hydro power electricity. Alongside this, 4 guest rooms have solar water heaters and 100% of the staff’s water is heated by solar energy. All lighting at the lodge is currently being converted from CFL bulbs to LED bulbs with about 60% already being converted. Staff also ensure that laundry is washed by hand and air dried to reduce energy usage. Guests are given the choice of when their sheets and towels are changed, with encouragement to do it as little as possible. In the future, there are plans to switch to electric vehicles with on-site charging, reducing emissions.

either dual flush or press to flush where the flush stops once the button is released, resulting in at least 40% reduction in water usage. Alongside these installed measures, the lodge attempts to recycle some water. Grey water is run through grease traps and then into soak away pits with sedimentation baffles to clean the water which is then used to water the garden. And black water is drained into traditional soak away pits, away from other water sources.

compostable bioplastic. Staff use vegetable crates and cloth bags when shopping, avoiding single use plastic bags. The kitchen is currently converting storage jars from plastic to glass/metal. To avoid using plastic water bottles, drinking water is kept in flasks in guest rooms and metal bottles are provided to take on walks. Guests leaving the lodge are offered reused wine bottles to take water for their onward journey. Plastic straws are not ignored by staff, with homemade bamboo straws being used in the bar. All waste is managed through three rules: reduce, reuse, recycle. The office operates a paperless policy as far as possible, and uses locally made sustainable, unbleached 'Lokta' paper for essential written documents. The lodge composts food waste which is processed through a biogas plant to provide natural gas for the kitchen and then used as compost for the vegetable garden. Any extra compost is offered to local farmers.

their local wildlife. These checks include monthly counts of butterflies and regular bird counts uploaded to Cornell University’s e-bird database, as well as the annual Asian Waterfowl Count which reports to Birdlife International. The lodge is involved in supporting local conservation charities such as WWF Nepal, National Trust for Nature Conservation, Annapurna Conservation Area Project and many more. Senior staff are advisors to Bird Conservation Nepal. Guides at the lodge provide technical support to the local Forestry Committee, as well as lecturing and training to local conservation organisations. On their own property staff adhere to a natural maintenance policy in their gardens to maximise natural wildlife habitats. A traditional ‘khar bari’, a thatch grass field, has witnessed increased butterfly and dragonfly diversity.

locally: homegrown, village grown, from the local area and outwards. Organic produce is used where possible as there is a budding organic movement in Nepal.

as well as having mountain bikes available. Field guides and binoculars are available free of charge. Special walks can be arranged for children's interests too! Staff are on hand to recommend activities that are not harmful to the environment, such as paragliding. The lodge reinforces their focus on responsible conservation tourism to guests, both in their orientation and in their room manual.

and many of them still work at the lodge today. Involving the local community in the construction process has encouraged local endorsement, making it a welcome addition to the area. Buildings were designed to emulate the local architecture using local materials and sustainably sourced timber from government approved sources. The buildings were also designed to minimise impact on the environment with no machines being used for quarry digging or tree felling. In fact, no trees had to be felled to make way for buildings with architects deciding to blend the lodge in with the forest. Furthermore, the design of the building focused on ensuring that running it would require the least amount of energy possible, the materials and design help to avoid temperature extremes and mitigates the need for air conditioning systems.

environment health requirements. Cleaning cloths are created reusing old bed linen which is sourced from India and 100% cotton. No artificial perfumes are used, relying on locally sourced citronella and other essential oils where needed. Guest toiletries such as herbal soap are all made locally for the lodge, presented in refillable containers and are environmentally benign. In 2018 the lodge replaced its mattresses with traditional cotton fibre ‘dasnas’ made by local artisans. Small improvements are continuously made such as the swimming pool is salt based which reduces the use of harmful chemicals.

Recent projects include partnering with Project Hello World to install computer hubs at the local primary school and village hall. The lodge provides a financial grant to the local Shiva Shakti primary school in the village and to the Community Forest Committee to facilitate conservation and forestry projects.