Sustainability 101
Travel has lead to the exchange of ideas, become a form of education for many, and heals people before their return to a daily routine. Unfortunately, we must simultaneously acknowledge tourism’s negative impact on the environment.
Today, eco-hostels are on the rise (yay!). In addition to helping Mother Nature along the way, these hostels tend to attract and nurture a community of mindful, conscious travellers. Some practice green architecture using upcycled materials; others implement sustainable practices through rainwater collection, composting, and recycling systems. Recent trends of organic gardening and incorporation of large green spaces are encouraging.
Let’s unwrap hostel ecosystem sustainability under three broad categories — Conscious Design, Green Processes and Community Initiatives.
Conscious Design — next to natural
Designing an eco-friendly hostel from scratch is a challenge and there are constraints like the location of a potential property, funds and supply chains. You could design your own “green-to-the-core” hostel following these steps.
The starting point
Your first step should be to jot down a list of components that are essential to build and run your hostel. Personally, I prefer a mindmap. It helps plan elements such as dorm rooms, kitchens, gardens and connects them to daily commodities like beds, kitchen utensils, plants etc.
Planning and Location
Your next step is to understand how these components fit into the bigger hostel ecosystem. Heavy concept broken down. Let’s study at a simple hostel orchard. Apart from the flora you would grow in an orchard, consider connected functions like how this space should be watered and maintained. Harvesting rainwater is one eco-possibility which can be additionally utilized for other purposes within the hostel. Gravitational strength is an eco-friendly, power-cost saving method to direct water flow. A simple hack to achieve this would be to build a water-shed on a hill. Moreover, locally cultivated flora found in the natural environment tends to be the best choice!
Design and Build — Fit the model into its surroundings.
Architecturally, plan around the natural and social facets of your hostel. Employ sensible, non-toxic design styles which are regionally sourced with a practical aim of meeting people’s needs. Eco-friendly architectural techniques involve using upcycled materials and natural systems. Raised rooms can create natural air conditioning sans electricity. Further, layout your hostel components to minimize transport and energy wastage between them.
Bambu Gran Palas and Cenote , Tulum, Mexico
The hostel merges with its natural surroundings, fusing its environment into its structure. The building is constructed with bamboo and coconut in a completely sustainable way.
Yard Hostel — Bangkok
Yard Hostel, in Thailand, uses recycled materials to build the rooms — they’re actually old containers! Rooms are insulated with recycled paper to reduce the energy consumption of air conditioning. These materials help to naturally cool spaces. Apart from green architecture, they have employed water-saving systems within toilers, motion sensor lighting and initiatives to reduce food waste.
Green Processes — get into a Green Routine.
While it is not always feasible to construct a new eco-hostel, you can look at incorporating clean processes and environmentally responsible systems to reduce wastage.
Energy Flow and Efficiency.
Design systems to use and harvest natural resources wherever possible. Energy from nature is dynamic and can be diverted, released, and then reused to generate power. Waste management, reduced water flow showerheads, energy-efficient lightbulbs and a thorough recycling system are other systems you can include.
YHA Eskdale
YHA Eskdale is an environmentally friendly hostel which primarily uses renewable energy. They have effectively reduced their carbon footprint by using renewable biomass energy and solar panel electricity. Also, products for guests and staff are made entirely out of biodegradable products.
Technology
Technology is a great way to create a paperless, efficient ecosystem. Information to staff can be easily shared via messenger services, emails and team management software. Additionally, technology optimized to serve more than one need results in enhanced efficiency and can drive down costs after the initial investment. A simple example of symbiotic advantage — printing costs and paper wastage for menus, promotional invites and other brand collaterals disappear with technology implementation.
Well, it’s even greener now that you could use the counter app over a cell phone to check in guests and email them invoices from a front desk smart device instead of cursing your stubborn dot-matrix printer*
*we have allegedly put a man on the moon but haven’t been able to design a never fail printer… something smells fishy!!
Twentytu Hi-Tech Hostel, Barcelona, Spain
Twentytu Hi-Tech Hostel uses a self-service check-in reduces the paper and power wastage of a traditional reception desk.
A golden rule for recycling: the simpler, the better to get people to do it!
Waste Sorting
If you struggle with determining which waste should be reduced, comparing what you throw away with what you buy is a great way to start. Waste sorting and disposal can be divided into categories like organic, glass, paper, plastic, metal, hazardous and residual. Studies show that more waste ends up in landfills when waste sorting, disposal or recycling facilities are limited.
JAM Hostel Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
JAM Hostel Barcelona contributes to responsible tourism in Barcelona through its motto: reduce, recycle and reuse. They use energy-efficient back end systems and recycled materials are transformed into works of art.
Vermiculture and Composting
One can always aspire to run a Zero waste hostel. This means all organic waste produced is reused differently within the hostel. Many hostels have created composting pits, which are spaces to allow for decomposing of organic solid wastes. This is a highly efficient way of recycling organic material — green wastes, toilet waste and animal manure.
Fat Cat Travellers Community, Aukland
Nothing goes to waste here; solar panels for showers, food waste composition, and pedal power for washing machines.
Stuff that slips under the radar
Napkins: A sustainable solution is to move guests to reusable fabric towels or to build washbasins in communal areas.
Drinking water: Guests in many places can rent bottles from hostels for the duration of their stay.
Food miles: Aim to consume local produce which in turn will minimize waste in packaging, processing, pollution and transport.
Community Initiatives
A design which actively considers its social landscape must involve the community. Your hostel connects to a bigger ecosystem of employment and generating profits within a local community.
El Rio Hostel — Santa Marta, Colombia
In addition to being super green, El Río Hostel also gives back to the local community. They’ve supplied recycling points to two schools in the area and have invested into sustainable waste collection. You pet lovers will be happy to know that they are leaders of an animal welfare program, and they support reforestation in the area.
While employing all these processes may not be feasible, your hostel can start with the basics. Many drops make up the ocean and going green saves money!! Through nature-friendly initiatives and community involvement, we can alter our carbon footprint significantly. It is our responsibility to think about future generations by observing concepts like sustainability, living ‘lightly’ on the planet and subsistence in harmony with nature.
