Soneva Gili Celebrates the Close of Inaugural Hay on Wye Festival (Maldives)
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Soneva Gili Celebrates the Close of Inaugural Hay on Wye Festival (Maldives)
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Category: Asia Pacific - Maldives
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2010-10-22
THE BBC’S SELF-CONFESSED COMPOST ‘NERD’ MONTY DON GIVES LESSON ON SELF SUFFICIENCY
As the inaugural Hay on Wye Festival in the Maldives came to a close, its success was celebrated in style with a Maldivian-themed party at Soneva Gili by Six Senses. Earlier in the day, BBC gardener Monty Don gave local school children a lesson in Soneva Gili’s organic garden about how to grow fruit and vegetables, even from a window sill in Male.
Monty Don met with 20 fourteen year old children from Male’s Billabong High School in Soneva Gili’s organic garden, to share his contagious enthusiasm for gardening and to show how it was possible to grow vegetables anywhere. Monty taught them that many of the Maldives’ natural resources could provide rich compost for growing vegetables, even the ubiquitous coconut leaves. As dwindling fossil resources becomes an increasing problem and as the Maldives work towards carbon neutrality, knowing how to be self sufficient will play a big part in reducing dependency on fuel dependent supplies.
Self-confessed ‘compost nerd’, Monty said, “Gardening is about life. Compost is about life. We nourish the earth and it nourishes each of us. When we eat, we take some of the energy, nutrients and carbohydrates that have been in the soil. For me, the earth is not a big round thing, it is a handful. My generation has done its best to plunder the earth and its time to give a lot back. If you give, you always get back. Love and generosity are a reciprocal thing.”
Monty’s handful of soil resonated with poignant symbolism of the planet’s climate related problems and the need for change.
Monty visibly inspired the students into vowing to start their own community garden, a fantastic result from the workshop. “Food is so important to your understanding of your cultural identity”, he concluded. “The future of the world is in your hands and this beautiful little nation is right at the forefront. Understand your cultural identity and be proud. Knowledge is power.”
The Hay Festival Maldives had brought together some of the world’s leading thinkers, including authors Ian McEwan, Peter Godwin, Jung Chang, Monty Don, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who joined the best Maldivian writers including Ogaru Waheed Kalaavehi Habeeb and Mohamed Tedry among many others. President Mohamed Nasheed, Sonu Shivdasani, Chairman and CEO of Six Senses Resort and Spas and his wife, Eva Shivdasani joined the authors in celebrating the end of the festival at the stunning Soneva Gili with a veritable and truly impressive feast.
Food stalls based on Maldivian pit cooking lined Palm Beach, with thousands of candles dotting the sands. Guests were greeted with cocktails and traditional Maldivian drinks such as todi. Areas of the beautiful beach were dressed as a traditional Maldivian villages, with villagers teaching Soneva Gili’s learned guests how to make Maldivian rope and curries. Guests gently swayed to the melodic tunes of Soneva Gili’s own resort bodu beru band.
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