Le Domaine - an eco-friendly resort

Le Domaine de Tam Hai Resort takes environmental and cultural conservation seriously. A small development on an island just off the coast 45 kilometres south of Hoi An, it consists of 12 large bungalows, a swimming pool, restaurant and ancillary buildings on a deserted stretch of beach.

The island is in a remote area with a population of poor families that rely upon fishing for their livelihood.

Environmental protection
All building materials were sourced locally to be compatible with the natural habitat. Construction was designed for minimal impact - the thatched roofs of the open-sided restaurant and bar are supported on wooden pillars, and the floor is natural combed sand. Pathways are sand tracks.

Each of the bungalows has an individual organic filtration unit to deal with liquid and solid waste. Excess food, redundant equipment, unused building material, paper, plastic and metal items are all directly recycled by staff members' relatives. Non-degradable garbage is collected daily and transferred to the mainland for hygienic disposal. Suitable organic material is composted.

The gardens are left in a natural state - additional planting uses only species indigenous to the island.

Cultural conservation
During the construction of the resort, all rituals and ceremonies were observed. The buildings were arranged according to traditional geomantic principles. For example, under the watchful eye of the village geomancer, the orientation of the buildings were divined and the correct number of pillars were calculated.

Measures to stave off evil spirits were taken into consideration - visitor will notice that steps to all entry doors approach from the side instead of directly.

Local festivals and village ceremonies are all observed and supported

Social responsibilities
Apart for the family owners and an architect from Saigon, all construction and ongoing maintenance work on the site is by local trades and craftspeople. All employees are local people except five young adults trained by the Hoa Sua organisation in Hanoi, a charitable enterprise that trains disadvantaged young people to enter the catering and hospitality sector of employment.

All food (mostly seafood) is sourced from fishermen and farmers on the island - the only exceptions are fresh cream and French wine!