Get to Know Mama Earth with a Six Senses Earth Lab Experience

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From Istanbul to Seychelles, Vietnam, Thailand, Portugal, Oman, Maldives, and beyond, each of the Six Senses resorts are in beautiful places, and they’re all centered around the idea of travel having a purpose. They actively promote sustainability and wellness for everyone and everything from the individual guest to the communities where the resorts are located to the planet. One aspect of this can be found at the Earth Lab. The Earth Lab is a place at each resort that highlights the local sustainability efforts, both at the resort and in the area, and guests can attend various workshops there. Each Earth Lab has its own set of workshops, depending on the season.

From learning Japanese gardening techniques to uncovering the basics of foraging, farming, and upcycling, here’s some of what you can expect from the different Six Senses Earth Lab workshop experiences around the globe. 

“With the workshops, we get to engage with the guests and educate them in an informal way and help to make their stay memorable.” — Jennifer Klar, Director of Corporate Sustainability, Six Senses Hotels & Resorts 

THAILAND 

Learn about effective microorganisms (EM) at Six Senses Samui in Thailand. The natural fertilizing method can help soil health and plant yield, and EM mixtures can do double duty as a fly repellent. Other workshop options at The Earth Lab in Samui include how to make a traditional Thai nasal inhaler that uses natural ingredients, and how to get natural colors from plants that can be used in painting and cooking.

ISTANBUL

At the Earth Lab at Six Senses Kocatas Mansions in Istanbul, you can learn how to turn waste oils that you might have at home into soaps. Waste oils, along with waxes that would have been thrown away, are also used to make candles in recycled glass bottles and scented with herbs from the gardens at the resort. Plants from the garden are used in the toothpaste workshop, which shows you how to make natural, plastic-free toothpaste.

SEYCHELLES

Guests can help recycle soap at Six Senses Zil Pasyon in Seychelles; soap bars left in the resort villas are melted down and remade with your choice of scent and natural ingredients, like lemongrass and thyme. They also teach how to recycle paper, a great skill to use at home.

PORTUGAL

Foodies rejoice! At Portugal’s Six Senses Douro Valley, guests can learn about the benefits of sprouts as well as how to make their own pickles and yogurt - impressive culinary skills that also help cut down on food and plastic waste. For a zen experience and unique souvenir, be present in the moment at the Kokedama workshop. Kokedama is a Japanese gardening technique where plants are placed in a natural pot made of soil, moss, and cotton yarn.

VIETNAM

Channel your inner hippie by going to a natural tie-dye workshop at the Six Senses Ninh Van Bay Earth Lab. You’ll learn how to use natural ingredients as dye and take home your own tie-dyed bag. For those hoping to work on living a plastic-free life, there’s a workshop on how to make beeswax wrap that can replace cling film. And guests can learn how to take plastic bags and turn them into jewelry. 

OMAN

Follow the process from beginning to end for the glass recycling at Six Senses Zighy Bay – 100% of the glass used there is recycled on property – and along the way, guests can melt down some of the colorful crushed glass into a fun shape to take home. The Earth Lab at Zighy Bay is another Six Senses spot where visitors can upcycle candles and soaps.

MALDIVES

Six Senses Laamu Maldives has the all-day Earth Lab Discovery experience, which shows guests how common waste can be made into something useful by composting and upcycling. They have a candle upcycling activity where guests make their own souvenir candle from old surfboard wax and leftover candles. And after the coconut oil workshop, guests come away with a bottle of handmade coconut oil and knowledge about how the parts of the coconut tree are used in local Maldives culture. For guests with green thumbs, or who wish they had one, they have a weekly microgreens workshop that teaches about the benefits of microgreens and how to grow them.

Author Bio: Kristin Conard is a writer based in central California with a passion for travel and wellness. She has had bylines in a variety of publications including 7x7, BBC Travel, Destination Weddings & Honeymoons, Conde Nast Traveler, and more. She is also the co-author of the award-winning Kansas Trail Guide: The Best Hiking, Biking, and Riding in the Sunflower State.