Bamboo Cottages Goes 100% Solar

We are so happy and proud to announce that 100% of our electricity is now provided by the sun! … with help from a solar panel array, inverter and deep cycle gel batteries, and assuming, of course, the sun cooperates! (On very rainy and cloudy days, we still have to supplement with a fuel- powered generator when our collective energy consumption is more than what the sun can provide.)

We’ve been saving up for years to afford wean ourselves off the dependence on a generator. We finallybought and installed the best solar panel system our pocketbook and conscience would allow. (N.b. solar power is extremely “green” compared to grid energy or a generator, but remember that to make solar panels and lead acid batteries, it still requires mining for rare minerals and leaving a pretty toxic footprint when all is said and done. So the “less is more” principle still applies ecologically speaking.)

After many years of adjusting our habits to conserve as much fuel as possible, we’ve come to find that less is more and “living within our means” energy-wise is actually a pleasure. We hope you will agree. Please join us in proving through experience, that living richly does not mean living wastefully.

In order to be 100% solar, our guests help by being mindful of their electricity use. We ask guests not to use hairdryers, to remember to charge their phones during the day, to graciously accept when the electricity goes off in the middle of the night (this happened once; we think there was an accidental hairdryer involved), etc… There is a risk that the financial/time/effort investment we made won’t “pay off”. (Endearingly, even the solar company who we bought the system from advised us to think twice.). But we are betting that our guests won’t mind the small “inconveniences”, and rather, you will enjoy living in better harmony with nature, in tune with the sun’s generosity and with deeper appreciation of both the simple pleasures and hi-tech innovations that make life connected, rich, humane, and less-short. (Seneca said it best, Life is long if you know how to use it.) We are betting that you will relish the opportunity to join hands with us to bring business, pleasure, and ecology into more harmonious alignment. Together we can create the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible, and inspire others on the island— and beyond— to do the same!

Thank you for supporting us!