Best of the Maldives: Largest Hydroponic Greenhouse – Le Meridien

\ Leave a Comment \ by

Le Meridien - hydroponic garden

Some resorts have gardens for the ultimate in low-mileage produce. Others have invested in sophisticated nurseries and infrastructure to expand their capability (not to mention tap into the Maldives biggest and free-est natural resource…sunshine). But Le Meridien sets a new bar for scale  (see the chart below which shows the gorwn stuff growing) and sophistication of local grown produce with its state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse:

  • “Our greenhouse is semi-automatic with area around 500 m2 which can accommodate 7580 plants. We grow plants with hydroponic technique (NFT system) under controlled environment. We maintain air temperature below 30 degree Celsius using misting system, shade net and nutrient water temperature 24 degree Celsius using chiller. It’s a cyclic process, we do seed sowing and transplanting twice a week and harvesting every day. In our hydroponic system we use Albert solution (Nutrient A+B)  for proving nutrient to plants. Nutrient range is maintained 1.5 EC and pH -6. We do organic cultivation in our greenhouse, for controlling insects if any we use yellow/ blue sticky traps. We have rainwater harvesting system as well which accommodate 30k liters of water. Our production capacity is: 30kg/day.”

Le Meridien grows…

  • Lettuce
    • Green Coral
    • Crystal lettuce
    • Red Oak
    • Mizuna
    • Lollo Rosso
    • Romaine (Baby Gem)
  • Herbs
    • Spearmint
    • Peppermint
    • Thai Basil
    • Italian Basil
    • Rosemary
    • Thyme
    • Parsley

  • Vegetables
    • Bokchoy
    • Asian Spinach
    • Water Spinach 

Le Meridien - hydroponic garden 2

Posted in: Best of the Maldives \ Tagged: ,

Dialed Up Dipole

\ Leave a Comment \ by

Indian Ocean Dipole

Warming sea temperatures, El Nino, Crown of Thorn Starfish. After all of these threats to reef health, it’s no wonder Maldive reefs have been struggling. And now a fourth (!) assailant entered the scene – Indian Ocean Dipole. The BBC describes the IOD, aka “The Indian Ocean El Nino” (“Indian Ocean Dipole – What Is It?”):

  • “Temperatures in the eastern part of the ocean oscillate between warm and cold compared with the western part, cycling through phases referred to as “positive”, “neutral” and “negative”. The dipole’s positive phase this year – the strongest for six decades – means warmer sea temperatures in the western Indian Ocean region, with the opposite in the east.”

And this added boost to ocean temps isn’t only a hazard to corals, but to other life in the atolls. Notably, in the recent loss of mangroves as examined in this month’s Nature article “Sea-level rise and extreme Indian Ocean Dipole explain mangrove dieback in the Maldives”:

  • “Mangrove forests enhance Small Island Developing States’ resilience to climate change, yet in 2020, a mangrove dieback impacted ~ 25% of mangrove-containing islands in the Maldives…We attribute this dieback to salinity stress driven by record-high sea levels in 2020, linked to an extreme positive Indian Ocean Dipole event.”

Indian Ocean Dipole 2

Posted in: Destination \ Tagged:

Best of the Maldives: Lip Enhancement – Soneva Fushi

\ Leave a Comment \ by

Soneva Fushi - lip enhanceent

For that jellyfish-stung, fish-like pucke for your Instagram kissesr, Soneva Fushi’s spa offers lip enhancement treatment:

  • “To deliver plump yet natural looking lips, nanoneedling with PRP is used to provide a gentle exfoliation to the lip area while reducing lines and Fordyce spots. The injections also work to stimulate collagen within your lips and leave you with a youthful, plump effect.”
Posted in: Best of the Maldives \ Tagged: , ,

Best of the Maldives: Turtle Rehab Centre – Joali Being

\ Leave a Comment \ by

Joali Being - turtle rehab 1

In a destination where the salutary effects of warm sunshine and remote tranquillity are complemented by gentle waters, wellness spas and programmes are standard fare in the luxury segment. Joali Being is the first Maldives resort to base its entire proposition around the wellness concept. And, the wellness is not just for its human guests, but also for its aquatic ones as well. Specifically, sea turtles who are treated at its Raa Atoll Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre (thanks Paola):

  • “Serving as a step-down facility of the Olive Ridley Project’s Marine Turtle Rescue Centre in Baa atoll, the new Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre in Raa atoll at JOALI BEING is used for the rehabilitation of long-term sea turtle patients who are not in need of the intensive veterinary care received at the rescue centre. Sea turtle patients will be transferred here from the Olive Ridley Project’s Marine Turtle Rescue Centre when they are nearing their release back to the ocean after treatment by the veterinary team. During their time at the Raa Atoll Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, patients will continue to receive care from the resident Sea Turtle Biologist, Mohamed Shah, under the direct supervision of the Olive Ridley Project’s veterinary team…Patients admitted to the Raa Atoll Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre will undergo different types of customised rehabilitation such as Targeted External Weight Therapy (TEWT), dive conditioning and supervised exposure to enrichment devices.”

And like the increasingly high spec spas of the luxury set, the turtles are treated to their own stylish surroundings with an artistic likeness (the hallmark of its sister property, Joali).

Joali Being - turtle rehab 2

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , ,

Best of the Maldives: Petting Zoo – Oaga

\ Leave a Comment \ by

Oaga - petting zoo 1

The Maldives is famous for its underwater menagerie of marine critters, but no resort has as many land critters as Oaga. A range of cute and curious animals can be found across the Maldives islands from local flying foxes and push-up-manic litt’l lizards. Some properties have some domesticate imports like cats and bunnies. But Oaga has an entire petting zoo which includes:

  • Bunnies
  • Goats
  • Chickens
  • Ducks
  • Macaws
  • Parakeets

One of the lattermost, named “Kiwi” is especially social with the guests flitting about from villa to villa to see if anyone happens to be munching on minibar nuts (which by coincidence we had, so she became Lori’s best friend enjoyed a prolonged and intimate visit for an extended period).

Oaga - petting zoo 2

Oaga - petting zoo 3

Oaga - kiwi 3

Oaga - kiwi 2

Oaga - kiwi 1

Posted in: Best of the Maldives \ Tagged: , ,

Best of the Maldives: Biggest Maldivian Village – Heritance Araah

\ Leave a Comment \ by

Heritance Aarah - village school

While some resorts have shared a bit of local history and culture with the reproduction of an authentic Maldivian hut or two Heritance Aarah has recreated virtually an entire mini-village. The outdoor exhibition sits on over a half an acre of Walking Pine forest. It includes traditional house (obviously), a school (above), a water well and a structure for food prep that includes a number of ancient culinary tools.

Heritance aarah - village kitchen

Heritance Aarah - village kitchen 2

Heritance Aarah - village kitchen 3

Heritance Aarah - shisha

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: ,

Best of the Maldives: Underground Museum – Nika

\ 2 Comments \ by

Nika - underground museum 1

The Maldives is famous for its underwater wonderland, but a few resorts have found a way to expand the limited real estate available to them by digging down for cellars to house wines, cheese and sweets Nika has the most Maldivian underground lair in the Maldives with its underground museum of history and artifcts:

  • “The Museum is the result of the transformation of a furnace dating back to the 70s of the last century. Two dimensions coexist in the project: conservation (which has always been part of Nika’s DNA) and the creation of a new space which are confronted in a constant dialogue. In a maze of underground tunnels and coral vaults, in the “spatial” and architectural uniqueness of the Nika, a Museum is born, a project with an open and constantly evolving cultural program, where architecture, artefacts and individuals will tell travelers the story of Maldives and where the local community will be able to rediscover their traditions.”

for a short tour, see the video at the bottom.

This post has inspired the addition of a new tag for the blog, “Underground”.

Nika - underground museum 2

Nika - underground museum vid

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , ,

Best of the Maldives: Gourmet Maldivian – The Standard

\ Leave a Comment \ by

The Standard - maldivian food 6

Many resorts feature Maldivian curries, fish dishes and of course the classic breakfast dish, mas huni. But The Standard’s Gudaguda restaurant takes Maldivian ingredients and recipes to a truly distinctive gourmet level. We enjoyed a meal including (pictured)

  • Rihaakuru Gulha (dried tuna balls – above)
  • Boraboa Riha – pumpkin curry
  • Ravaa Foni – semolina pudding, coconut sugar, pandan, pine nuts
  • Dhivehi Farumas Garudhiya – reef fish broth, moringa bread

The Standard - maldivian food 5

The Standard - maldivian food 4

The Standard - maldivian food 3

The Standard - maldivian food 2

The Standard - maldivian food 1

Posted in: Best of the Maldives \ Tagged: ,