Koh Kood beach resort in Thailand

Community
We hire local staff. At our resort Koh Kod we have 15 employees who mostly comes from around the Trat province and Koh Chang or Koh Kood. If our staff can not speak good English they will be provided with English lessons. They also get 14 days intense training in their job field.

During Thai holidays/festivals we will sponsor different events, the sponsorship can be anything from food gifts to free use of our swimming pool at the resort. During Loi Krathong we will buy the Krathong (flower baskets) for staff and guest so the all can join the party at the pier and let loose their own Krathong.

We donate money to the local runned hospital on Koh Kood, there is no exact amount on a pr month basis. But now and then when there is a charity we will support them with anything from 2000 baht and up.

On Koh Kood we do volunteer work before high season begins. Everyone on the island will be responsible for cleaning all the public places, like the beach, the sides of the roads etc. This is due to a low season with lots of wind and rain.

As Koh Kood is very undeveloped there are not many shops around. If our customers want to venture around the island or want to go shopping we inform them about the 2-3 opportunities there are for this. That way we support the local community on the island.

There are no real taxis on Koh Kood. But we have 2-3 local guys we can contact if we need to transport customers around on the island and our car is occupied.

Environment
We have our own diving shop at Koh Kood, and we strive to preserve the environment. We educate divers to be eco divers and teach them how to reduce pollution and pick up plastic etc. when diving.

We instruct our divers not to touch the reefs or corals and only watch the marine life, we do not touch.

We only do dives when it is safe for the customer. Meaning that the weather has to be good and the instructor decides if he feels they are ready to go diving.

We have set up recycle bins at our resort, so customers can throw out their waste at either a waste bin or a recycle bin. On Koh Kood there are conservation programs that we support. Some of these are- not littering on the island to prevent pollution, safe water and electricity. This is something that out staff are aware off and are reminding the customers when checking in. There will also be a small note on the wall in the room where they are staying. We are planning to use solar energy on Koh Kood, but so far it has not been set up.

All electricity on Koh Kood comes from one power plant, and there is not enough electricity during the whole day for all on the island. So we are closing down for use of electric equipment between 11.00 and 16.00 everyday.

In the guest rooms we have installed key cards, when they are removed to lock the door all electrical devices will stop working. We use power saving light bulbs in the restaurant and in the guest rooms. We have a timer on lights in the garden, there will be light from 18.30 when the sun goes down until 01.00 at night. After this customers can borrow flashlights. We collect rain water in a big water tank, the rain water will be used for showers in the rooms and to water the garden as well. On the showers in the rooms there will be water saving taps. And on the toilets there will be two taps one for small flow and one for big flow. In our pond in the restaurant we use spill water, we have installed a filter that cleans the water during the night so it will be clean. In the rooms we have a set of rules for washing bedsheets and towels, we encourage customers to use the same bedsheets during their stay. “You do not change your bedsheets at home everyday, do you?” We use a mix of eco friendly cleaning products and normal cleaning products. The ones we use in the rooms is the same ones as we use in the restaurant and kitchen. We are considering changing to only be eco friendly products but they are not easy to access on Koh Kood.

We have a gardener employed to take care of the garden. He normally uses garden scissors to cut grass and weed. Normally the weather is warm and wet so pesticides are not necessary. We do have a compost in the back of the garden, but it is hidden away for the guest not to see it. We compost old grass and whatever green can be composted. We recycle cans and plastic bottles. There is a box in front of the restaurant where customers are encouraged to leave their recycle waste. We support the small village next to our resort. Their living is fishing and we helped them setting up a conversation program for not leading waste from the catch out in the open water. This is party also because it is very close to our beach and we do not want it to be polluted. Our guests are encouraged to go and eat freshly caught fish at the local restaurant. Our office is still not paper free, we are still working on getting better. But we recycle all paper possible for recycling.