Catalonia B&B accommodation, Spain

Local - We cultivate various kinds of local produce, including grapes for the production of wine and cava. This is important in order to maintain the traditions that have sustained this area for generations. It also offers visitors from the city a chance to see how life in the countryside operates and how some of the things they regularly buy are actually produced.

All our employees are locals, employed under contracts that fully comply with all the relevant legislation. We use local guides in partnership with local tour companies. Our guests are offered the opportunity to visit local wineries and cava producers. They can arrange tours and learn about the processes involved before being given a chance to buy the end product.

We can arrange workshops for guest to learn traditional local skills and arts and crafts. We also encourage guests to buy from local people and businesses. Local trades people and traditional crop producers include El Bolet, and a group of seventeen small wine and cava producers. We work with the local tourism initiative and our guests and visitors are given information on all local initiatives. 

Organic - None of the crops grown in Alt Penedès (grapes, olives, various fruit and nuts) are treated with harmful chemical products. This is specifically to ensure that the products themselves and the secondary products in which they form ingredients do not in turn contain any harmful chemicals.

Recycling -We separate glass, metal, paper and plastic for recycling. Each is deposited in the relevant local container and the recycling process is managed by the local council. Left-over food is given to our domestic animals. Newspapers are collected in cardboard boxes and sent for recycling together. Old mobile phones, toner cartridges and office equipment are taken to a local recycling depot. Any unwanted clothes and household items are given to charity organisations. All our bin-liners are organic. We use the Internet to cut down on paper-based advertising.

Water conservation - We have installed devices in the faucets of the baths that save €65 of water. We have installed systems of irrigation to save water of irrigation. Our washing machine and drier are always used at optimum load to ensure maximum energy efficiency.

Energy efficiency measures and renewable energy sources - Our electricity provider is Fecsa Endesa which has developed its own environmental policies. We plan to install solar panels to heat the water for the guest bathrooms and the kitchen. We have installed a central switching system to ensure complete control over the heating. When guests are not using their rooms, the heating is switched off. We use low-energy light bulbs. Our central heating runs on gas. The ceilings are insulated and wood-panelled. All windows have hermetic seals and double-glazing. The boiler is new and meets all the relevant energy requirements.

Wildlife - We protect our local wildlife. The laws in Catalonia are strict regarding the conservation of local flora and fauna. Both the Catalan and Spanish governments have programmes to reintroduce and conserve endangered local flora and fauna. Individual zones are provided for this purpose, and while we do not fall inside one of these zones, we observe all the general laws on flora and fauna.

Our garden contains trees and flowers that are indigenous to the region, and we grow many varieties of typical local produce in our kitchen garden. We offer our guests and visitors information about local plant and animal habitats and they are free to visit our garden and the surrounding vineyards and orchards. We use environmentally friendly cleaning products. We don’t use garden chemicals and never put down chemical poisons. For health reasons we use a herbal cockroach killer. It's possible to visit the local area by bike.

Building - When refurbishing the property we conserved all the old buildings, including the wine cellar and the old warehouse. The original wooden beams can actually be seen in the wine cellar, which also has just one small window to maintain a relatively constant temperature. Other windows are fitted with wooden blinds to control both light and temperature. As is typical with houses in the area, the windows are small to keep the interior cool in the hot summer sun. The walls and roof are made from traditional local materials. We use low-energy light bulbs throughout the property.