Bardia Eco Lodge

Bamboo matting erected and looks good, It really has added to the cosiness of the cottages.

Plumber ready to install new stop gate valves for each cottage. Narayan and Madhu went to Nepalganj to source other materials, some things that are unobtainable locally require a trip across the border to India

Rachel has been invited by the Bardia Tourist Board to attend next month’s Lodge Meeting and has been told that people are excited to meet with her. We’re all very pleased at the response we are getting from the locals. Ultimately its what this lodge is all about.

 The lodge manager (Rachel), has worked incredibly hard to ensure that the solar panels are all in place and that the most efficient use of power is fully functional. It’s not been easy, getting the right parts installed but we’re there now. Tiling has also been mostly completed,  and again has not been without its difficulties – but its almost completed now.

Well we now have the water tower in place, and all the infrastructure pipes for water supply and waste. Also the toilet design is now finalised and building can now progress ahead with the bathrooms. Drainfield and distibution tanks were covered. Several more cottages have been built and some final landscaping has been organised.

The latest news from Bardia is that the drainfield is now complete. After a lot of hard work and much lateral thinking, we have a fully functioning drainfield, that we can safely say is the first of its kind in Bardia, but hopefully won’t be the last. The dining hall roof is now on and the railings around the outside are up too. One cottage has been built and the rooms fitted out with some basic furniture. Solar panels will be installed soon, along with a solar powered hot water system.

Construction is underway and below you can see some of the most recent photos. We have sourced and bought several old houses to reuse the timber, bricks and tiles in the new construction. We have sited the dining hall at the font of the land to make the most of the fantastic views over the river. It has been designed to incorporate a balcony at the front to allow people to sit up higher and give an even better view. The kitchen and store is behind the dining hall and has been made from recycled brick and has a tiled roof, this has done to reduce the fire risk and for hygiene purposes. Cottages will be built further back and surrounded by trees and gardens. The monsoon will come soon so we will start putting some of the service, water, sewage, power etc, later in the year after the monsoon has passed.

Recent monsoons have caused the river to start cutting away the bank at the front of our land and also endangering the road that runs along the front. To stop this’ the National Park and the Government have decided to reinforce the bank right in front of our land, along this particular stretch of river that is so prone to erosion. They are building a substantial gabion wall over the next few weeks. Not so good to look at perhaps – but better than loosing our land, along with several of our neighbours – and of course the access to this entire stretch of river!

At last we have incorporated Bardia Eco Lodge Pvt. Ltd.! After a year of long hard slog, bureaucratic nightmare, and plenty of baksheesh, we have final crossed the finishing line. Big thanks go out to Narayan for all his hard work and dedication, and for not giving up when things kept stalling.
Our plan now is to start construction early next year with a possible opening scheduled for late 2009.

After several further recent site visits and the transformation of Nepal’s political situation, we are now working our way gradually through the maze of Nepalese bureaucracy and completing our tourist and other licenses. The last monsoon caused some damage to the track in front of the land (washed it away!), and has caused some re-thinks about vehicle access. Our lodge design is complete and building has commenced with staff houses already on site.

We’re learning more all the time about the possibilities and problems associated with making the lodge as ‘eco’ as possible, and have learnt more about composting toilets than you probably want to know.

Managing waste water and toilet waste is one of the biggest issues facing us if we want to do this right, especially when there are no local options for the responsible removal & disposal of waste from septic tanks. Our garden will need lots of compost though!
Final building of the main lodge restaurant and cottages is planned to start after the next monsoon season, fingers crossed.