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New Panigram Intern!

Posted by Kristin Boekhoff on September 5th, 2009

Panigram Intern Molly Johnson Tackles Waste Management

The phones were ringing off the hook on August 18th. My summer interns were due to go back to the United States that day and everyone from the village in Jessore called to say goodbye. It was a tearful departure; I think that most of the interns would have stayed in Bangladesh if they didn’t have to go back to school. Chi Chi’s boy group, Jonathon’s gang, and even our construction manager called multiple times - always asking when the interns were coming back to Bangladesh. As we said our watery farewells, the interns promised to come back for a reunion after the resort is open.

Fortunately, I didn’t have much time to mourn their departure as I had another Cornell intern scheduled to arrive early the next morning. Like my other interns, Molly had seen the summer internship advertisement. She decided that a summer was not enough for her, however, so she worked with the Engineering School to set up a co-operative semester at Panigram Resort. Read the rest of this entry »

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August 14th - A Day of Trauma and Triumph

Posted by Kristin Boekhoff on August 29th, 2009

The Panigram Pavilion on the river at Panigram Resort.

The Panigram Pavilion on the river at Panigram Resort.

Koli and I sped down the road on his motorcycle in a torrential downpour. He had left our motorcycle helmets at the project site, so I held my hand over his eyes like a visor to block out as much of the monsoon rains as I could so that he could see well enough to keep us on the road. The van, holding three of my interns, two large blocks of ice, all of the cooking utensils from my kitchen, two gas stoves, and several pounds of food followed us. We got to the edge of town and saw that the road was completely blocked for repairs. While the motorcycle might have been able to squeak around the barricade, the van would never make it; fortunately Koli knew an alternate route out of the city. We were already an hour late: the van was delayed, our landlord had padlocked us in the building (it took us 20 minutes to find him and have him come open the door), and we had to stop at the bazaar to get ice. Read the rest of this entry »

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Panigram Resort Hosts Its First Guests

Posted by Kristin Boekhoff on August 29th, 2009
Lighting up the pavilion at night.

Lighting up the pavilion at night.

“Can we stay TONIGHT?” Chi Chi kept nagging me. For the past week she and the interns have been begging me to allow them to spend a night at the Pavilion. I was inclined to capitulate since they have worked really hard for the past several weeks to build it. It still amazes me how much they were able to accomplish in just three weeks!

Koli had some doubts. He insisted that we get permission from the local police before spending the night. We went down to the police station together. The Chief of Police was very friendly, but tried to convince me not to spend the night.  My interns worked hard, however, and I wanted to reward them, so I stuck to my guns and told the police officer that we really want to stay and that the interns were going back to America in a few days and would not have another chance. He agreed on the condition that he be allowed to send us four police escorts.

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A Little SEO Goes a Long Way…

Posted by Kristin Boekhoff on July 28th, 2009

I am very happy to report that Panigram Resort is now #1 on a Google search for “resorts in Bangladesh”, #1 for “eco resorts in Bangladesh”, #2 for “Bangladesh resorts”, and #2 for “spa resorts in Bangladesh”!

I think we moved up in rankings because we optimized some of our web pages and have been getting a lot more press lately (which in turn links back to our site). Thanks to my intern Brian for delivering the great news!

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Site Photos!

Posted by Kristin Boekhoff on May 31st, 2009

Here are some photos of the gorgeous place where we will be building Panigram. The resort is set at the intersection of a navigable river and a smaller canal. There are many native trees (mango, date palm, papaya, mahogany, bamboo, etc.) already on the site which we will preserve during construction.

Standing on the Property Looking at the River During the Dry Season

panigram-resort-site-on-bangladesh-river.jpg

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What Do You Want in a Resort?

Posted by Kristin Boekhoff on May 2nd, 2009

This is your opportunity to tell us what you want. We would like Panigram to be one of the premier resorts in Bangladesh.  In order to make that happen, we need your input. Please use the comments field to tell us a bit about yourself and what is important to you in a resort.

  • Do you have kids and want a safe place for them to play?
  • Would you like to be able to book your flights to Jessore on our website and have the tickets delivered to your door?
  • Are you an avid bicycler and would like some well marked bicycle routes in the area?
  • Are there some spa services or fitness classes that you would really like to see at our spa and wellness center?
  • Are you socially minded and looking for opportunities to volunteer in the host community?

Let us know! We will do our best to accomodate your wishes.

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Kristin Boekhoff Talks About Sustainability at Panigram

Posted by Kristin Boekhoff on April 27th, 2009

Khrys Vaughn, the founder of Her Startup LLC, recently interviewed me for BlogTalkRadio.  We discussed the meaning of sustainability and how I would be incorporating socially and environmentally sustainable practices into the development of the resort.

To listen to the interview, click here.

To learn more about social and environmental responsibility at Panigram Resort, please visit our Responsible Hospitality page.