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We have organised a successful petition against the construction of a local rubbish dump amongst the olive groves which led to the creation of a large rubbish disposal plant that serves several of the town’s in this area. We were also instrumental in preventing planning permission being given to a large plastic covered greenhouse development. If this had been successful there would have been many more in this beautiful area. As it is there have been no more attempts to build them.
We explain to our guests at our Andalucia villa accommodation by a leaflet that they should use the local bottle banks and paper recycling systems and point them in the direction of the local organic shops, one of which sells produce from a cooperative which we were instrumental in starting.
We have always demonstrated our objections to the hunters who come up to the wild hills behind our farm, where possible making it difficult for them by taking the dogs walking and frightening away the birds from the immediate area of the shooters. There are now less of them hunting in this area. We have encouraged birdlife on our own farm so it has become a sort of sanctuary and we have some very unusual species that frequent our trees. We go on planting as a small contribution against global warming.
This area traditionally used what is in effect permaculture, planting grains and small fruit trees such as oranges and lemons underneath the olive trees but this has been replaced over the last decades with a more aggressive attitude, producing an olive monoculture with the use of chemical sprays and fertilizers. By example we have demonstrated that there are other ways of developing the olive groves that produce good crops at less expense. We are registered as an organic farm and we have also been able to demonstrate that the olive oil that we produce sells at a considerably higher price than the non organic oil. This idea is catching on with the local farmers.
The people we employ at our Andalucia villa accommodation come from the local town, Orgiva or nearby villages. They work a system that ensures that, for example, replacement light bulbs are energy saving and cleaning materials are ecological where possible. A Spanish neighbor, Ramon has worked with us for the last 15 years, first of all converting the old ruins into the cottages that we now have and since then doing general maintenance work. As an architect I have been able to teach him how to build in an ecological way, using local materials and recreating the local vernacular in a creative way with maximum insulation, bigger south windows to catch winter sun, solar panels for water heating and so on.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
