Alicante self catering apartment, Spain
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
The house was registered with the tourist board 5 years ago following all their criteria. It is a very old house, over 300 years old, which has belonged to my family since 1919. I modernized in 1985 maintaining as many of the original details as I could, such the floor tiles, fire place, beams and original doors and windows. I have always recycled plastics and glass, and I produce all my own compost, which I use to cultivate my own vegetables. Six years ago when I came back to Spain I planted 120 olive trees and 250 vines now I am able to produce enough olive oil and wine for my own use. , all of these are organically grown.
There are no chemicals used on any of the trees that I look after and all efforts are made to ensure that all the traditional methods are used to look after the land for future generations.
The water used in the house comes mainly from the rain, as it is collected from the roof into some original wells beneath the house and then pumped up. The majority of the house is heated by wood burning fires and stoves, and this wood only comes from pruning the fruit trees or old trees when they need to be replaced.
Regarding wild life, I have managed to have more than 20 birds’ nests below the roof tiles of the house which are used year after year by swallows and sparrows. Where I have the olive trees I always sow wheat and other cereals only for the benefit of the wild life as I never collect the grain afterwards.
Community
I am involved in several walking clubs and always volunteer when they need help in looking for new walks or helping to maintain existing ones. I encourage the guests in the house to shop in the village as I do myself because most of the products are locally grown or made, such as bread, wine, fruit, vegetables etc. By doing this, they not only get a far better quality product but also promote the local business while they get the chance to practice Spanish and have a genuine experience of the life in Spain.
Orxeta is a small village very near the holiday resort of Benidorm and there are plenty of large villas around it, but all this does not have much impact on the local economy, I always take the business to the local bars and restaurants rather than to the large resorts, in this way we also benefit from the appreciation from the owners and it shows in the service too. I say this from personal experience as m y parents had a bar for over 50 years in the village.
With the recent property building boom Orxeta was becoming a target for big developers who were planning to build a golf course where the orange groves are. I soon became actively involved with the local groups who were against it. Thanks to these groups or perhaps the present crisis all plans have been stopped, and many locals like myself can continue producing lemons, oranges and almonds and hopefully give a chance to our future generations to do this too.
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