Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui Celebrates Sustainability and Samui Heritage This Holiday Season

As the countdown to the year-end festivities begins at Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, a concerted effort is being made to celebrate the season. In a departure from traditional ornamentation, the resort has chosen to focus on community and cultural preservation as the core of its design theme. “As a trend-setter in the areas of ecology and sustainability on the island, we are drawing on our long-standing relationship with the people of Samui and the delicate ecosystem that it shares with them,” smiles Jasjit Assi, General Manager.

Sustainability Takes Centre Stage at Four Seasons Koh Samui

Creating awareness for the brand’s award winning Four Seasons For Good program, the team’s commitment to give back is centred around two pillars, Planet (environmental impact) and People (social impact). “The island of Koh Samui has a rich history of rice farming, fishing and coconut cultivation that are increasingly under threat from the impact of globalisation and an increase in tourism,” remarks Thada Wasagool, Sustainability Manager. The resort prides itself for its positive and ongoing involvement with the local communities and environment to help mitigate these changes – something that has been a key initiative across all teams at the resort. “From eco-drives and reef conservation to buying locally from farms and fishermen on the island, we have fostered meaningful relationships with our co-inhabitants on this precious little piece of paradise in the Gulf of Thailand,” he adds.

Samui Homeland: Honouring Culture and Community This Holiday Season

Celebrating the resort’s efforts at community involvement, sustainability, and cultural preservation, the centrepiece of this year’s décor will be a spectacular Christmas Tree created in partnership with local artisans and school-children.  “Constructed from locally grown rice stalks and flowers, every element of design will be crafted from locally-sourced organic material,” shares Thada.

This year’s holiday program will also feature two community outreach programs, engaging with local schools to deliver hands-on learning about sustainability and agriculture. Students and farmers from around the island will be invited to join in the festivity, as the resort teams up to create this one-of-a-kind, emblematic Christmas Tree. “The idea is to have a playful exchange of ideas and learning with local children and community leaders, and also to give back, by recycling the material collected once the event has concluded,” he explains.

Spreading Joy Through Sustainability and Community at Koh Samui

A special feature of this year’s initiative will be the Rice Planting and DIY Composting activities at the local Baan Na Kai School. Led by local sustainability experts Aunty Yai Nui and Uncle Ta Jet, the resort will sponsor two sessions where students can learn first-hand the benefits of organic rice farming and waste composting. A pre-Christmas field trip to the rice fields for a learning and planting session will be followed by a post-Christmas visit to the fields to replant harvested rice. “In tandem with this initiative, the resort’s gardening team will also collaborate with school teachers in a Flower Planting module at Angthong School, to show students how to grow decorative flowers and execute sustainable landscaping,” shares Thada, who will personally lead a Cosmos flower-planting exercise at the school, and return with the remaining flowering plants in January to enhance the school landscape and help decorate local temples.

“This is a season of giving, and we are committed to sharing with the people and the place that make all this possible,” says Jasjit. “The Christmas tradition of joy and happiness must resonate here on the island in a meaningful and lasting way, and that is what we hope to achieve this year!”