A spa treatment equals a new treeBY TINA ARCEO DUMLAO
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Accommodating the millions of tourists who come to the Philippines’ most popular tourist destination takes a lot out of this island famous the world over for its postcard-perfect, three-kilometer long powdery white beach.
There are serious concerns over the proper disposal of human and commercial waste left behind by the visitors who flock to the island and nagging fears that the island has opened its fragile ecosystem to too much development that has come in too soon.
And there is also the basic issue of getting enough clean water to the island that generates millions of pesos in tourism revenue every year.
Fortunately for the locals and visitors who flock to Boracay, award-winning Mandala Spa & Villas has put together its TREEtment Project that concretizes its pledge to plant a tree for every spa treatment and every night booked at one of the country’s most popular destination spas.
For Mandala, the TREEtment Project is one more way to ensure that the island will always have the water that it needs since it targets the Nabaoy Watershed in mainland Aklan—Boracay’s primary source of water.
Since it was launched in July 2009, Mandala and its partners and green-minded volunteers have planted 5,000 seedlings of fruit-bearing and endemic trees at the reservoir. And Mandala has hired full-time caretakers to improve the chances of these seedlings growing into mature trees so vital to the watershed.
This year, the target is to double the number of trees planted at the reservoir to 10,000, says Mandala Sales and Marketing Manager Abegale Clariño.
It is on the way to achieving that target with the 3,000 seedlings planted last Feb. 28 in partnership with the Boracay Island Water Co. of the Ayala group with about another 3,000 seedlings scheduled to be planted on April 28 in celebration of Earth Day.
“We should take care of the island from which we have benefited so much,” says Clariño, “It is just right to give back because the environment here is very fragile and we depend so much on it for our operations.”
And it is not just the watershed that directly benefits from the TREEtment Project, says Clariño, as it gives its guests one more reason to get a well-deserved massage or treatment or stay at one of its pricey villas, encouraging them to take as much care of the environment as they do their own minds and bodies.
According to Dieter Schrottmann, Mandala Director who conceptualized the initiative, the TREEtment Project was inspired by the belief that “wellness is a way of life that is intractably connected to the health of our planet.”
Mandala started its journey to become a “green” spa as early as 2001 when it overhauled its waste management policies to keep the trash its throws away to the barest minimum.
Mandala only uses natural products in its treatments, such as its Hilot Trilogy awarded the Spa Treatment of the Year in 2009’s Asia Spa Awards, and it recycles its water.
These endeavors admittedly make Mandala’s operations more expensive to keep going, but it is a price that its guests and clients are apparently willing to pay since they do go back for more treatments.
“As a leader in the world of wellness and spa, we are doing our share in healing the planet and creating a better world for all through our TREEtment Project and our community outreach programs,” adds Schrottmann in a statement.
Mandala obviously cannot do its projects alone but it is heartened that it does not lack for volunteers to help plant the seedlings all over the Nabaoy Watershed, like the Philippine Coast Guard, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Boracay Foundation Inc., Boracay Chamber of Commerce local government officials, Boracay and Aklan residents, its guests and regular visitors to Boracay and employees from other resorts and hotels like upscale Discovery Shores.
Clariño attributes the encouraging support to the TREEtment Project to the growing awareness that people and companies should take serious steps so that there would still be a Boracay Island left for the next generation to visit and be justifiably proud of.
There are serious concerns over the proper disposal of human and commercial waste left behind by the visitors who flock to the island and nagging fears that the island has opened its fragile ecosystem to too much development that has come in too soon.
And there is also the basic issue of getting enough clean water to the island that generates millions of pesos in tourism revenue every year.
Fortunately for the locals and visitors who flock to Boracay, award-winning Mandala Spa & Villas has put together its TREEtment Project that concretizes its pledge to plant a tree for every spa treatment and every night booked at one of the country’s most popular destination spas.
For Mandala, the TREEtment Project is one more way to ensure that the island will always have the water that it needs since it targets the Nabaoy Watershed in mainland Aklan—Boracay’s primary source of water.
Since it was launched in July 2009, Mandala and its partners and green-minded volunteers have planted 5,000 seedlings of fruit-bearing and endemic trees at the reservoir. And Mandala has hired full-time caretakers to improve the chances of these seedlings growing into mature trees so vital to the watershed.
This year, the target is to double the number of trees planted at the reservoir to 10,000, says Mandala Sales and Marketing Manager Abegale Clariño.
It is on the way to achieving that target with the 3,000 seedlings planted last Feb. 28 in partnership with the Boracay Island Water Co. of the Ayala group with about another 3,000 seedlings scheduled to be planted on April 28 in celebration of Earth Day.
“We should take care of the island from which we have benefited so much,” says Clariño, “It is just right to give back because the environment here is very fragile and we depend so much on it for our operations.”
And it is not just the watershed that directly benefits from the TREEtment Project, says Clariño, as it gives its guests one more reason to get a well-deserved massage or treatment or stay at one of its pricey villas, encouraging them to take as much care of the environment as they do their own minds and bodies.
According to Dieter Schrottmann, Mandala Director who conceptualized the initiative, the TREEtment Project was inspired by the belief that “wellness is a way of life that is intractably connected to the health of our planet.”
Mandala started its journey to become a “green” spa as early as 2001 when it overhauled its waste management policies to keep the trash its throws away to the barest minimum.
Mandala only uses natural products in its treatments, such as its Hilot Trilogy awarded the Spa Treatment of the Year in 2009’s Asia Spa Awards, and it recycles its water.
These endeavors admittedly make Mandala’s operations more expensive to keep going, but it is a price that its guests and clients are apparently willing to pay since they do go back for more treatments.
“As a leader in the world of wellness and spa, we are doing our share in healing the planet and creating a better world for all through our TREEtment Project and our community outreach programs,” adds Schrottmann in a statement.
Mandala obviously cannot do its projects alone but it is heartened that it does not lack for volunteers to help plant the seedlings all over the Nabaoy Watershed, like the Philippine Coast Guard, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Boracay Foundation Inc., Boracay Chamber of Commerce local government officials, Boracay and Aklan residents, its guests and regular visitors to Boracay and employees from other resorts and hotels like upscale Discovery Shores.
Clariño attributes the encouraging support to the TREEtment Project to the growing awareness that people and companies should take serious steps so that there would still be a Boracay Island left for the next generation to visit and be justifiably proud of.
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