1of8
We are very conscious of doing our best to protect this outstandingly beautiful place. There is an abundance of natural resources here which allows us to offer a very light carbon footprint to our guests. This is a footprint which can be offset against the carbon consumed in traveling here. We list below our efforts at keeping the environmental impact of your vacation to an absolute minimum:
Whilst guests are here - electricity - no carbon generated, fruit n' veg 10 yards from the front door - no carbon generated. Water from a spring - no carbon generated. Wood burnt in the colder months - a genuine renewable. We have showers and half flush toilets. We have a soakaway system, whereby the WC waste is collected in tanks underground and periodically emptied and the liquid component flows into the ground and helps in the growth of a magnificent bamboo stand which in turn with it's net like root system helps to support the hillside.
Utilities
Solar panels: The electricity supply is entirely generated by photo-voltaic solar panels fitted by a local Pisa firm to the roofs. These generate up to 7 kw of solar energy, sufficient for the two guest farmhouses and for our house and our recording studio and swimming pool. In this respect we are more than carbon neutral - we are carbon positive.
We are connected to the National Grid and are in effect a micro power plant. The panels cannot be seen as they are on the roofs, so there is no detrimental impact upon the architectural beauty of the stone-built farmhouses. We are the first on these hills to do this and our efforts have already resulted in two of our near neighbours following in our footsteps.
Energy reduction: We use energy efficient light bulbs, have water limiters in the taps and turn off our lights. We ask guests only to use dishwashers and washing machines when full, and have a set of instructions listing the efforts we make and efforts they ought to make when with us. We don't want to be boot camp about it but we feel the ambience of the place helps them to do the right thing more often than not.
Recycling: We recycle glass, plastic, tins, paper. Old clothes, towels and sheets to charity. Guests likewise are encouraged to separate all the recyclable waste.
Water: We share a natural water spring which bubbles out of the rock up the hill from the farmhouses and provides water to both the houses and the swimming pool. It is natural mineral water, professionally analysed and safe to drink. We collect rainwater from the roofs which we use to water the garden and allotments during the drier months. The overflow flows into the grove and is directed around the base of some of the olive trees. We have a contract with ECOVER the multi award winning Belgian eco company. We use washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, washing powder, floor cleaners, surface cleaners, for our house and we supply the guests houses as well - free of charge. The local cleaning company use the same products - we supply them.
Heating: During the colder months, the farmhouses can be heated with wood which we offer to guests free of charge (this is in addition to central heating). This is cut annually from our olive trees and is therefore a re-newable energy source. Seasoned olive wood has a very high calorific value and the olive trees re-grow.
Local people and amenities
Local employment: The solar panels were fitted by a Pisa firm and the project was designed by our neighbour, Tommaso. As a rule any works needed are done by either ourselves or local firms/suppliers. We buy local produce from Roberta who runs a market garden farm in the fields below the houses, from the local delicatessen, and from the Coop in Lucca. Often we have enough fruit n veg coming from our own efforts. The cleaning firm are from the local village. During the restoration and any further works we have always employed a local builder, Salvatore, along with plumber Massimiliano and architect Alessandro. Alessandro's 16th century wharfside apartment are available for guests to hire for a night to have 'restaurant at home', a magical experience. The chef is a friend of ours, Lucia; a trained chef. Alessandro also plays a mean harmonica and often comes up to our fully soundproofed studio; some of the guests like to join in these musical evenings!
Shopping locally: If you choose not to hire a car, or even if you do, we can reduce your footprint still further – prior to your arrival we’ll do your main shopping for you; just send us a list a few days before you arrive and we’ll provide you with the goods and receipt upon your arrival. Daily provisions can be purchased in the village a 30 minute walk away – or indeed, catch the bus and walk back (or vice versa!)
Using public transport: Using trains and buses one can easily get to Pisa and Lucca, and from there onto Florence, Siena, Vinci and many other wonderful spots. We live in a separate house on the land and are often on hand to help our guests in every way possible. From booking a table at a restaurant, to helping out with tickets for the many and varied sights the area has to offer, and general guidance on how to make the most of your vacation.
Nature
We are completely organic. For fertilizer we use the wood ash burnt from the winter. This we store and use periodically on the allotments. In addition, we use locally collected horse manure. Our hillside is in an environmentally protected zone. There is no heavy industry nearby. Nature abounds. Insects do what they do and we don't get in their way. If they want to eat a few cauliflower leaves, fine by us. In fact, very little of our crop is eaten by our tiny friends and that that is, bon appetit!
Seasonal and organic fruit and veg:
- Winter/early spring fruit and veg: Oranges, Lemons, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Sprouts, Fennel, Leeks, Winter Salad, wild asparagus
- Spring/early summer: Lemons, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Leeks, Salad, Tomatoes, Fennel, Meddlers.
- Summer/early Autumn: Tomatoes, Courgettes, Aubergines, Salad, Peaches, Pears, Apricots.
- Autumn/early winter: Olives, Lemons, Pears and then back into the winter cycle of brassicas etc.
- All year: herbs – sage, rosemary, parsley, wild fennel (similar to dill), wild mint. Seasonal – oregano, thyme. Medicinal – Aloe Vera
Wildlife: We encourage wildlife by not blocking it or poisoning it; our land is not fenced in. We are on the lower slopes of a hill covered in acres of olive grove; above us is forest. We have birds of prey, wild boar (shy creatures who don't tend to bother us) and giant porcupines. There are a few deer on the hill, even if glimpses are infrequent. We cut the grove grasses late, after they have flowered to encourage the insects; in May and June the place is a riot of fireflies by night.
Nearby is the giant lagoon lake of Torre del Lago, a bird sanctuary. We have leaned a lot about the trees from a now good friend Massi Giusti, also a fine artist, sculptor and didgeredoo player! Talking to the local guys about the land has helped us enormously in working the allotments. Chatting with Mauro at the bottom of the hill is always useful for tips about when to plant, when to prune and when to take cuttings.
We went from urbanites with a need for green to living it and loving it. We hope and believe our enthusiasm for what we do rubs off onto our guests. Looking over the guests comments book attests to this.
We invite every traveler who books a vacation via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the vacations they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same vacation can have different views!
