Glamping in Central Portugal

Environment

We have installed solar energy panels to provide hot water and electricity for our site. We run a mini-recycling point for plastic, glass, waste paper/card, bottle tops and tin cans and use our waste water for watering the trees and plants. Our olives are grown organically on site and harvested in the traditional method after which they are pressed at the local co-operative. We decant the oil into recycled bottles from our Bar and this is then offered for sale in our Reception. We make jams and marmalades from the fruits growing on site for use with our breakfasts and for sale to visitors. Visitors are also at liberty to sample the produce of our gardens. Our honey is collected from local hives and repackaged in recycled glass jars. We compost our animal, garden and suitable food waste and sell to local residentes as garden compost. We encourage our visitors to use public transport, share cars or taxis and use bicycles when possible. We operate a No Smoking policy in our accommodation and Bar. Many varieties of birds and other wildlife thrive in the sub-tropical atmosphere of the gardens we have created.

Community

We employ local staff and in addition support a tourism trainee scheme run by the Portuguese government by employing a trainee. Our professional services are supplied by Portuguese. We are members of the local village Association and support local charities and fairs by donating products or vouchers for use at our premises. We take part in our local village events and encourage clients to join us at these. Our suppliers are all local businesses and we buy Portuguese products wherever possible. The wines we use are all from local vineyards and we have two displays of locally produced wines for visitors to buy. To offer a marketing outlet for local villagers we sell their "country products" ie, wine, honey, jams, eggs in our reception area. We have organised discounts for our clients at local Restaurants both to support the restaurants and to offer our clients good service We have an annual Christmas lunch to thank all our workers and supporters.