Best of the Maldives: Voluntouring – Soneva Fushi / Soneva Gili

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Six Senses Voluntourism

If you fancy contributing more than an afternoon helping the Maldives through a activity like reefscaping, and more than a day doing something like Earth Hour, then the Six Senses resorts Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili are offering a special ‘Voluntourism’ rate between 1st July and 12th October 2010.

“Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili by Six Senses are offering the opportunity to give something back. For the next six months, guests are invited to stay at either resort for five nights, without charge and to spend five hours of each day working on local community projects, such as marine conservation, teaching children, planting trees and learning how to turn waste into wealth. This unique Eco Season voluntourism package includes 5 nights paid, 5 nights free in exchange for 5 hours per day of valuable and motivating work for the first 5 days of a luxurious 10 day stay.

“Guests can choose from the following areas of work:

  1. Marine Conservation
  2. Waste Management
  3. Carbon Mitigation
  4. Youth Education
  5. Boost Local Island Income”

Here are links to the documents with full offer details as well as the work breakdowns.

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Best of the Maldives: Eco-Friendly – Soneva Fushi

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Soneva Fushi Infrastructure

As I talked about in my last post, the drive from carbon reduction is no where more intense than in the Maldives. One of the better pieces that I’ve read about the issue was the Sunday Times article ‘Trouble in Paradise’.

While Alila Villas Hadahaa has set the bar for the villas that make up the resort, carbon footprint obviously extends to the whole infrastructure. Right now, one of the leaders in driving reductions is Soneva Fushi which has set its plan to become the first ‘carbon free’ resort. The blog on ‘Maldive Resort Workers’ reports…

“The resort is already bragging about the achievements so far and points out to the cooling system for their guest rooms which uses chilled sea water drawn out from deep sea below 300m. The deep water cooling system (a 1st in Maldives) is expected once finished to replace all electrical Air conditioning units and reduce 20% of the total power demand of the island. They also claim this type of air conditioning on the island alone would save $200,000 and stop a 700k tons of carbon emission.”

The Soneva Fushi website outlines their Social and Environmental approach and initiatives in full detail.

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Best of the Maldives: 2010 Calendar – Soneva Gili and Soneva Fushi

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Kingfisher Soneva Gili 2010 Calendar

Still looking for that last minute Christmas gift? Calendars for the new year are certainly popular and if Maldives is what you seek, then Soneva Gili and Soneva Fushi have hosted this year’s Kingfisher Swimsuit calendar.

What strikes me about several of the shots…is the sharks (I know most readers and my wife are thinking, 'rrriighht…you’re looking at the sharks in that picture??…hmmmm…’). The mini black-tipped reef sharks are as common to Maldives lagoon shallows as squirrels are to Central Park and just as skittish. We can never get close to the cute little sharks without them scurrying away. But the model doesn’t seem to have any problems attracting the cruisers to her. And the shot below is just too much with the shark on the left with its mouth open like it is smiling for the camera.

Kingfisher Soneva Gili 2010 Calendar 2

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Best of the Maldives: Most Cinematic – Soneva Fushi

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Soneva Fushi Cinema

If Maldivian paradise is not escapist enough and you need a dose of Hollywood/Bollywood silver screen spectacle, Soneva Fushi features probably the most comfortable and relaxing film cinemas not just in the Maldives, but in the world. If you miss all of the stars around the resorts, then you can always catch some on the large screen set out on the beach with comfy lounges for taking in a flick.

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Best of the Maldives: Geek Activity – Soneva Fushi

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Soneva Fushi Ever Soneva So Celestial Observatory

If the stars you are seeking are not the movie and celebrity type, but more of the celestial sort, then Soneva Fushi resort is the place for you.

When we visit the Maldives, we like to take a night sky star-map so after dinner we can lie on the beach and do some stirring star gazing. With clear skies and no light pollution to speak of, the stars shine out brilliantly. Also, being at the equator, one can see both northern and southern hemisphere constellations.

But if you really want to take this activity to a serious level, Soneva Fushi resort offers its very own “Ever Soneva So Celestial” Observatory.

“Equipped with a striking Meade RCX400 telescope, the observatory in the organic garden is the latest addition to Soneva Fushi’s unique guest experiences and offers magnificent views into the starry sky.”

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