Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
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Holidays in France are largely about enjoying the culture of another country and we promote this in every way we can. This property is on the edge of a beautiful medieval village which has several local fêtes and our tenants are invited to participate. The village is known as “the city of oranges” and one of the fêtes, just after Easter, involves a competitive tasting of the locally produced vin d’orange.
Visitors are able to enjoy a stunning, unspoilt environment and appreciate traditional village life at the same time as supporting the local economy. The owners provide detailed information about the local shops, farmers’ markets and restaurants in Le-Bar-sur-Loup and nearby villages as they are keen for visitors to sample the delicious locally produced food. The owners employ local people as gardeners, cleaners, carpenters and decorators and the house is looked after by a concierge who lives a couple of houses away. All this, along with renting the property, injects money into the local economy and supports life in rural France.
The house was built in the 18th century and has been carefully renovated by traditional craftsmen using locally sourced materials. The interior is attractively decorated displaying works of art by local artisans and artists.
When tenants arrive the concierge indicates the nearby recycling collection point for paper, plastic and glass. There are composting facilities for garden waste which tenants are encouraged to use.
The electricity in the house is set for lowest energy rates from 2-5p.m. and 2-7 a.m. every day. This information is clearly displayed in the house. The house has a septic tank and environmentally friendly cleaning products are provided. The beautiful garden has 13 fruit trees plus figs and grapes, and all can be picked and eaten. In the garden there is a superb jacuzzi which runs on recycled heat from the house and uses no energy.
Although a car is necessary to get to the property, there is a very good bus service for exploring the area and the owner provides the timetables at the property.
We support a range of charities and projects in France and worldwide which provide aid to vulnerable communities and habitats, e.g. ASSOHUMA, a French charity which organises trips taking humanitarian and medical aid to women in Afghanistan and families in remote Sénégal; Shared Interest, a co-operative lending society which provides funding for Third World producers.
Our office in Devon is in a redundant agricultural building which we re-built using reclaimed, traditional materials. We support the Devon Wildlife Trust and we have nest boxes and feeding stations in the office grounds to encourage the birds. Our water for the office comes from a spring and is pumped by a water-powered ram. We do not produce a paper brochure; our bookings and enquiries are handled by email and all our office paper and printing cartridges are re-cycled. Our shredded documents go on the compost heap.
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!
