycling in a more manageable and efficient way
Staff training on permaculture principles & methods
Provided permaculture training for resort chefs and garden staff on vegetable bed preparations, compost making, and worm-farm building.
Implemented the new Berkley method hot composting system, which produces compost more quickly
Enhanced vegetable bed preparations using the no-dig raised bed technique, applicable to sandy tropical climates
Here we're layering the beds with nitrogen-rich material
Adding waste cardboard to beds to reduce weeds coming through - holes are punctured through cardboard when planting vegetable seedlings
Mulching the garden beds - help protect and enhance quality of the soil by keeping the moisture in the soil and not allowing the sun to bake and harden to top soil.
Trained staff on how to make and maintain worm farms that provide additional source of organic liquid fertilizer to enhance fertility of organic garden soil and food production
Creating new growing areas
Designed and implemented a 25% increase in new organic garden area using no dig, raised bed Permaculture systems, which will increase volume with minimal additional gardener resources.
Stage 1: Prepping the area
Stage 2: Prepping the beds (No dig, "lasagne" bed method)
Stage 3: New beds beginning to flourish with companion planted produce
In addition to the above, we also:
Initiated Plastic- and Aluminium-repurposing workshops, creating a novel guest experience and providing onsite facilities where materials can be recycled and made into new products for guest villas + potentially items that can be sold to guests
Introduced Organic Honey bees to the island ecosystem, which
Brought more pollinators onto the island, gradually and sustainably—while also honoring guests, as the bees were no-sting honey bees from India
Increased the quality of production in organic gardens
Created medicinal honey for use in Ayurvedic Spa treatments
Developed a new system for producing coconut peat and coconut fibre that could not only be used to enhance garden soil fertility but an excess that was sold to outside customers to help generate more income for the Soneva Waste-to-Wealth programme
Planted over 100 new Ayurveda medicinal plants to be grown to support Ayurveda doctor and spa team
Built three new mushroom growing areas, introducing 4+ new varieties of organic mushrooms for guest kitchens
To learn more about Soneva, visit: