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 2.5km from the perched village of Montauroux which has been designated as a ‘Station verte de vacances’. This national award is given in recognition of the village’s support for open spaces and floral displays, respect for the environment and nature, maintenance of cultural sites and leisure facilities, (eg waymarked walks, sports, swimming etc) and promotion of local products.
Visitors to Montauroux are able to enjoy a stunning, unspoilt environment and appreciate traditional village life at the same time as supporting the local economy. The owner provides detailed information about the local shops, markets and restaurants in Montauroux and nearby villages as she is keen for visitors to sample the delicious locally produced food. She is happy to accompany people on local walks and show them the area, as well as advising on non-touristic places of interest.
A list of local festivals is available at the property for the clients’ information. The Festival de Transhumance is held every June. This is a celebration of the annual trek of the sheep to the high mountain pastures, and involves displays by working sheepdogs as well as related rural crafts (sheep shearing, horse shoeing), period music played on authentic instruments, food stalls and local produce for sale. On August 24th the festival of St Batholémy is held in Montauroux.
Locally sourced materials were used as far as possible in the building and furnishing of this property, and some works of local art and craft are on display. A local person is employed to do the cleaning - this, along with renting the property, injects money into the local economy and supports life in rural France.
The owner is a keen gardener and recycles rain water for irrigation purposes and composts garden and kitchen waste. She grows vegetables and keeps chickens and likes to share the produce with our tenants. The swimming pool at this property has a rigid cover conserving heat and reducing evaporation. Paper, plastic and glass are recycled and the owner will point out where the collection point is for your sorted rubbish. She will also explain how to use the timer switch. Environmentally friendly cleaning products are provided.
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 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.
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!
