LAAMU, MALDIVES—The new Sustainability Camp at Six Senses Laamu marked World Tourism Day on September 27 this year, complementing the brand-wide Climate Warriors initiative and the resort’s Junior Marine Biology program already in place. Covering the topics of “Zero Waste”, “Home Grown”, and “Nature Conservation”, it aimed to give teenage guests and their families insights into the sustainability initiatives and techniques used for the resort’s operations and provide a skillset for the daily improvements they can make at home, striving towards a more sustainable way of life.
Sustainability Camp took place over three days, with two 90-minute sessions per day. Four sessions were available for each topic, allowing guests to choose two for each day’s activities. Each session was led by a designated guide, a team member specializing in the topic who assisted with crafts and workshops while sharing their knowledge and experience in the area.
“Zero Waste” introduced guests to a coconut oil or soap-making workshop, making crafts out of coconuts and other recycled materials, or a sustainable Alchemy Bar spa workshop to make their own beauty products. “Zero Waste” focused on being creative with used items, identifying reusable materials, reducing single-use plastics, and encouraging teamwork.
Learning About Food & Drink Options
“Home Grown” invited participants on a seed-to-farm journey, where they learned how to plant and grow their own microgreens using compost and watch them grow over the duration of their stay. Another option was Conscious Cooking, where Chefs guided guests through easy-to-make, plant-based recipes with ingredients they can grow themselves, or Garden Mixology, where they selected fresh ingredients for juices and mocktails. These sessions focused on sourcing fresh and sustainable ingredients and the impacts of food waste.
“Nature Conservation” dived into the marine conservation and sustainability initiatives already in place in the resort. Participants got hands-on with citizen science sessions, including an introduction to the local megafauna and seagrass meadows, an adventure on a neighboring island to discover the local Maldivian way of life or Carbon Caring, an introduction to blue carbon habitats, and the importance of underappreciated wonderlands such as mangroves and seagrass meadows. These sessions helped guests understand how carbon is stored in these habitats and what they can do to protect them. They focus on encouraging curiosity for marine species and conservation and creating awareness of how everyone can get involved.
Greg Holder, Guest Education Coordinator of the Maldives Underwater Initiative, says: “Over time, we found that many teenagers were very interested in learning more about sustainability and marine conservation, but we didn’t have activities attractive for their age group. Our Sustainability Camp is a chance to share our insights, skills and, above all, our passion for nature and conservation to help shape the next generation of conservation heroes.”
