CSR INDONESIA – Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort is celebrating World Earth Day, which is observed worldwide this month on April 22, by embracing its core initiative for sustainable hospitality through its Planet 21 program, which highlights nature and environment through its luxury services and facilities.
AccorHotels has since many years constantly worked to redefine boundaries, and The Planet 21 program that started in 2011 aims to drive change towards positive hospitality wherever we are by the year 2020.
Its strategic focuses include working with Ambassadors and guests, innovate with partners and work with local communities, and priorities comprise food and carbon neutral buildings, all to ensure positive impact on the environment.
This year sees the resort’s new La Petite Terre initiative as the focal point of Planet 21, putting emphasis on sustainable planting and harvesting with the resort’s own organic garden as centerpiece. It also highlights the use of organic harvests in culinary preparations, as well as involving children and their parents as part of the resort’s kids club programs.
The resort has appointed its Ambassador, Ms. ‘Ayu’ Ni Made Sunari, as its ‘La Petite Terre Mama’, who has shown high passion and dedication in overseeing the program and the resort’s organic gardens. Her passion goes way back to her childhood, when she remembered working as a part-time shallot peeler at the Kumba Sari Market. Her tenure at Sofitel Bali started in 2012.
The mother of four was once offered a position as steward, but maintained that she loved overseeing the resort’s gardens, and was even offered part-time work at other neighboring resorts.
Ms. Ayu is strongly against the use of chemical fertilizers. She considers organic gardening is just like raising her own kids, and strongly believes that the use of natural composts lead to vegetables that grow much better, resulting in far healthier harvests. Above all, she strongly believes that being a farmer is a very noble job.
The recent World Earth Day La Petite Terre took place at the property’s organic gardens on April 12. It helped guests, and more especially children, to better understand how we can act together to embrace and apply sustainable practices. From planting seeds to harvesting vegetables and cooking the healthy harvests, Ms. Ayu and Sofitel’s Chefs demonstrated all their expertise and showed kids and their parents how to embrace sustainability in the best way; to engage and be responsible towards our environment. |RNZ/CSR
