Banana Leaf cups at yoga room- disposable, sustainable, greeeeeeeen!

At Bali Silent Retreat we care very much about these issues of health, wholeness, environment, aesthetics (ugly plastic bottles), and also, is it really necessary? –Come on!!

We meditate and thoughtfully (as in ‘full of thought’) consider solutions in order to walk the talk. So we brainstormed over drinking fountains for the longest time, but alas, we have limited electricity (We’re Off the Grid – really off the grid – only 15KW of juice come in each day from our main solar panel source).

According to earthresource.org, most plastics are made from petroleum (oil or natural gas) that contain a whole host of other chemicals that are never labeled, which are toxic to animals and humans and are building up in our bodies. These chemicals, generically called Phthalates, are used in many plastics to make them soft or flexible, such as used for medical equipment and water bottles. It’s commonly accepted that the phthalates ‘leach out’ in various degrees, depending on various conditions, such as a water bottle sitting in the sun. Check it out.

The light came on one day, walking through the jungle in the rain. There was the answer, right at our finger tips. And I laughed so hard my belly hurt. In the midst of a down pour one of the Bali Silent Retreat garden crew grabbed a banana leaf to use as an umbrella and another grabbed a banana leaf to catch water to have a drink. (I had a water bottle, of course – ha, so I got to laugh at myself too!)

I remembered those little paper cups in the shape of a cone at the water dispenser at the dentist office when I was a kid and thought . . . yes oh yes . .. we can make those little cone cups from banana leaves! At the yoga and meditation bale, you’ll now find in plenty supply, solar distilled + re-mineralized water with the cutest little banana leaf cups, constructed daily by our staff.

Ibu Made is making banana leaf drinking cups for the Yoga Octagon – disposable, compost-able and made fresh twice a day. Why? We want to be free of carrying anything around, including that water bottle. Ibu Made also greets guests, accompanies them to their room, cleans,  checks the Lodge for supplies and food replenishment, and shares that lovely big Balinese smiling thing that melts us.

Welcome to Water at Bali Silent Retreat

Click here to find out more on Bali’s own initiative “Bye Bye Plastic Bag” to ban plastic bag from the island.