Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
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Environment
Ours is a summer house, so we save energy by being closed during the autumn and winter months. The house is equipped with showers only and dual flush toilets, using recycled toilet paper. We change the sheets weekly when the new group arrives. All the laundry is done by the "Dry Cleaner" shop in the village, this lady has an industrial washing machine which is energy saving and more efficient than doing the equivalent of ten loads in my smaller machine. People are encoraged to wash their smalls by hand, usually it is kept to the minimum. We encorage travellers to save energy, turn off water when unecessary. We use eco washing up products.
We have recycling bins,usually some of us walk to the site ,generally people are very good and it's a good excuse to stop at the one and only cafe on the way back!
The group size is a maximum of ten people and we are strict on noise pollution. There are no T.V or radios in the house. Participants are required to use their mobiles outside, and to keep very quiet when walking back from local restaurant at night. I have reassured the mayor of the village that peace and quiet at nights will be respected. All through their stay the travellers spend a lot of their time in the unspoiled countryside. People are required not to litter,and if caught at it,they have to do the washing up, all in good humour! I ask them to refrain from picking wild flowers, once picked they wilt.
Community
Lavardac is a timeless village, although not far from the Dordogne, it is not yet on the tourist track, which is good for our visitors, but economically hard for the villagers. 3/4 of them live on state handouts. We are offering the local community, shops and restaurants more retail, bringing much needed new customers, not relying solely on people passing through on their way to the south. We support local growers, trying to buy mostly organically home grown produce, minimizing the food carbon foot print.
I employ a village person to help with the cooking and the cleaning. The house is maintained by local artisans.
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!
