One of which is a persistent beetle that
keeps landing on my head. “It is attracted to
your red hair,” Dixon says. Who can blame it? I
was hoping to see one of the island’s resident
hornbills, or sea otters, or elusive scaly
pangolin, but so far this beetle is demanding
the spotlight. The 17-hectare island is still a
wilderness, covered in palm trees, sea almond
trees and long grass. The cempedak tree, with
its jackfruit-like yield, for which the island was
named, was sadly harvested to extinction here,
but Dixon’s team has planted plenty more that
should sprout up over the next couple of years.
The 20 bamboo and alang alang villas were
built around the natural habitat as much as
possible, and blend in with the surrounds.
“I hate the word eco,” Dixon says. “It has
been used and abused.” But of course, it is an
eco-resort, minimizing electricity and water
usage at every turn, preserving the landscape,
responsibly managing waste and respecting
the local culture. They decided against
building a staircase to the beach because the
staff said it would upset the island’s balance.
They even flew in a priest from Bali to bless
Cempedak in an elaborate opening ceremony. I
watch the shamans line up offerings, ring
bells, burn incense and splash water on the
sand to appease the spirits. And as part of their
good-guy credo, the founders of Cempedak also
invest part of their profits into local schooling,
and are raising money from outside donors.
“In the end,” Dixon says, “it is the thing that
we’re the most proud of.”
This is Dixon’s second private island,
following the opening of Nikoi in 2007, a rustic
retreat built entirely out of scavenged
driftwood. “It was quite a job collecting it all,”
Dixon tells me. “I went out and helped one day.
God, I’d never do that again.” The resort was a
runaway success that’s now booked at more
than 90 percent occupancy year-round, but
even though they had a winning formula,
Dixon didn’t want to open another Nikoi. “We
didn’t want to replicate it,” he says. “We
wanted to refine it.”
So you won’t find driftwood in Cempedak—
the island is bamboo central, from the rooms,IFYOU WANT TO USHER IN
THE BREEZE, WALLS ONLY
GET IN THE WAY
TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM / MAY 2017 31