Traditional crafts holiday in Scotland, felt making
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Everything we do is aimed at making a positive impact on the people who stay with us and on the people, places and communities that we introduce them to.
Our Fleece to Felt week has drawn inspiration from the crofting community both past and present in and around Ross-shire and Inverness-shire. Crofters are a true example of sustainability. Surviving on marginal land, making a living from what surrounds them.
We believe passionately in protecting our local environment. We source local produce to cut down on food miles, either growing or sourcing our vegetables locally, our fish and seafood generally comes straight out of the Minch and our organic meat from the farmland around us. We carbon offset your journeys when you are with us and encourage you to do the same with your journeys up to us. The c-change trust is an ethical British carbon offsetting charity, which plants trees in Britain.
We re-use and recycle all that we can, from paper in the office to fishing rope washed up on the beach. We compost all our food waste and recycle cardboard, aluminum and plastics. We try and minimize our energy use and encourage our guests to do the same. The Loch side cottages are fitted with under floor heating and are well insulated, reducing the amount of energy needed to heat them. The log fires in the cottages use wood from the estate. We use green, non chemical cleaning products and make sure we put no harmful chemicals into the water system. We use a tipi as an extra space, due to its low impact as we can remove it leaving no trace. We start as many of our walks as possible from the farm cutting down on emissions caused by the week.
We are very aware of the natural unspoilt beauty of the area and endeavour to help keep it that way. On visits to the beach we carry a few bags so we can do a stint beach cleaning before leaving. We encourage clients to adopt the responsible tourist’s mantra of; “leave only foot prints, take only photographs”
Community
As well as this Fleece to Felt trip, we are also running school felting workshops and community projects aimed at getting children and their families interested in traditional crafts and the idea of sustainability. Most of the fleeces in the North Highlands are used for very little. We want people to understand how wasteful this is, where in fact the fleece could be used in many craft practices and the lower grade fleece can be used as housing insulation.
We are committed to using local services wherever possible, during the Fleece to Felt week we use the Lochside Cottages which are owned by, Lucy a local farmer. Virtually all the food we serve is locally produced and the experts involved live in the area.
We generate employment and revenue for local people and businesses including crofters, farmers, market stall holders, fishermen, artists, craftsmen, cafes, restaurants and shops.
Ross-shire is a sparsely populated area dominated by massive tract of mountainous wilderness. Our business helps to support and expand a regional network of like-minded individuals. We help to encourage cohesion and skill-sharing amongst craft practitioners and our other specialists.
We hope that many of our guests will return to the area in the future.
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