June 2019 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition| 179TRAVEL
HOWTOGETTHERE
RoomratesatShangri-La’sVillingiliResort
&SpaarefromUS$ 645 (approx£ 494 )
pernight,basedondoubleoccupancy
andincludesbreakfastandalltaxesand
fees.Tobook,visitshangri-la.com/male/
villingiliresortorcall 08000283337.
Kuoni( 01306747008 /kuoni.co.uk)offers
sevennightsatShangri-La’sVillingili
Resort&SpainanOceanVillawith
PrivatePoolincludingbreakfast,flights
onEmiratesfromLondonGatwickand
transfersinresort.From£ 3 , 049 ppbased
ontwoadultssharing.I
t’soneoffourgreenhousesmade
possiblethrougha$ 15 , 900 (approx
£ 12 , 200 )loanin 2013 fromthe
Shangri-Lagrouptotheco-operative,
whichhashelpedincreasefarming
productionmassively,somuchsothat
Meedhooanditsneighbouringislandsin
theatollnowprovidetheresortwitharound
15 percentofitsfruitandvegetables.The
farmerspaidbackthecostofthegreenhouses
within 10 months,whichwasdeductedfrom
theresort’sweeklysupply.
HotMaldivianchillis,papaya,bananas
andavarietyofsaladleavesareflourishing
onthecultivatedland.Fragrantfrangipani,
bougainvilleaandotherflowersgrownonthe
islandalsoservetheresort.
Sohowcantheygrowsuchrichproduce
onabedofcoralsand?Rottenleafmatteron
theislandisbrokendowntomakesoilricher,
althoughcompostalsohastobeimported
fromSriLankaandIndiatobeefupthe
terrain,whilegreattanksgatherrainwaterfor
thecrops.Andwhileproblemsofwhitefly,
thrips(aninsect)andmitessometimes
threatentheharvest,thebiggestchallenge
forfarmersisthechangingweatherpatterns
resultinginalongerrainyseason,saysthe
communityenvironmentalofficerMohamed
Kamir.Buteffortsarebeingmadetoexpand
thetypesofcropswhichmaybeabletocope
withchangingweatherconditions.
Earlierintheday,wevisitedtheresort’s
ownchef’sgardentopickvegetablesand
herbstouseinourdishesatdinner.There’s
anabundanceofmint,dillandbasil,aswell
asgourds,aubergines,courgettesandspring
onions,Chinesecabbageandrocket,allof
whichprovidesomeoftheresort’sneeds.
Ifthechef’sgardencultivatesanew
variety,itwillteachtheMeedhoofarmers
howtogrowandcarefortheplants,sothat
theycanexpandtheirowncrops.So,aswesit
downtoourdeliciousfarm-to-platedinnerin
stylishsettingsonVillingililaterthatevening,
featuringlocally-caughtwahucarpaccio,
meatytunawithlemongrassveloutewith
someoftheherbsandvegetableswepicked
earlierinthechef’sgarden,andfruitcocktail
withmangosoupcourtesyofthefarmersof
Meedhoo,nothingcouldreallytastesweeter.L