In each of our projects, we also find ways to give back to the island’s people and its indigenous communities;
- Our first project was the acquisition of four old-style villas with a central swimming pool. We branded this project as Lavaliere and reconfigured the villas, giving each of them a private pool. We sold all the unwanted items in the houses and donated the proceeds to the renovation of Nathon Hospital Children’s Ward. Meanwhile, existing trees and plants were moved to an offsite nursery to be nurtured throughout the building phase and then replanted upon completion, saving over 400 plants in the process.
- Our next redevelopment project was the magnificent Residence8, which involved reconfiguring and designing a large, partially built private house into six stunning individual apartments, all of which have magnificent views across the Gulf of Thailand. We invited various local communities up to the site during the demolition phase and encouraged them to help themselves to timber, steel, glass doors, roof tiles and many other items that could be successfully re-used.
- TEMBO Beach Club & Resort is our largest project to date and involved the demolition of several buildings on a 3,000sqm plot. We invited Sisters on Samui to take their pick of discarded materials and products which they recycled to create a new community shop to support local groups on the island.
Children's Ward
The Children’s Ward at Nathon Hospital was, until recently, a grim and uninviting space. Working with local charity, Sisters on Samui, we pledged to totally refurbish the Treatment Room. It is now a cheery and bright room with a new bathroom, new storage and a bespoke sterilisation unit.
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After
We love animals
We love animals and, in addition to taking care of several street dogs each day, we actively support (through fund raising) Samui Elephant Sanctuary & Haven, Pariah Dog Sanctuary, Happy Tails and Soi Dog Foundation. We were involved in the Walk to Freedom, whereby two elephants were freed from a trekking camp – one of them very old and sick and the other heavily pregnant. The 20km walk was a great success, taking over 9 hours to complete. Other projects include organizing the Great Closet Clearout – a clothes swapping sale, basically, People bring their unwanted items and others buy them. Donations always go to worthy causes.
Samui Elephant Sanctuaries
Animal Shelter
Group of artists
We are part of a group of artists who paint rubbish bins (there are very few government bins on the island). Taking around 50-man hours per bin, we beautify the island one bin at a time. They can be found on most main beaches in Samui and in conservation areas outside Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand where we worked in tandem with Save Elephant Foundation to encourage people to love elephants and to dispose of their trash responsibly.
