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We live and work in a stunning and breathtakingly beautiful part of the world and we do not want to be partly responsible for its demise. We are determined that we will have a positive impact on our local community and wider locality and wish to benefit and sustain them. We operate a visitor payback scheme for the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, where we donate £1 for each guest and also have a donation box for this and ethical tourism charities. The money goes to support local project such as marine conservation and wildlife reserves.
We purchase fair-trade products, such as bedding, crafts and beverages and local Cornish produce where possible for breakfasts and cream teas. We have used oak shutters for the windows on the North. And the barns were opened up towards the South to make the most of passive solar gain. We have also planted a small orchard, some native trees and conservation hedge.
We have reduced our carbon emissions by installing renewable energy such as solar and ground source heating, and preserve water by rainwater harvesting. We have installed a 4,500 ltr rainwater harvesting system for toilets and washing machines and use grey water from showers for the garden as we use chemical free and natural cleaning and soap products. We subscribe to 100% green energy to back up our own renewable power. We have installed a new lighting system which comes on at a set low energy level, is dimmable and uses less power or can be turned up for reading, but always goes back to its original setting. Elsewhere we use low energy light bulbs. We have installed a ground source heat pump for underfloor heating and solar panels for the hot water. We have used traditional building methods to renovate our barns with lime mortar and local lambs’ wool to insulate the oak panelled walls. We have left a panel free for our guests to see the wool.
We have recycling and composting facilities for all our guests. There are composting facilities with a caddy in each cottage. We also have a cooked food composter for the kitchen waste, and a natural dog loo composter for our guests dog waste. When we replace sheets and towels we have bought fair-trade. We have a 2 acre wildlife garden with a mill pond and a badger sett. We have let areas to grow wild and provided hollowed logs and nesting boxes, although the bats prefer the roof! We have green folders in our rooms to try to educate our guests on the serious issues of climate change and to show them how easy it is to make changes. We have uses natural paints, all bi products are compostable and have not removed any waste from building from site, we built a new drive with any building waste.
We have a folder in our rooms and cottages with local pubs and restaurants, and their contact numbers. We offer jute bags for our guests to use instead of bags and have a list of the super independent butchers, deli’s, fishmongers and grocers locally. We also have details of the local produce we use for breakfasts and cream teas, which guests often ask for. We promote local businesses, restaurants, shops and display local crafts. We advertise and try to sponsor events for the local regatta and festivals, and offer lifts home from local restaurants where possible. Where possible, we purchase our cleaning and toiletries from local companies and try to use locally handmade soaps. We also support global organisations campaigning for ethical travel and community based tourism. If our guests choose to travel by train, we will collect them and we also have details of local bus routes. We are not eco- warriors, we are an ordinary family doing our best to balance a luxury accommodation business with a sustainable lifestyle, and to give back to our environment more than we take, and to support and be of a benefit to our local community and environment.
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