bãi san hô: un hommage aux objects traditionnels
If objects could speak, they would have thousands of stories to tell. At Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô, every object you may see around you has a story. From the simple cutlery of our restaurants to the beautiful artefacts in your villa, all objects were selected carefully in line with one of our most important values: empowering local communities.
A THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD HERITAGE
Vietnamese Art has undergone a very long and prosperous history with a total of seven eras, from Neolithic Art to today’s Modern Art. One thing remains however unchanged and timeless: traditional craftsmanship.
At Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô, we took pride in showcasing the work of its local artisans. You will find below three examples of traditional work used in our interior decoration.
DRIED CALABASH GOURDS
The mysterious calabash fruit – also called miracle fruit in Asia – grows in many different shapes: they can be huge and rounded, small, bottle-shaped or slim, and even grow to be over a metre long. In Vietnam, rounder varieties are typically called calabash gourds. They can be found essentially in Muong minority, in Northern Vietnam and in Central Highland. It is a very popular fruit, commonly stir-fried or cooked in soup with shrimps, meatballs, clams and various fishes.
In order to transform it into a flask, the fruit is left to grow hard on the fields and collected late in order to remove the seeds easily. The husks are soaked in water for a week for the inside to decompose. Then, after cleaning the inside and drying the husk for a few more days, the calabash will turn darker and harder. Used for medicinal purposes, local communities also used it during ceremonies to carry wine. In our resort, it is used as a decoration element in our restaurant.
TRADITIONAL BRAIDED BASKETS
No matter where you go when traveling around Vietnam, you will always encounter people (often women), young and old, carrying Quang Ganh on their shoulders.In Vietnam, each province has its own craft village, and each craft village its own specialty. Actually, hand craftmanship is so rooted in the Vietnamese culture and history that many places and street names relate to the specific craft that the street was initially known for.
Handwoven bamboo baskets, vegetable fibers baskets or rattan baskets (strong fibrous plant) are traditionally used for many different purposes like carrying food, freshly harvested rice, tea leaves, clothes or books. In Bãi San Hô, we use different types of traditional baskets, whether it is to carry laundry, food, or to carry herbs and vegetables grown in our own garden. It will certainly also be used to harvest the homegrown rice that we cultivate in our very own paddy fields.
Beside, those beautiful rattan baskets were also incorporated in our interior decoration, such as in the reception area where they perfectly frame the main entrance. But baskets are not the only braided objects that can be found in the resort. Traditional conical hats (known as nón lá hat - leaf hat) are also as decoration elements, notably in the library. Worn to be protected from both the sun and rain, those hats are usually hand-made from palm leaves.
COCONUT SHELL TOOLS
In the past, using coconut shells to create cooking utensils or useful tools was very popular in Vietnam. Being an abundant resource, local communities always took advantage of coconut trees, but also of everything that was available around them. Waste was not an option at the time and every part of vegetables and fruits were consumed or reshaped skill-fully.
This eco friendly material has now become very popular all around the world, proving that plastic can easily be replaced by more sustainable materials. We do use coconut shells within our resort, in our restaurants and a Hoa Sen Spa, as mixing bowls.
Should you want to know more about Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô and/or about its interior design, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Quentin GUIRAUD, Public Relations and Communications Manager at qguiraud@zannier.com / +32 472 05 57 19