Sonu Shivdasani: "If we all traveled, the world would be a much better place"

When you meet Sonu Shivdasani you would say that his appearance and the energy he transmits is the perfect combination of the elegance and poise of an English gentleman and the serenity and wise look of a Buddhist monk. He defines himself on his business card as a "guardian of culture" and speaks with a measured and passionate tone at the same time, transmitting the authenticity of those who believe in what they do.

Thus, driven by his entrepreneurial character, his values, and a clear vision of what sustainable luxury tourism can do for the conservation of the planet, Sonu and his wife Eva founded Soneva in 1995 in the Maldives. Pioneers in the trend of so-called barefoot luxury, over the years they have created a thriving community that has made sustainability a whole philosophy of life.

How did you become the Sonu Shivdanasi you are today?
I think life is a combination of coincidences and experiences. My father loved to travel. I grew up in this environment and traveled to the Maldives frequently. I loved the destination, the country, I wanted to spend more time there and I thought why not build a house in the Maldives. In 1982, the government told me that if I wanted to live there I had to do something related to tourism. At that time, the hotels on the islands were terrible and me and my wife Eva decided to do something different.

We proposed to the government a redefined version of tourism in the country with a focus on luxury tourism. And so, 30 years ago we opened our first resort, Soneva Fushi, on the island of Kunfunadhoo. We took a risk and that's where it all started. We had no experience in the tourism or hospitality industries, but we had values and a clear vision.

The Soneva brand was born from the combination of the names Sonu and Eva. What has Eva meant in your life?
My father died when I was 13 years old and I have always needed a secure base to support me. I met Eva in my university days, during a Grand Prix in Monaco, and since then she became that much needed secure base for me, thanks to the strong values we share.

What is Soneva, what is the heart of Soneva?
Soneva is a couple passionate about what they do, with the same philosophy of life, values, and vision. 

When did the "clik" to work for nature conservation come? 

Eva is Swedish and in Sweden they have always been very committed to sustainability. It has always been very important to us. We studied together at university and at that time we were already very interested in environmental issues such as global warming. We had no experience or knowledge about aspects related to conservation and sustainability but our passion led us to action and action to knowledge.

I liken sustainability to the layers of an onion. There are always new things to learn all the time, new challenges. When you have removed one layer, a new one appears. For example, in 2008 we were importing water and then we learned how to filter and bottle our own water, how to recycle glass bottles. All of this has evolved over the years and now Soneva is 90% recyclable.

We have a glass factory where we recycle the bottles and different artists turn them into works of art. We recycle food waste and turn it into compost for the gardens where we grow our own vegetables. Every year we discover new challenges related to sustainability. 
 

You have even come up with a sustainable way to avoid mosquitoes in Soneva...
Yes, it's what we call mosquito management. In the past we used methods to kill mosquitoes that harmed other useful insects such as butterflies or dragonflies. We got in touch with a Dutch entomologist who suggested a new, much more sustainable method. We now put large buckets with a net soaked with a mixture of sugar, water, and baking soda. It creates a paste that gives off a smell similar to human skin and the mosquitoes go there and get trapped.

In this way, we have put an end to the mosquito problem in Soneva in a sustainable and environmentally balanced way. At present, we have 400 traps that catch around 9,000 mosquitoes a day each.

What does the concept of "barefoot luxury" that Soneva coined mean? Is sustainability just a fashionable trend in the luxury tourism industry? 

For me, so-called barefoot luxury is true luxury. In Madrid or Paris you can't walk barefoot but in the Maldives you can. Going barefoot allows you to relax, you feel more connected to the land and the destination you are in. You feel it. It allows you to integrate into the community and the real environment. You feel like a local. There are no barriers between you and nature. And it's much more sustainable because, if you're barefoot and eating in shorts, you don't need to go into a marble-floored, air-conditioned restaurant. You sit with your feet in the sand, in the open air, looking at the horizon, and enjoying your dinner and nature. That's much more sustainable than going into an air-conditioned place.

What is sustainability as a philosophy of life? 

At Soneva, we have televisions in the rooms but they are hidden and there is no cable TV. This way, you get an immersion in the destination. We don't serve bottled or branded water. And this is something that allows you, if you want, to change your habits in this regard when you return home.

You can see how we grow our vegetables. We reuse leftovers as compost, as well as leftover charcoal from barbecues. We use worms to clean and fertilize the soil. We use nature's resources to help us maintain a balance with the environment.

In relation to sustainability, do you agree more with the organic vision of the concept related to nature or the technological one that has more to do with the use of alternative energies?

I work with both concepts and I think that many times they go together. An example is the issue of mosquitoes that I mentioned before. We unite nature and in a certain technological way. We have talked to an entomologist who has been studying the habits of mosquitoes for 30 years and we know that mosquitoes are blind and that they move guided by their sense of smell and from that we discovered the formula for the mixture that attracts them to the trap. In a way this is all technology. 

I firmly believe in the idea of observing and following the patterns of nature to invent something new as Leonardo da Vinci did when, looking at the flight of birds, he designed the first prototypes of what would become airplanes in the future. Nature has a lot to teach us. And when it comes to energy, at Soneva we have been using solar energy in our resorts since 2008.

How do you balance a sustainable project with attracting tourists from all over the world to an island they arrive to by plane?
After this movement that has arisen questioning air travel, the reality is that aviation accounts for 2-3% of global carbon emissions, which is very little in relation to other factors such as the production and consumption of beef, for example, which is much more polluting. We have to put things in perspective. For example, someone traveling by car and staying in a rural tourist resort in the English countryside and driving to a local farm to eat beef or veal may be less sustainable even if they appear to be very green because they are having a vacation in the countryside.

Travel helps to conserve and protect, for example, many animal concessions in Africa. Species like sharks and turtles are being protected in the Maldives thanks to tourism. They used to be taken from the sea, boiled to remove the shells and then thrown away again - it was just horrible! Until the government realized that tourism could help protect these species. 

All these projects cost a lot of money. Is sustainability something limited only to the very wealthy?
Travel and tourism is enjoyed by only 20-30% of humanity. But sustainability can be something within the reach of any traveler, not just the wealthy. You can travel to many places on many different budgets and have a positive impact on a sustainability level by looking at where you stay, what you eat, what you do when you travel, what impact your trip has on the local community, and so on. 

At Soneva, we have been very committed to sustainability for years, starting with not using bottled water, using refillable containers in the bathroom amenities. We have stopped importing a lot of food, we try to replace the chicken we used to import with local fish and contribute to the sustainability of the community, our chef cooks incredible recipes with local ingredients! Ecology and economy go hand in hand.

What is the Soneva Foundation? 

In 2010 we established the Soneva Foundation with the intention of undertaking meaningful projects that have a positive environmental, social, and economic impact, and, more importantly, to offset carbon emissions from resort activities and guest flights. For example, we teach children in the Maldives to swim safely in the ocean while providing clean drinking water to 750,000 people around the world. We have provided 230,000 people in Darfur and Myanmar with fuel-efficient cook stoves that reduce deforestation and indoor air pollution.

Stoves supplied by the Soneva Foundation reduce wood consumption by 50%, air pollution by 80% and CO2 emissions by 60%. We have planted over 500,000 trees in Thailand, creating over 300 acres of biodiversity-rich forest and mitigating over 250,000 tons of CO2. Here are some of our foundation's projects.

If you could travel to the future in 50 years, what would you see?
I think the main change will be the use of renewable fuels instead of fossil fuels. All energy will be renewable. Most transportation will be electric, even airplanes, maybe the smaller ones at the beginning. Meat production will be the biggest problem in terms of gas emissions, and therefore meat will end up being a luxury and not something that is part of the regular human diet.