Firewood. Nong Esme points at the “salvaged” pieces of wood from an hold house, which he later transformed into headboards for beds (inset).
EVERYTHING about Palm Grass Hotel intends to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary.
True to its vision that it wants to leave a legacy as a green hotel, the management of the first heritage hotel here in Cebu breaks another record of being the first hospitality establishment to use “salvaged” wood for a world-class headboard.
Bebilou Espina, Palm Grass hotel manager, said he heard a suggestion to use the flooring of an old house owned by Caridad Tan Guivelondo and Mamerto Arcilla and incorporate it in the hotel.
Two contractors rejected the idea in sheer disbelief.
“It was not a welcome suggestion and there were two contractors who rejected the concept of using the junk slabs from the old house,” Espina said.
But local craftsman and furniture-maker Esmeraldo Bancale took the challenge of recycling what he calls kahoy igsusugnod or firewood into a world-class headboard.
“No one will dare use firewood because engineers will normally look for expensive raw materials. But I took the challenge of doing the unusual,” Nong Esme, as how he is fondly called, said with a chuckle.
Esmeraldo’s team of craftsmen includes members of his family who are ensconced in a community at Soong Center in Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City.
Yakal and Apitong were the types of wood salvaged from the old house. These are considered rare wood species in the country and cutting them is unlawful.
“Maayo man gyud ni nga mga kahoy pero mao lagi igsusugnod na (These are really good types of wood but they’re meant to be firewood),” Esmeraldo said.
Palm Grass, Cebu’s heritage hotel serves as a backdrop to this unique endeavor. The hotel aims to break the norms in the hospitality business when it comes to interior design as it recycles slabs or “junk” wood into new pieces of furniture.
Palm Grass is located on 68 General Junquera St.
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