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When you book one of our writing vacations you are joining a 30-year tradition of supporting the local community and working together to maintain a responsible lifestyle. We aim to create a total living experience which can lead to changes beneficial both to the individual and to the world we live in.
As part of your booking, you will be provided with a copy of the company philosophy and pre-trip information on the host community to raise cultural awareness and help you to make decisions on how to integrate responsibly. During your vacation you will have opportunities to learn some local language, and will be fed on locally-sourced national cuisine. Many vacation sessions include courses on local history and culture, language or art forms, visits to the woodcarvers, potters, cheesemaker etc. (depending on the time of year some visitors can even tread the grapes to help with local wine production!). On some sessions there are other opportunities to further integrate with the host community in various ways e.g. volunteering to enter the mini-marathon which brings visitors and locals together.
At the village:
- All accommodation is locally owned and maintained
- Furniture and furnishings are sourced on the island
- Visitors are requested to limit the use of running water.
- We are working with the local authority to bring further recycling to the island – plastic, glass and aluminium
The village is protected by the Greek government because of its architectural heritage. We limit sessions at the centre to a total of 30 participants and staff to minimize impact on the local community and environment.
Guests wishing to visit bars and tavernas offsite will also be directly benefiting the local economy as internationals are virtually unheard of here. Visitors are also requested to help with a few chores to assist with the running of the on-site community, from sweeping the yard and chopping vegetables to fruit picking from the garden. The objective is the creation of an ethical mini-society in which decent human behaviour counts more than money.
We also have a long-standing history of supporting the local community financially– e.g. the company has contributed £18000 (US $27930) toward the purchase of medical equipment for the local health centre and £3000 (US $4655) towards the refurbishment of the island’s school theatre. Our staff and vacation makers also raised £11000 (US $17068) to help locals recover from a devastating forest fire on the Island.
However our commitment to positive action is not restricted to this island alone. At our administrative offices various environmental policies are in place, including:
- All single sided printed material is stapled into booklets and re-used for notepaper
- All staff living within a 3 mile radius have elected to walk to work
- We have made available downloadable versions of literature from our site to reduce reliance on printed brochures and encourage online booking as an alternative to paper-based methods
- Waste materials are sorted for recycling wherever possible
Over the summer we have made a donation to the Skyros Folk Dance Society, donations to the Katsarellias-Simpson Skyrian Horse Project, Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF) and to the fund for stray cats and dogs.
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!
