The Story of Betelnut Sumba

Betelnut Lodge started out as a love affair with the island of Sumba, its people, especially in Kodi where our retreat calls home, and its pristine waves. Ben found our little spot about 12 years ago has spent the last 10 years camping on the land integrating himself within the village, exploring and reconnecting with his soul away from the noise, hustle and bustle of the modern world. After a while he decided to share his little secret with Malcolm and Jeanne who equally fell in love with the place.

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To be honest we were pretty hesitant about creating a retreat in this part of the world. It would have been easy for us to keep the secret of this paradise to ourselves. The mass tourism that has taken over large parts of Indonesia could be seen as a good or bad thing depending on your viewpoint. However, we decided to work with the locals and village elders to create something that works in harmony with nature, and respects those that already live here. As such Betelnut Lodge was born.

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​​​Betelnut Lodge is all about getting back to nature. We have deliberately built as rustic and natural as possible. Almost everything is made of locally grown bamboo, wood and alang grass. There is no mobile phone coverage, which means you get to experience life as it has always been up until very recently, quiet and slow. Food is grown and cooked in our jungle kitchen and served village style, meaning we eat together and share stories of the day. There's no menu but ve have a good variety of dishes from local cuisine to Indian curries, barbequed fish, fresh salads, vegetables and even the occasional pizza night.

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