I spent a lovely afternoon at Kapusod, the nature resort owned and operated by husband and wife, broadcast journalist Howie Severino and environmental lawyer Ipat Luna. I’d always been curious about the place, which is an excellent example of sustainable living. So when I received the invitation to spend a day there, I immediately said yes.

Kapusod sits on the shores of Taal Lake, almost right across the Tagaytay Ridge. Severino told us about how, when the volcano was threatening to erupt in early 2020, watching plumes fly out of the multiple craters was a majestic, if not potentially life-threatening, sight.

Then, the couple had no plans of turning the property into a resort. What they did was build a treehouse, which still stands today. The treehouse began attracting visitors who were curious about what it was like inside. They started renting it out in 2015, and the rest of Kapusod grew from there.

Everything in the resort is intentional. There’s a story behind everything, which Severino gladly narrates. How all the plants on the property are native species, for example. How the bathroom water is recycled back into the groundwater. How the main house is a large-scale bahay-kubo that doesn’t use nails, instead using bamboo pegs to hold bamboo poles together, and how the whole structure, which uses treated bamboo, has not needed repairs to this day.

We got there just as everyone was having dessert, but were served a lovely lunch of suam, pako salad, and fried tawilis fresh from Taal Lake (the resort sits next to tawilis' spawning grounds). The resort’s in-house restaurant specializes in Batangas comfort food. It’s difficult to find tawilis and pako in the Metro, so this was a treat! Coffee was, of course, kape barako, the Liberica bean that has become synonymous with Batangas coffee.

Everything on the resort has been, as much as possible, fashioned from found materials. A lot of the hardwood came from an old house, and a sink in the dining room was made from the roots of a tree that used to stand on the property. Severino said that they didn’t want to cut down the tree, but after the hard decision was made, they promised the tree that a part of it would live on in the property, and that became the sink. The common area offers a lovely view of Taal Lake, and its bathroom, which features a mural of the Philippines with different local plant leaves alongside the Severino family motto written in Baybayin, as well as a rainforest-like shower area, is famous for visitors taking longer than usual inside.

There is a natural pool filled with unchlorinated water and filtered by surrounding plants. It doubles as a breeding space for dragonfly nymphs, which need clean water to propagate. Severino calls dragonflies the “apex predator of mosquitoes” and encourages their population growth, as they are the reason why, despite being surrounded by plants, there are hardly any mosquitoes around.

Guests can rent out different types of rooms at reasonable prices, from the treehouse to lakeshore cabanas to a house that sleeps 10 to an Earth Dome, so-called because it is made with and looks like a mound of earth, sort of like a punso, as in the place where a nuno lives. Its structure makes it climate-proof: it can withstand typhoons and earthquakes, and despite its oven-like shape, it’s actually cooler on the inside. It’s arguably the most popular room on the property, as it's rarely vacant. The inside is simple, holding only a mattress and a fan, though its walls are beautifully painted with images of local flora and fauna using soil by artists Rosa Mirasol, along with Danica Coruno, Elyza S. David, Yano Quijano, and Ron Sabolboro.

Severino also gave us a tour of the greenhouse and poultry area. The greenhouse is used to grow some vegetables and fruit trees, as well as propagate the numerous varieties of ornamental plants that give the resort its lush character. Chickens, ducks, and turkeys roam freely around the property up to the lakeshore, where chairs and tables have been set up so guests can enjoy the view.

Kapusod isn’t everyone’s cup of tea: there is no air-conditioning, for example, the bathrooms are communal, and everything is so quiet (the last one anathema to many Filipinos, for some reason). But if you’re the type of traveler who wants to bask in nature, experience sustainable living, and revel in the lack of noise, this is the place for you.

As for me, I’m already trying to figure out when I can return.