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l’Elephant’s Last Straw
The l’Elephant Group of five restaurants is joining the push against plastic straws in Luang Prabang, by serving drinks without tubes unless patrons request them. The restaurants are reporting that the results are quite good, with only a few customers asking for straws. l’Elephant’s participation in Luang Prabang’s “No Straw” project is part of the restaurant group’s ongoing effort to eliminate plastic pollution and drive towards sustainability. l’Elephant’s five eateries currently deliver meals by electric vehicles. They centralize purchasing to limit food waste, cook as much as possible from scratch to avoid packaging, and offer food that won’t be sold on time to orphanages. They separate waste and recycle it or convert into energy, give bones to dogs, and use of recyclable Bento boxes for take away meals. Since the beginning of the year, l’Elephant has recycled more than 48 kg of cans and 118 kg of plastic. l’Elephant Restaurants
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BambooLao’s Straws Win Top MIST Prize
Contributed by TTR Weekly BambooLao from Luang Prabang beat 111 entrants from across Southeast Asia to take top prize in the 2018 Mekong Innovative Startups in Tourism (MIST) Challenge. The travel startup competition, supported by the Australian government and Asian Development Bank, includes Asia’s most prominent travel-specialised venture capitalists among its advisors. MIST’s top prize comes with a USD10,000 grant. BambooLao gets the prize cash to continue developing an alternative to the common plastic straw as part of a campaign to eliminate straws from hotels and resorts across Asia. So far, the small village enterprise has produced 80,000 reusable bamboo straws and other bamboo utensils, using indigenous bamboo materials and a proprietary natural treatment process. Aman Group, Pullman, Rosewood Group, and Sofitel properties, as well as EXO Travel have purchased bamboo straws. BambooLao estimates their environmentally friendly products have been able to eliminate 5 million single-use plastic straws so far. “The MIST innovation grant will help us scale-up production from one to three villages. We must invest in capacity to meet growing demand,” said BambooLao founder Arounothay Khoungkhakoune. Startup Ecohost from Vietnam took MIST’s second prize and received a USD5,000 grant. Ecohost facilitates quality tourism experiences in the Vietnamese countryside, working with rural communities to develop tours and activities, while improving the capacity of local homestays to serve international guests.MIST supports high-growth-potential emerging market startups in travel and hospitality — especially startups that generate positive impacts for communities, culture, and the environment. The programme’s five 2018 finalists refined their business acumen and pitching skills during MIST’s events including a weeklong business fundamentals bootcamp, and five months of customized coaching by industry experts. In addition, MIST hosted pitch competitions in Ho Chi Minh City, Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, during the Mekong Tourism Forum, and at the Mekong Travel Startup Forum in Singapore during ITB Asia. “BambooLao, Ecohost, and other MIST finalists demonstrate how the Mekong region’s bright, innovative entrepreneurs are finding practical solutions to solve industry problems, while striving to make tourism more inclusive and sustainable,” said Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office executive director Jens Thraenhart. MTCO was the co-organiser of MIST initiatives. BambooLao
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Oudomxay Revs Up for Boat Racing Fest
Nafang Village in Oudomxay Province is going all out for this year’s boat racing festival on 26-27 October, with a beauty contest, local food show, and art exhibition backing up the 30-boat competition held at the end of Buddhist Lent. The race roster shows 17 men’s teams and 13 women’s teams will participate in the race, and each has a crew of 20. Oudomxay has been growing in popularity among foreign and local travellers in recent years, with Nam Kat Waterfall taking centre stage. Oudomxay is mainly a rural province and has several ethnic groups with interesting lifestyles, such as the Khmu, who can easily be visited at Pakbeng on the Mekong. Other places worth visiting are the Singkham Buddha temple, where devotees can offer prayers, Chom Ong Cave, and Tad Talae waterfall. People visiting Oudomxay can also enjoy the local dishes, such as Or Lam (meat mixed with eggplant and vegetables) and Soup Phak (vegetables cooked with sesame, ginger and chili). In the first five months of this year, more than 94,300 people visited Oudomxay province and generated revenues of more than 50 billion kip (US$ 6 million), according to the provincial Information, Culture and Tourism Department. Oudomxay can be accessed by air, road and Mekong Riverboat. Source: Vientiane Times
