Alamayah

Dan and Jess moved to Sumba in 2017 when they fell in love with the island, and more importantly, with the Sumbanese people. Their vision for Alamayah was to create a socially conscious gateway for tourists to explore the raw, rugged, traditional beauty of Sumba, while offering a locally built and operated luxury oasis.

Jess, the architect. Dan, the builder and project manager. Together, they trained local people over hundreds of hours in high-end modern construction. The Sumbanese work ethic and willingness to learn produced a world-class architectural building.

Their end goal was never just a hotel. It was to construct a place that focuses purely on local education, supporting both life and career-based skills for the people of Sumba. To stimulate a directly local, circular economy driven by staff training and construction.

Alamayah employed over 120 people during construction. Of those 120, over 60 are either still working for Alamayah, on their farm, or have continued work as a direct result of the skills they gained. For every person employed in Lamboya, their wages alone feed 15 or more people.

They believe sustainability starts with the people. And Alamayah is proof of that.

When we arrived, there was no brief. No mood board. No shot list. Just a conversation over coffee about what Alamayah meant to them. The guests who cried when they left, the sunsets that made people put their phones down, the staff who became family. That conversation became the film.

Over three days, we followed the rhythm of the place. Early mornings on the black sand beach. Afternoons drifting between the villas and the water. Evenings where the sky turned colours that don't have names. We weren't there to direct, we were there to witness.