Organic farming for long-term sustainability
A large part of the Hotel School campus and Maringi Resort is dedicated to the growth and maintenance of our sustainable and organic farm which is based on the principles of permaculture. Its produce is served at Maringi’s restaurant and at Makan Dulu.
At the farm, we teach students new organic farming methods with long-term sustainability in mind. Besides increasing local knowledge about responsible agriculture, and providing our restaurants with fresh produce, we are able to offer our students healthy and balanced meals.
What is permaculture?
Permaculture (permanent agriculture) was originally coined in Australia in the late seventies by David Holmgren and Bill Mollison. Bill Mollison defines it as “a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system.”
To understand the very basics of permaculture, it’s important to recognize that all decisions are rooted in three ethics: earth care, people care, and fair share.
Permaculture is a complete shift in lifestyle– a change of approach that ensures that our habits and practices are working in cooperation with, and benefit to, the planet rather than merely taking from and polluting it. It’s a rigid system in terms of ethics, but it’s surprisingly open in its approach. Whatever works well for taking care of people and our planet has a place within the practice. This makes it ideal to introduce to all the home villages of our students.
Stories that inspire
Our Projects

School
Today we are proud to successfully run two independent educational projects on Sumba: a hotel school and a training restaurant.

Farm
At the farm, we teach students new organic farming methods with long-term sustainability in mind. Besides increasing …

Maringi
As a real-life study environment for our 60 Hotel School students, we opened a small resort with a big heart: Maringi Sumba.

Makan Dulu
Training restaurant Makan Dulu is a magical real-life study environment where dreams come true for our 20 students.

Environmental
We aim to raise environmental awareness with students, tourists, and local communities. We have implemented …

Community
Everything we do on Sumba is for and with the local community. We love the people of Sumba and we care for their needs.