Tuscany vegetarian B&B and apartments, Italy
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Ethical Statement: We are working towards reducing consumption and waste, replacing goods and energy sources as needed with sustainable alternatives whilst supporting the local economy. We choose products that are kind to the environment, people and animals.
We respect and celebrate the diversity of all our guests and welcome those who share these values.
We provide guests with the means to separate different types of waste for recycling and composting.
We reduce energy consumption by using only low energy appliances and we use wood as fuel in the winter to reduce carbon emissions.
We provide only vegetarian or vegan food and use local and seasonal produce. We supply many fairly traded products.
Being on the edge of a National Park means that there is a wealth of wildflife and we provide information to guests on how to observe the local wildlife and to ensure that guests are aware that they are VERY likely to encounter wildlife whilst driving at night and to drive accordingly. Local wildlife includes Deer, Badgers, Wild Boar, Porcupines, Foxes, Wolves, Polecats, and many species of insects, butterflies and birds.
We provide information to guests about local public transport options and encourage use of buses and trains to visit local attractions. Where guests elect only to use public transport we endeavour to facilitate this.
During renovations and alterations to the houses we recycled and re-used old floor tiles as window ledges and we used environmentally friendly paints and oils and varnishes.
We use cleaning products that are not tested on animals and which are biodegradable.
Community
We use local organic suppliers for our food needs and we also grow some of our food. Our local organic greengrocer grows all their own produce to sell directly. We have helped to promote this business by carrying their leaflets for guests and adding their details to vegetarian and vegan websites, including our own blog. We intend to expand the range of our own home grown food as we develop.
We also provide guests with information about local small suppliers and artisans and actively encourage the use of small/ethical businesses. We provide information about local restaurants that share some of our ideals (using organic, local, seasonal or fair-trade products) and we have encouraged local restaurants to provide vegetarian/vegan menu options.
We provide guests with a list of local markets where they can find local and artisanal produce. There are small local producers of traditional fabrics, furniture, ceramics, olive oil, wine, and other craft items which we encourage guests to visit/support and which we use in the B&B. We actively discourage guests from visiting large out of town outlet retailers.
Currently we are not in a position to provide locals with employment, but as we grow and develop this is something we hope to do. When carrying out renovations of the houses we used local small trades people - electricians, plumbers, builders.
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