Holiday retreat in Greece, Saronic Islands

Planet and people

Since we live on a very small island with 800 inhabitants and a community that just changed hands to a very open-minded mayor, the whole population including us raised money to buy a little boat that connects Agistri to Aegina [18000 inhabitants]. This boat is essential for all inhabitants of Agistri, serving as transport for the high-school, shopping and tourism. We encourage guests to travel with this boat. People staying here visit different restaurants and also buy goods from the island, like oregano (which grows wild in abundance), figs, oil, mushrooms, retsina wine, vinegar and fish.

Our rooms use energy efficient lightbulbs, and rainwater from the ceramic roof goes in a deposit which we use for watering. We inform our guests to be careful with water, because, although the island is covered 90% with pines, we do not have any water resources. We change towels every 3 days and bedsheets once a week. The local laundry service uses rainwater, wellwater and water delivered by watertank. We only use showers in our rooms, and toilets that can be adjusted to half flush.

The garden around the complex is natural. All the organic waste from the kitchen we compost, while food waste is consumed by local wildlife. We have dogs and cats and some donkeys in the village that get watermelon waste, and we make trips to a deserted island with peacocks and goats where we send the stale bread. Clothes, books etc are donated to the 'Animal Respect Shop' on Aegina island, who then sell in order to purchase medication, vaccinations and pay doctor's fees for the big shelter they have on the island.

We employ people that live on the island and train staff to work in the kitchen of the restaurant. Our kitchen products come mainly from the island, while our fishermen provide the restaurant specialities in smoked, grilled and cooked fish. We serve a variety of vegetarian dishes, and all our dishes are homemade (we use no frozen or prefabricated food). We started our own garden last year with tomatoes, paprika, aubergine, and spices...and people enjoy that immensely.

We also use the local butcher, who operates a small stable with cows, chicken and turkey. We use the market on Aegina island for things we cannot find here. For maintenance, electrical work, plumbing, and mechanics we employ a young talented guy from the island who left Athens to have a more tranquil life on Agistri, living just 1 km away.