Tradition reigns on this idyllic Indonesian island.
But as high-end hoteliers start to make inroads, protecting local customs feels more important than ever.
The place was still in the grip of its long dry season.
A traditional boat at Mandorak Beach, on Sumba’s western shore.Credit:FREDERIC LAGRANGE
All around us, a landscape of parched, golden grassland was dotted with villages.
Buffalo grazed in the fields.
Along the road we passed young men riding bareback on lean, sinewy horses.
From left: Sunset reflected in the windows of a villa at the Sanubari, a resort on the island of Sumba; the lobby at the Alamayah hotel.FREDERIC LAGRANGE
The rice fields were punctuated with billowing white flags to scare the birds away.
Bali has been one of the most popular holiday islands for decades.
Its best beaches are lined with hotels, and many of its roads crowded with traffic.
From left: The conical roofs of a typical Sumbanese village; a student at the Sumba Hospitality Foundation’s hotel school, which runs the Maringi Sumba resort.FREDERIC LAGRANGE
On Sumba, by contrast, the outside world seems hardly to have intruded.
Two German teenagers were playing a voluble game of pool while their parents lounged under umbrellas outside.
Alamayah was founded by an Australian couple, Daniel and Jess Leslie.
From left: The Weekacura waterfalls in western Sumba; a gardener and his students at the Sumba Hospitality Foundation’s organic farm.FREDERIC LAGRANGE
Weve barely left since then, Dan told me.
The Leslies wanted to create an alternative that offered high style at a more affordable price.
And like the Greaveses before them, they also saw a chance to support Sumba itself.
From left: Bamboo accents adorn a bungalow at Maringi Sumba; the beach at Cap Karoso.FREDERIC LAGRANGE
We had an ability to help the community, Dan told me.
After arriving at Alamayah that first afternoon, we went downstairs for a drink at the bar.
Sainjo comes from a village in western Sumba whose evocative name, Lokory, translates as lake of bones.
From left: Elephant-ear leaves in the central Sumba village of Prai Ijing; children swimming near Mandorak Beach, a short distance from Cap Karoso.FREDERIC LAGRANGE
The next morning Charlie and I set about exploring.
At the start of the path was a steep uphill section that involved scaling 507 steps.
We undressed on the boulders at the lagoons edge and had a cooling swim.
From left: Traditional Sumbanese houses at the village of Ratenggaro; the pool at Alamayah.FREDERIC LAGRANGE
They were on their way to a village ceremony.
Animals play a central role in the ritual life of the island.
That afternoon we traveled up the hill behind Alamayah to the village of Yarowora.
From left: One of Cap Karoso’s two-bedroom villas; a staff member in uniform at Cap Karoso.FREDERIC LAGRANGE
Many Sumbanese still hold to their Indigenous faith, Marapu, which is based on ancestor worship.
Pote showed us to his house and beckoned us inside.
Lining the doorway were buffalo skulls, stacked eight high, along with pigs jawbones strung up like bunting.
From left: A view of the Air Terjun Matayangu waterfall; the Sumbanese jungle at night.FREDERIC LAGRANGE
In Marapu, he explained, animal sacrifice is associated with good fortune.
The more skulls you have, the luckier you are, Pote said, gesturing toward his collection.
Sumbanese houses are richly ceremonial as well as domestic, Pote explained.
From left: Watu Bella Beach, on Sumba’s southwestern coast between the Sanubari and Alamayah hotels; horses and a megalith tombstone in the village of Ratenggaro.FREDERIC LAGRANGE
Their dark interiors are divided between these two functions.
A central fire was burning.
There we met Rowan Hopi, an affable Anglo-Australian who is one of the Sanubaris cofounders.
From left: A bedroom in a Cap Karoso villa; the coast near the road to Cap Karoso.FREDERIC LAGRANGE
The island is in a state of transition, he explained.
It took them four years to get approval to start building.
Like Alamayah, the Sanubari is tiny.
The villas are hidden so discreetly in the landscape that from the restaurant you cant see them at all.
At one point greeny-blue iridescent flashes appeared in the surf: dolphinfish leaping from the waves.
Many Sumbanese still hold to their Indigenous faith, Marapu, which is based on ancestor worship.
De Lathauwer decided to build a hotel with its own hospitality school and permaculture farm.
She opened Maringi on Sumbas northern coast in 2016.
Its cylindrical shape and oval windows and doors gave it a cocooning softness.
The students, dressed in neatly pressed blue-and-white uniforms, went about their work impeccably.
They all take intensive English classes three times a week.
For young people on the island, the foundations school serves as a gateway to the wider world.
Now, though, the success of theSumba Hospitality Foundationis helping lure hoteliers to Sumba, too.
Cap Karoso is the largest of the islands new hotels.
The Ivaras have created a cultural destination as well as a beachfront one.
As at the Sanubari, opening the hotel involved meeting with village elders one by one.
The local people demanded ancestral approval before we began construction, Fabrice said.
So far, the Ivaras have hired about 60 staffers from the Sumba Hospitality Foundation.
A resort like ours requires a lot of locals, Fabrice said.
Tourism may be coming to Sumba, but its arrival is gradual.
As Fabrice put it, You need the right people.
Where to Stay on Sumba
Alamayah: A stylish, Modernist boutique hotel with six suites.
Maringi Sumba:Bamboo pavilions are set among several acres of gardens.
It is staffed by students from the Sumba Hospitality Foundation.
Nihi Sumba: The beachside villas at Nihi offer the most luxurious accommodation on Sumba.
