Gecko Villa Legal / Ethics / Environment Declarations

Rainwater is collected and used extensively. The swimming pool is salt based to avoid the use of chlorine. Water use is controlled de facto as there is no mains supply.

Waste is recycled wherever possible, and a particular effort is made to encourage the local community to avoid littering and environmentally unfriendly waste disposal practices.

Electricity is metred and we encourage guests to minimize the use of air-conditioning. Power efficient, energy saving fittings and equipment are used.

The wood used in the construction of Gecko Villa is local “Pradoo”. It is heavier than teak and twice as hard and is resistant to termites, grows rapidly, and is well suited to the soil of the Northeast. Most importantly, it is a local and sustainable tree that has the advantages of teak without the environmental implications. The roof of the building and its extensive balconies are raised and sheltered in the typical architectural style that is designed to ensure maximum cooling breezes and ventilation, & shelter from the tropical sun. Whilst the appeal of modernity has encouraged many Thais to choose a western styled home set on the ground, we believe that such a tendency is merely one of fashion and does not match the construction design with local requirements – ventilation, flood avoidance, termite risk reduction, etc. Gecko Villa aims to show that inherited architectural traditions can be usefully and attractively preserved.

Gecko Villa has a deliberate policy of countering deforestation. To date, this has involved acquiring 20 rai (8 acres) of adjoining mature woodland originally destined for felling and conversion into rice paddies, in order to help maintain the eco-system and natural wildlife. This acquisition was directly funded with revenues from the operation.
A further 20 rai site of unproductive rice paddy adjoining the property was also acquired (again funded with revenues from the operation)and has been totally replanted with trees. Reforestation is crucial in the Northeast of Thailand, historically a vast area covered with thick forests that were originally felled for the wood and then for conversion into rice paddies, upsetting not only the local habitat of indigenous flora and fauna, but also placing an enormous strain on water requirement in this drought prone region. Whilst it is considered that the methane production of rice paddies has been overstated, the need for reforestation is clear.

All revenues generated at Gecko Villa are retained by the local villagers participating in its operation. As such, these families are direct stakeholders rather than employees. They are all from the surrounding villages and have enhanced access to medical care thanks to the operation. Revenues from Gecko Villa have been used to provide a better education for 4 children to date.

One of Gecko Villa’s main achievements has been preventing the typical separation of families and the migration of parents to Bangkok or further afield in seeking unskilled employment far from home. Traditionally, young children are left with aging grandparents, as parents seek temporary work in the capital, returning only for the rice harvests. Gecko Villa has enabled several families to stay together, promoting stability and a secure, local and individually empowering source of employment.