Best out of waste: This is how four friends built a resort made of 5 lakh plastic waste bottles in Andaman!

Outback Havelock in Andaman, a resort made of 5 lakh plastic waste bottles, stands as an example of protecting nature from the dirty chaos.

You might be knowing about the beautiful and picturesque resorts that are present in the Andaman Islands. But do you know that there exists a resort made of 5 lakh plastic waste bottles? If no, discover how a group of four friends made this "eco dream" possible with an aim to give something back to nature.

Zorawar Purohit, who is born into a Fauji family has been working as a diving instructor since 2012. While he was taking training, he realized that tourists always asked him about the best food and resorts. And, that's when he decided to make a resort but without compromising with nature.

"The drive against plastic has been around for decades. I realized that I had a chance to do something," Zorawar says. He points out that one could easily see plastic on the island. "While Andamans are serene, the waste on Havelock island is collected at a dumping yard," the DU pass out adds.

Beginning of a resort, made of 5 lakh plastic bottles

In the year 2017, he, with his three friends, Akhil Verma, Aditya Verma, and Rohit Pathak, started working on creating an eco-friendly luxury. "I remember a video that I had seen on YouTube. The video included people using plastic bottles for rural construction. On the same line, we tried a 1 sq meter wall to test the concept," Zorawar says.

The hard work of the friends worked. After that, they started collecting waste plastic bottles from different dump yards in the Andamans. Zorawar says that it was a challenge for them.

"To make bottles rigid like brick, we were filling bottles with dirt and mud. It was a major challenge for us," the 31-year-old said. The team, along with the hired labourers, left no chance to measure the capacity of walls. They often jumped on the walls to test their strength.

Apart from plastic bottles, they collected 200kg of rubber. The team used plastic bottles for the construction of the resort. However, they used rubber for making footpaths in the resort.

After a year of hard work and determination, they finally built Outback Havelock, which is spread in half an acre of land. The resort has eight jungle view luxury rooms. The team also built a 60-seater cafe made from 1.5 lakh plastic bottles.

Salt Water Cafe

The resort is occupied with 'Salt Water' cafe which is also an attraction for the tourists. The cafe has an organic kitchen and is collaborated with local fishermen to get fresh produce.

Zorawar says that he was worried about the response over the resort from guests. "Fortunately, every guest has loved our concept and idea," he says.

Due to plastic, Outback resort is five times stronger than "brick construction". It is also ten times more waterproof, comparatively. Zorawar says that eco-friendly initiatives are the need of the hour. "Collectively if done right, we can be the happiest planet in the world. We are far from it," he says.

How to reach

Havelock island is a two-hour journey from Port Blair airport via ferry. Visitors can inform them about the flight timings so that they can arrange a ferry. However, Government ferry is also available but that can be booked via agents. After reaching Havelock island, the resort provides a pick-up cab service to the resort. The total time taken to reach the resort from the island is 15 minutes.

Where: SH5 Govind Nagar Havelock Islands, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Website: Outback Resorts
Contact: 095319 49235

Also Read: Hey Beach Baby! Check out these 10 beach resorts in Goa you need to visit at least once in your lifetime!

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