NATURE’S VILLAGE RESORT HOTEL AND RESTAURANT

Have you visited the Nature’s Village Resort Hotel and Restaurant? I have conducted several training programs for my training outfit, the INTRASPEC MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY.

Nature’s Village Resort Hotel and Restaurant is a garden paradise located in Talisay City, only 3.5 km from central Bacolod, the capital of Negros Occidental, Philippines.
Set against the backdrop of Mt. Marapara, Nature’s Village Resort offers unique accommodations where nature-lovers can bask in unspoiled beauty while remaining close to the city!
At Nature’s Village , you are nestled right at the heart of business and leisure as it bridges Silay City — home to turn-of-the-century Spanish ancestral houses of Negros Island — and Bacolod City — home to the region’s colorful Masskara Festival.
Nature’s Village Resort is the nearest resort-hotel to the Bacolod-Silay Airport, your gateway to Negros Occidental’s rich cultural heritage.

In one of my training programs at Nature’s Village Resort

NATURE’S VILLAGE RESORT HOTEL AND RESTAURANT’S COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

EUCALYPTUS TREE-PLANTING

Developing the resort started with the planting of hundreds of eucalyptus trees in March 1992. The owners’ vision was to create a recreational complex that replicates nature and a place where the whole family can get together and have fun in a wholesome and relaxing atmosphere.

NATURE’S VILLAGE RESORT HOTEL AND RESTAURANT’S  PHILOSOPHY

The Vision-Mission of Nature’s Village Resort  is to promote sustainable tourism in the country and to educate its guests to care for the environment. In line with this, the owner trains its staff to adhere to green practices that will promote environmental preservation. At Natures Village Resort, the staff practices proper waste management. As an example, trash bins are seen around the property to facilitate segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable materials. Nature Village Resort employees also recycle and reuse plastic, bottles, and cans. Paper and other biodegradable materials are used for vermicomposting, a sustainable practice wherein soil is aerated by worms, thereby making it fertile for the resort’s organic farm. The Village Farm’s vegetables are used by the kitchen and served fresh to the guests. Inside all hotel rooms, water conservation guidelines are provided and a copy of the tourist’s guide for being a responsible traveler can be found in all the room books.

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES at NATURE’S VILLAGE RESORT HOTEL AND RESTAURANT’S PREMISES

Many of the fixtures that you see at Nature’s Village Resort (NVR) were fabricated under the direction of interior designer Nina Paras. She took materials from the resort owners’ collections and designed new ways of using them. The chandeliers in the hotel lobby were fashioned out of glass ocean buoys which were once used as net markers by the fisher folk in the coastal communities of the province. The entry wall of our main ballroom features a set of antique wooden church doors. A collection of items found locally are part of the decor: a dugout canoe made from the trunk of a hardwood tree; pottery jars from Tangub, a suburb in Bacolod City filled with “lusong” or grainpounders from Sipalay; coconut graters, and “guilingan” or stone grinders used for milling rice from the old haciendas in the area. The furniture and textile frames are fashioned out of antique hardwood railroad ties, the outer portions of which still show the hardwood’s natural grain. The inner slabs were smoothened to form chair backrests, lounges and headboards. These railroad ties were from Victorias Milling Company and Sagay Central, removed when they stopped using locomotives for transporting sugarcane from the fields to the sugar centrals. The lighting, artwork and furniture are all handmade at the Village Workshop by long-time employees utilizing local materials. The railroad ties used on the tabletops, headboards and cabinets including the ironwork that replicates the Ilonggo Vine, a plant that grows in the resort, are original touches that create the ambiance of the hotel. Smaller details like cardholders, lamp bases and local artwork complete its rustic atmosphere.

Natures Village Resort also takes pride in its collection of international textile folk art at the Village Hotel and Restaurant. Many of these pieces are from the owners’ private collection and some were donated by Ms. Mara Montelibano, an international folk art collector. All of these were painstakingly made, processed or embellished by hand. These are collectively known as folk textile as they were made for specific purposes. They reflect traditions that are increasingly lost due to modernization by the garment industry and are examples of a region’s cultural arts. By presenting them at NVR, it is the resort management’s hope that guests will understand and appreciate their value as cultural icons disappearing in the societies of Asia. You can read about each textile art collection as you pass along the corridors and stairways.

All year round, the Nature’s Village Resort Hotel and Restaurant’s  Management seeks ways to organize livelihood programs and environmental protection seminars for the staff and members of nearby local communities. Seminar-workshops and talks on the Seven Environmental Principles, Sustainable Tourism for All, Energy and Water Conservation, Livelihood in Agriculture — to name a few — have been held and organized at NVR.

Nature’s Village Resort Hotel and Restaurant has identified smoking and non-smoking areas in its premises and has a regular maintenance system for the equipment and facilities to ensure good air quality. Regular inspection, cleaning and maintenance are conducted by professionals in the field. Noise control programs are in place to ensure guests’ rest and relaxation in their hotel rooms. Finally, feedback and suggestions for improvement from guests are noted and promptly acted upon.