BALI, INDONESIA—Katamama has focused on sustainability issues and supported the traditions of its island home since inception. The hotel is built from 1.8 million bricks, each hand-pressed by local artisans and fired using only biomass from coconut shells—a time-consuming technique typically reserved for Bali’s sacred temples. The painstaking process both fulfilled the artistic vision of Indonesian architect Andra Matin and the company’s mission to rescue this diminishing handicraft. Locally produced textiles tinted with plant-based dyes and bamboo basketry featuring traditional patterns are also part of Katamama’s commitment to sustainability and Balinese culture.
Potato Head Beach Club, located next to Katamama, follows the same principles. Its façade is comprised entirely of antique Indonesian window shutters salvaged from across the archipelago, and its operations support local culture and talent. Both the beach club and Katamama serve local foods that are responsibly sourced from like-minded farmers and produced using sustainable cooking methods. In doing so, Potato Head has been able to drastically reduce its waste-to-landfill and establish industry benchmarks for eliminating waste and promoting recycling in Indonesia.
Additionally, Potato Head Family has established renewable energy targets for all new and existing properties, including the use of efficient lighting and electric appliances and generating its own potable water. This year Katamama and Potato Head Beach Club have measured, reduced, and compensated their greenhouse gas emissions in collaboration with Climate Neutral Now, in an effort to help the world meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
“Our mission as a company is to provide good times and do good in the world,” says Potato Head Family founder, Ronald Akili. “Our projects are always done as sustainably as possible because that is what the future needs; we hope to inspire both our local community and our industry peers. A climate-neutral mindset is as necessary as impeccable customer service, and we’re extremely proud that our efforts have been recognized by the Climate Neutral Now initiative.”
“We are delighted to have Katamama and Potato Head Beach Club as signatories of the Climate Neutral Now initiative,” says Niclas Svenningsen, Manager of Global Climate Action at UN Climate Change. “Their whole philosophy aligns with our goals of a climate neutral world which has met the Sustainable Development Goals. We hope they will inspire others to take action to support local and global solutions to climate change.”
