Close
Exit

By #TEAMIAN
brats@thestar.com.my

Felix Tee, 61, has a vision — to educate Malaysians on the eco-friendly lifestyle through Casabrina, his luxury getaway.

Felix Tee posing for a shot amidst his picturesque eco-villa.

Felix Tee posing for a shot amidst his picturesque eco-villa.

Almost everything in the resort has an eco-friendly element, from the custom-made wood furniture, made in his own factory to avoid wood wastage, to the farming of his own pesticide-free vegetables. Tee only uses third grade wood, which are smaller logs in diameter, from virgin forests that would be lumbered for land development.

As third grade wood are young trees, this will not contribute to deforestation. “I like to think out of the box,” he said, and that has certainly shown through his actions. The resort itself and its furniture are produced in his own factory, Cody Homes Sdn. Bhd.

Casabrina and its furniture were produced in Tee's wood factory.

Tee’s wood factory is located at Casabrina.

According to him, each wood has a specific function as well. Heavy hard wood is used for outdoors, medium hard wood is used to make indoor furnitures and timber is used for the flooring of some areas on Casabrina.

He also makes sure that the wood are 100 percent utilised, any extra wood would be crushed to wood chips and saw dusts to be used as humus, a dark organic material containing many beneficial nutrients for the trees.

At the wood factory, Tee makes sure that not a single wood goes to waste.

At the wood factory, Tee makes sure that not a single wood goes to waste.

“It’s a method widely used in countries like Korea, Japan and Taiwan,” he mentioned. Tee also owns a fish and vegetable farm near Casabrina, providing a fresh supply of homegrown food to the resort. The farming process is completely free of harmful pesticides. Instead, they use neem oil to repel the pests and avoid pollution.

Enzymes are used instead of traditional chemical fertilisers to avoid polluting rivers and to ensure that consumers can eat healthily, as Tee said: “The key to being happy is to be healthy”.

The pesticide-free farm produces good crops due to the use of neem oil.

The pesticide-free farm produces good crops due to the use of neem oil.

In his opinion, these extra efforts are worth it when it comes to everyone’s health. Even in Cody Homes, his wood factory, skylights are used for natural lighting during the day.

Tee always switches off primary lightings from 11pm onwards while keeping the secondary lightings on until day break to conserve electricity as much as possible.

The resort itself has plenty of open windows which allows natural lighting into the rooms and encourages guests to avoid using the air conditioning during the day to protect the environment. The resort management also encourages guests to not harm the wild insects and animals.

“They are the true inhabitants of this place, we are just passers-by,” said Wendy Heng, the manager of Casabrina.

Even the pool in Casabrina is well equipped with eco-friendly technology, such as the Perma System. The Perma System is a system developed to imitate the ecosystem, running all day long in order to minimise the amount of chlorine. Such a way of running a resort is rarely heard of in Malaysia.

Tee hopes that in the long run, more people would be interested in knowing how to lead a greener lifestyle. “All our needs are actually at our doorsteps as long as we bother to look at them,” he said knowingly.

Tee is now expanding his container hotel project which is also eco-friendly but more affordable for students and families so more people of the public can have the Casabrina experience.

About

Tell us what you think!

BTW…

BRATs Goes to Genting!

The final BRATs camp of the year promises to be the coolest – literally!

Read more Like this post0

#TeamSatpal: Turtle-y in Trouble

The 21st century brings unseen threats to local turtle conservation efforts.

Read more Like this post0

#TeamMayLee: The Point of Being Malaysian

In a modest village situated on the sandy shores of Terengganu, the production of ikan bilis has formed the livelihoods of most families for multiple generations.

Read more Like this post2

#TeamSatpal: The Fisherwomen’s Tale

When men go out to sea, these inspiring wives stay on land to support the family fishing business. by TEAM SATPAL On the coastline of Pantai Penunjuk in Kijal, Terengganu, lies the village of Kampung Tengah. This hidden gem on the map is home to fishing families whose main commodity is ikan bilis, or anchovies. […]

Read more Like this post0

#TeamMayLee: Conservation Conversation

Resorts World Kijal serves as a pioneer within the multitudes of hotels who now offer turtle- related services

Read more Like this post1

#TeamClarissa: Scoring in a Different Kind of Net

What life is like for a small-town fisherman in Terengganu.

Read more Like this post0

#TeamClarissa: Slowly but Surely

Turtle sanctuary efforts pay off as an unprecedented number of turtles return to nest.

Read more Like this post0

#TeamSatpal: Taking the wheel

CAPTAIN Yogeswaran Gopal Krishnan first stumbled across what would turn out to be a lifelong passion for sailing when he accompanied his friend to work on a ship as a crew member.

Read more Like this post3

#TeamMayLee: From dreams to reality

CRUISING on a yacht with the sea breeze in his hair, Hamie Azuar Hamizan looks like he was born for the sea life.

Read more Like this post4

#TeamClaire: Plenty of opportunities at sea

DID you know that the first solar-powered boat in Malaysia was mostly built by local university students?

Read more Like this post1

#TeamSatpal: Racing to new heights

A FEAR of heights might have ended Muhammad Ziyad Muhammad Hamzah’s horse riding career before it even started, but growing up in a family of professional endurance horse trainers gave him the motivation to continue.

Read more Like this post2

#TeamMayLee: The trick rider’s tale

ABU Ubaidah Muhammad Hamzah is a showman on a horse. The 24-year-old specialises in trick riding, a special equestrian field that combines athletics, acrobatics and horse riding.

Read more Like this post0
Go top