Peloponnese self catering cottage sleeps 2, Greece

Environment

Being fortunate enough to own a property within a special historical site in Greece we are very aware of the need to keep it an unspoilt area, therefore we abide by the laws of the Greek Archaeological society.
We use only stone found in the location and build our walls in the style of the castle using as little cement as possible. We do not have solar panels or satellite dish for that reason, that it is not in keeping with the environment.
We also paint our cottage in the colours of the location.
Our garden is planted with Mediterranean plants and as many drought resistant species as we can find, we do not use chemical fertilizers on our olive trees, vegetables or flowers, preferring to use organic methods of horticulture.
We use a drip system to water our garden which comes on in the early hours of the morning so as to not disturb the water pressure for our neighbours, and when it is most advantageous to the plants.
We use energy saving lamps both in the cottage and in the garden and we have a toilet with a long and short flush.
We encourage guests to only use the air/con when necessary, we hope to install good quality ceiling fans so that we do not use air conditioning in the future. We also ask guests to limit the use of the hot water boiler.
We also encourage our guests to observe Greek 'Siesta', which happens between 2p.m. and 5 p.m. in the Summer.
We also ask our guests to be aware of the dangers of fire in the hot, dry Summers in Greece, especially when using the BBQ.

We hope that our guests will appreciate the very special environment that they are in and love it as much as we do.

We recycle wood and other materials whenever possible and a good part of the furniture in the house is made by us from recycled wood.

Community

We have been in Greece for nearly 12 years and we still do not speak the language very well but we understand more and more. We try to integrate with the local people as much as possible and try to not let the language barrier be a problem.
We have wonderful neighbours in the Castle who are happy to give us fresh, free range eggs and lemons straight from the trees.
When we have guests we recommend the local restaurants especially those that use their own garden produce.
We buy from the local shops, whenever possible . We always ask the best way to cook from the Greeks, they have much better knowledge of these things. We recommend places of local interest to our guests with details of how to reach them and we tell them about how lucky we are to have our local beach home to nesting Loggerhead Turtles and how careful we all must be to observe and protect their nests. We also ask that they support the turtle volunteers who do such a good job. They can be found on the harbour manning a kiosk with information and Turtle souvenirs.
We try and pass work to locals as we are aware of who is good at what in this area.
I help to organize bazaars locally, where people come along and sell their handicrafts, it has really taken off amongst the Greeks and we now have a lot of local talent on display.
We observe and respect the wonderfully diverse wildlife in Greece and when change threatens this special area i.e. open cast mining, we are there with Greeks and other nationalities to protest , we all know how blessed we are to live in this beautiful and, as yet, unspoilt area of Greece.