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Resort Master Planning Under Way

Posted by Kristin Boekhoff on May 6th, 2010

Yesterday I met with my architect and got a sneak peak at Panigram’s master plan. I don’t want to give anything away yet (I will post the master plan online at the end of May), but I can tell you that there were some very exciting and surprising elements and that so far the concept is evolving to be even more magnificent than I had originally imagined! (Picture a hidden bamboo cafe, a secret garden, and meandering pathways punctuated by water features…)

I am going to Jessore on Sunday to buy the next piece of land for the project and to work with Marina to finalize the location of the Phase I buildings. We are on target to break ground the first week of June!

Our construction process will be well-documented this summer as I have a new crop of interns coming in. So stay tuned for more updates!

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Kristin Boekhoff Speaks at Cornell University

Posted by Kristin Boekhoff on April 17th, 2010

I was fortunate enough to be invited back by my alma mater, Cornell University, to speak at their annual hospitality conference, Hotel Ezra Cornell. The weekend event was packed full of industry leaders.

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Buying Land in Bangladesh

Posted by Kristin Boekhoff on April 17th, 2010

Dozens of villagers crowded into the candlelit land registration office to put their fingerprints on the document that would mean a significant amount of income for them and a gorgeous piece of land in southern Bangladesh for me.

An employee at the land registration office working by candle light.

An employee at the land registration office working by candle light.

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Generating Power and Excitement at Panigram

Posted by Ranjeev Mahtani on February 13th, 2010

I’ve spent the better part of the last few weeks meeting with parties involved in renewable energy system implementation here in Bangladesh. As mentioned before, the front-runners in terms of power sources are solar and biogas power. A good deal of interest is brewing in the power systems of Panigram resort among various energy providers in Dhaka, and work is underway in getting the feasibility of several means assessed.

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Energy Alternatives at Panigram Resort

Posted by Ranjeev Mahtani on February 6th, 2010

Having been in Dhaka for two weeks now, I’ve had the chance to settle into the job of Energy Engineering Intern for Panigram Resort. Initially, I spent my time continuing work on data that Kristin and the previous intern, Molly, had put together, and used that data to come up with a preliminary estimate of how much power and total energy the resort would consume on a daily basis. Armed with this information, my next task was to set out looking for providers of various means of energy generation here in Dhaka.

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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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