Our Story

My wife and I are Americans who own an ecological, budget hotel in Rome called The Beehive. We opened in 1999 with a handful of credit cards and a Swiss army knife and worked hard to prove that when traveling you can have comfort and style in your accommodations without giving up cash or ethics.  We are currently finishing a 2 year sabbatical in Bali, Indonesia where are children have been attending Green School (www.greenschool.org) - an environmentally progressive, all bamboo school in the middle of the jungle. We want to renovate the hotel with handmade, ecological, artisan furniture from Bali - supporting the amazing craftspeople in this local community that has been our home for the last two years.  

What We Want to Do

The trouble is that when you multiple even a few items by the number of rooms we have, and then include the cost of shipping, it adds up and just becomes impossible for us to do, especially with our low room rates.  Our room rates have been stabilized for years despite the fact that while they remain the same - our operating costs keep rising.  Perhaps this is what makes us foolish business people, because we have always worked to make our place a haven in Rome, not just annual maintenance, but infusing it with creativity so that it's not a cookie cutter mold from a hotel catalogue and instead makes it a special place for us and in turn a special place for our guests.

Therefore we're hoping to raise an amount of money to help contribute to the purchasing and shipping costs, and rewarding supporters who want to help entrepreneurs like us, help local Balinese artisans, and get something cool in return.  

The Impact

Bali was originally populated by the priests and artisans of the highest caste of Javanese society.  When the Muslim invasion swept throughout Indonesia, Bali remained the only island that resisted and to this day remains a tiny Hindu enclave in this vast archipelago.  Today, around the town of Ubud, where we live, there are many wood carvers, stone carvers, furniture makers, painters and jewelers whose craftsmanship has been handed down for many generations.  By supporting this project you do two things:  you support the Balinese, contributing hugely to their economy, the livelihoods of their families, and the communities in which they are so involved.  Secondly, you contribute to everyone who wants to travel in comfort and style, without having to drop a fortune on accommodation.  

What We Need & What You Get

Here in Bali it is inexpensive to have things made in a way that is cost prohibitive and difficult to organize in Italy.

For those who would like to participate, we've tried to offer the best rewards possible to make it worth your while.  

If we exceed our goal, we will donate the additional funds to the Green School scholarship fund, so local, Balinese children can experience the same, amazing education that our girls have been lucky to have these last two years.  We will also donate to a local charitable organization that offers aid and support to street children here in Bali.  

Other Ways You Can Help

Whether you're able to donate to this project or not, you can certainly support our endeavours by becoming a fan of The Beehive on our Facebook page and/or spreading the word about this campaign to others who might want to participate.  We're firm believers in Karma and will pass along lots of goodwill, advice, and generally warm fuzzy feelings to anyone who does the same for us.  Thank you for considering!