Green dreams in the forest
In a river valley in Bali, a kingdom of sustainable architecture is bringing a whole new meaning to nature’s call, writes Rachel Thomas.
Ablanket of steam rises through the leaves as the rain hits the bamboo roof. About 12 hours ago, I was shivering in Wellington southerlies, and now I’m in a forest in Bali, outside a bamboo treehouse, sitting on a toilet.
The skinny trunk of a palm tree shoots up through the bamboo tiles of the roof beneath me, craning over the Ayung River below.
‘‘Holy cow,’’ I muse out loud, to no one at all.
It’s hard to fathom Green Village is just an hour’s drive north of Bali’s airport in Denpasar – a hub of slow Customs lines, tired tourists, horns and sweaty drivers yelling ‘‘tack-see, tack-see’’.
By the time I got to the Sim card line, I was well on my way to descending into a pile of jet lag and bitterness.
The peace in these backwoods is engine fuel.
As my tank reboots, I ascribe a whole new meaning to the concept of nature’s call.
For some, these huts are homes.
Green Village is made up of 12 separate homes and villas, handconstructed predominantly from bamboo.
Each one is perched on the banks of the Bali’s Ayung River and half are listed on homesharing accommodation site Airbnb.
From above, the rooftops look like giant leaves sprawled along the riverside.
From the ground, it’s a kingdom of sustainable architecture – treehouses from dreams.
Each one is tailored to its owners by the Ibuku architecture team founded by eco-nomad Elora Hardy.
She wanted her team to ‘‘think about what a house would look like if you had never seen a house before’’.
Nothing is square. The lines between inside and outside are blurred.
My room has a door, but I go through a second to the bathroom, and I’m outside again.
Suddenly there’s a whole new meaning to nature’s call.
In what could almost be a nod to Hobbiton, some of the doors are round, pivoting in the middle of their bamboo frames.
Others are shaped like eggs, teardrops, and ovals.
Some are filled with glass, others are woven, and some don’t seem to have doors at all.
Perhaps the most impressive feat in all of Green Village is Sharma Springs.
At six storeys, it’s the tallest bamboo structure in Bali, and undeniably a work of art.
Sharma Springs is one of several in Green Village that’s reached through a circular bamboo ‘‘bridge’’ that snakes through the bush.
In this case, a natural carpet stretches along 15 metres of a webbed bamboo cocoon that feeds into the fourth floor.
There are four bedrooms – all with ensuites, hanging pods for bookworms, a spiral staircase up the middle, and rows of bamboo scaffolding that hold the terraced levels together.
‘‘Ibuku is creating spaces where living in nature is living in style,’’ Hardy says.
It’s on the other side of the river to the rest of Green Village too, so feels even more private.
At $1122 a night, it’s a splurge, but sleeps eight.
If your crew was four couples, that’s a more digestable $280 a night.
My room is one of three in the more modestly-priced ($699/night) Ananda House, at the eastern-most tip of Green Village.
Everything, from the woven bed head to the stone basin, is made out of natural materials and everything serves a purpose.
Round shoots hanging from the outside arch provide a nest for lights.
A wide bamboo cone shooting up from the floor doubles as a home for light switches.
Shampoo holders are flat-top stones, as are the ‘‘tiles’’.
The hole in the roof of the neighbouring room allows trees to grow up through it.
Green Village panders to nature, not the other way around.
Bamboo is more flexible, more durable and lighter than most timbers, and has greater ultimate strength than steel.
It’s also termite resistant and, when treated with boron, makes it inedible for insects.
Bamboo homes have been known to withstand 9.0 magnitude earthquakes. Take note, New Zealand.
Hardy’s father, jeweller John Hardy, founded the nearby Green School, another bamboo wonderland for children, dedicated to teaching sustainable living and holistic approaches to life.
Both were created as places where people can live and learn in an authentic relationship with nature.
The humidity is making my camera steam up, so I wipe the lens with my singlet, snap a few photos, then put it down.
My iPhone has the same problem, so I shelve the desire to make a viral Pinterest board chronicling my adventure, toss it on the white linen, pick up the complimentary chocolate and head for a pool.
It’s still raining, but who cares?
Let nature win.
❚ The writer travelled to Bali and stayed at Green Village courtesy of Airbnb.