The Drifter Journals
Water is Life | Hydrate @ Drifter Uluwatu
We at Drifter have always been ecologically-aware. From the design of our venues to the products we choose to stock and create, sustainability has always played an imperative influence in our decision-makin
At Drifter Uluwatu cafe, we use fabric napkins and metal straws, and eliminate plastic from our takeaway orders in all but the most unavoidable situations.
Plastic, however, is an insipid material, creeping its way into our lives no matter what lengths we go to to try and banish it. Though we provide water for our guests, innumerable dehydrated customers were bringing plastic bottles with them to the store, or requesting water to take away with them. All of our drinks are bottled in glass, and water isn’t among them, so we were powerless in omitting these invading plastics from our venue or providing a takeaway alternative.
Bali has suffered for many years in the wake of the plastic tide. We regularly host and attend beach cleans, but fixing the end result doesn’t stem the flow.
Inspired by a visit to Lombok where we witnessed locals filtering their water in a compact yet professional filtration system, we created a hygenic brass, filtered water dispenser using reclaimed ironbark timber.
We believe that clean, sanitary drinking water is a human right. We are able to encourage our visitors to purchase a stainless steel reusable bottle for their thirsty needs, or at the very least, provide a means for them to get more than one use from their plastic bottles. But it's not just for tourists. We also actively invite locals to use the system, providing a clean water source to our surrounding neighbourhood.
Clean-filtered to eliminate any nasties, this natural water source is also packed with minerals, not chemically-filtered, providing better hydration properties than many bottled waters, while remaining 100 percent hygenic. Since its installation last year, we have dispensed thousands of litres of fresh, filtered water and saved potentially many hundreds of plastic bottles from entering waterways, the ocean and the land.
Free to use, whether you are a customer or not, we invited anyone in the area to come and refill, and more importantly, provide a readily accessible, 24-hour means to avoid single-use plastic.
So next time you’re parched, whether post-surf or simply wandering the lanes of Uluwatu, drop in and see us, pick up a reusable stainless steel water bottle, sate that thirst and refill to your heart’s content.
