This sweet 280 square foot guest suite was designed with the earth in mind. It’s called the Eco-Shed and is located on the hillside above Snug Cove Village on Bown Island in B.C.

Here are some eco-details: Its numerous green qualities include passive-solar design, extensive reclaimed and FSC-certified wood, highly efficient fixtures and windows, nontoxic materials and finishes, and excellent ventilation. The building’s spray-foam insulation system also offers excellent soundproofing. Via:: Eco-Shed

The Limes Hotel by Argentinian designer Alexander Lotersztain opened at the end of last month in Brisbane, Australia.

Okay, so talk about aesthetics up the yin yang. There’s an internal buzz happening on my end. This is just hot stuff. Check it out.

Roof setting overlooking the city of Brisbane, which is now officially on my radar.

Another rooftop view. I love those odd shaped tables that glow in the dark. So seductive.

“Drawing inspiration from a lifetime of international travel, with countless hours spent in airplanes and hotel rooms, Alexander concentrated his design focus on the 21 rooms to cater for the independent traveler, rejecting the 5-star norms and opting to focus on guests’ primary travel requirements through unique design solutions in styled lodgings.” Source:: Dezeen

Well…a trip to a country of tropical islands for vacation would hardly be complete without a trip to a beach with white sands and turquoise waters. Particularly for my 13-year-old daughter Lydia this was the fulfillment of a long-held dream; to be able to frolic in warm, clear waters that turn from a light turquoise to a deep blue.

The quiet island of Gili Meno off the northwest coast of the island of Lombok was just the ticket. The fastest thing on the island were the little lizards and the donkey carts and the noisiest things were the roosters in the morning and the geckos at night. Gili Meno is quiet in part because there are only about 300 inhabitants, no motorized vehicles and no fresh water. Lodgings are adequate but still fairly primitive and there just isn’t any nightlife. At least not in the nightclub sense! It suited us just fine.

A stroll around the entire island took just over 2 hours with a break for coconut juice at a little open air cafe. A bit of snorkeling revealed an aquarium’s worth of brightly colored fish and a trip in a glass-bottomed boat gave us the thrill of seeing about a dozen sea turtles! Dinner was as much freshly caught fish as you could eat for about $3.00 and, as long as the fan didn’t give out in your bungalow, life was good.

We only had a few days but they were a wonderful few days. As we lined up to splash through the surf and onto the boat that would take us back to Lombok we couldn’t help but think about the future of Gili Meno. Of all the reports and speculation I’ve seen and read about global warming and rising sea levels - small, flat Gili Meno made it very real to me.

Again, I come back to that feeling that all of these places are important to us - to our dreams and imaginations and the idea that, like Lydia, they can one day be realized. What a precious place you are Gili Meno. May you stay safe and be here for us to return to.

—Karen LeAnn McKay, Manager of Ten Thousand Villages Portland

In Bali I met with a group called Mitra Bali (shown at right.) They work with about 70 groups, primarily on Bali but also on Java. These beautiful products perfectly fuse traditional Balinese craftsmanship with modern design. It’s wonderful to witness the creative freedom in artisans as they explore new designs and ideas in art rather than being forced to hammer out the same thing over and over again. Fair trade is a way to both preserve traditional art forms and and allow a market for new expressions that are equally authentic. Mitra Bali has some great social programs and a very important business ethic that puts honesty, transparency and respect first.

Naturally scented cinnamon bowls from Mitra Bali.

On the island of Lombok I met with a smaller group (shown at left) that focuses exclusively on the traditional pottery of the island. Lombok pottery produces beautiful, low-fired pottery in traditional ways in the village but, again, with an openness to new shapes and designs. I was blown away by the simple beauty of the pieces. I hope that the design asthetic in the states returns again to a more natural, earthy look as I think that this will really help groups like this using natural materials. This group has to work very hard to make things work as their product is more limited, heavy and fragile. They work very hard to pack everything well (an art in itself!) and then they have to deal with the fact that shipping is getting more and more expensive. Lombok does not have a container port so things have to be trucked and ferried to Java.

Traditionally crafted cannisters from the island of Lombak; fairly traded pottery

So, once again, lots of connections. Let’s keep those connections active.

–Karen LeAnn McKay, Manager of Ten Thousand Villages Portland

Oh gorgeous eco-beautiful Star Island Hotel in the Bahamas opening in 2009.

Oh Baby, check this out. An off-the-grid island resort on Star Island in the Bahamas is opening next year. Imagine swimming in that.  Jen, this is for you.

Here are the eco-details as reported by Inhabitat:

Architect David Sklar says the project is an experimental ground for the latest eco-technologies and materials, hoping to set an example for the resort industry. The building’s structure is designed to meet or exceed LEED requirements, through the use of materials such as cold formed steel (CFS), a mostly recycled material which relies on its manufacturing process to give it the same strength as virgin steel. The heat-free manufacturing process also reduces its carbon footprint. Additionally, construction time, shipping demands and waste are reduced through the use of insulated concrete forms – lightweight forms that are filled with concrete on site.

Inside the resort, LED lighting and geothermal HVAC has been employed. Water is provided by the rainwater harvesting system that takes advantage of every surface from roofs to roads, up to 100,000 gallons a day of which is then purified and stored underground. Smaller details have also been considered, meaning guests can enjoy shade-grown organic coffee in the restaurant, relax on fair-trade furniture in the lobby and rest their bones on rapidly renewable-bamboo sheets.  ::Source: Inhabitat

And I especially love this: “Plants are largely fed with the compostable waste created by the hotel. Any other waste is recycled or converted to energy and fuel.”

Let’s go! Don’t forget to purchase your carbon offsets.