Villa Tawai is a unique three bedroom off-grid luxury eco villa nestled in the rainforested foothills of Khao Ko mountain overlooking the fishing village of Chaloklum, Koh Phangan, Thailand.

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The View Over Chaloklum
Pool Terrace in the Treetops
Living Kitchen Diner Balcony
Fully Equipped Kitchen
Breakfast Bar
Dining Area
Lounge / TV Area
Garden Walkway to Bedrooms
Bedroom One
Bedroom One Bathroom
Bedroom Two
Bedroom Two Bathroom

Is Tawai for you?

Villa Tawai is an off-grid eco villa, so attention must be paid to water and electricity use.

Please see the 'Off Grid Living' section below for details.

The resident cat is an essential part of the villa's pest control regime and needs to be fed twice daily.

Access to Villa Tawai involves driving up a fairly steep road. The villa also has a very steep driveway. Many people prefer to walk up the the driveway as it is not suitable for beginner bike riders or car drivers. Please see the 'Directions' page for more details.

For safety reasons, Villa Tawai is not suitable for children under 12 years old.

Off Grid Living

Villa Tawai is 100% off-grid. This means that there is a limited supply of electricity and water. To ensure that neither run out, please understand that it is essential that the following guidelines are followed:


Save water in the shower


Do not turn off the air conditioners unless the windows and doors are open

The most efficient way to use the air conditioners is to always leave them running somewhere between 23 to 29 degrees. Increasing the temperature when going out also helps save energy.

Please also leave the airconditioner fan on 'auto' at all times. Manually setting a fan speed will cause the units to waste power, can prevent the unit from absorbing moisture and will stress the units unecessarily. If a room needs to be cooled down, please either decrease the temperature or use the 'hi' / 'boost / 'strong' setting for quick cooling.

Leaving airconditioners constantly running with the fan set to auto has many benefits including keeping out the damp, reducing wear and tear on the ac units and has been proven to use less electricity overall.

Note that the airconditioners often turn on and off automatically during late afternoon. This is intended as doing so further increases efficiency.


Avoid using the oven and / or washing machine on rainy or cloudy days

Local laundry services are cheap and reliable. On sunny days, aim to use the washing machine and oven during the peak charging hours (10am to 4pm) as far as possible.


Only flush human waste

The waste water treatment system ends with the nutrients from the waste leaching odorlessly into the ground in the surrounding forest. It is therefore essential that the following items are never flushed down the toilet:

Charges may apply if the sewage system becomes blocked.


Be mindful of leaving high power devices on by accident

Leaving the oven on all night or running an airconditioner with the doors and windows open will very quickly drain the batteries.
Charges may apply if excessive power is used and the generator is required.


Be mindful of leaving taps (faucets) running

Charges may apply if significant water loss occurs and has to be replaced using a local water delivery service.


Save water in the kitchen


Finally, please please please do not use these:

Any abrasive sponge or pad will damage the white quartz kitchen work surface. They will also damage cutlery, taps (faucets) and other surfaces. Please do not use them anywhere in the villa.




Villa Tawai from the air

What makes Tawai an eco villa?

Clean, Sustainable Electricity

Villa Tawai is fitted with a state of the art solar system controlled by a custom smart home solution that is optimised for peak efficiency. The system has the capacity to run the villa for up to 48 hours without sun, but should the batteries ever go flat, a 3-phase generator provides sufficient backup power. The generator is rarely necessary outside of monsoon season (November through to mid-December).

Clean, Sustainable Water

Villa Tawai does not use ground water, as in the long term the island's underground water supply cannot support the number of villas and swimming pools that have been built over recent years. Villa Tawai has a large-scale rainwater collection system capable of collecting and storing over 100 tonnes (100,000 litres) of rainwater. The water is filtered through two settling tanks and a sand filter before being supplied to the villa. In addition, to save plastic bottle use, Villa Tawai also has a drinking water outlet in the kitchen. The water is passed through a three-stage drinking water filter to make sure the collected rainwater is 100% safe to drink.

Waste Managment

Villa Tawai does not pump black and grey water into local rivers or the sea. Instead, modern cesspit tanks are used in combination with traditional Thai leach tanks so that the nutrients contained in the villa's waste soak into the forest's soil without creating unpleasant odours. Villa Tawai also has a grease trap fitted to the kitchen sink water disposal to ensure the optimal functioning of the leach tanks and to protect the biome in the cesspit tanks.

Insulation

Villa Tawai is constructed with insulated double-skin walls. This provides both heat insulation to save excessive power use by the air conditioners and a good degree of sound insulation.

Saving Trees

Villa Tawai was built was built around the surrounding rainforest with minimal disruption. Only two, small, non-native trees were cut down to make space. Re-wilding is taking place by applying coconut husk mulch and planting out in areas where the subsoil was exposed during the build.

Wildlife

Villa Tawai is surrounded by rainforest. Nature lovers may get opportunity to see:

Warning: Beware! You may also encounter:

Welcome to the jungle!

Tawai Meaning

Windguru Weather Forecast