Yoga and activity holiday in Greece

Planet

When you book these holidays you are joining a 40-year tradition of supporting the local community and working together to maintain a responsible lifestyle. We aim to create a total living experience which can lead to changes beneficial both to the individual and to the world we live in.

At Atsitsa Bay
- All accommodation is locally owned and maintained
- We use organic, locally produced meat, eggs, cheese, fruit and vegetables where ever possible
- Building construction is fully in tune with the natural environment - accommodation has remained simple partly in order to avoid the industry’s excesses
- Motorised sea sports have never been introduced
- Kitchen and shower water and waste/left over food is recycled/composted for the gardens
- Left over vegetables, fruit, salads etc is given to our neighbours, to feed their goats
- Visitors are requested to limit the use of running water, which is pumped out of our own well
- Guests are asked to bring their own refillable water bottle to avoid single use plastic
- Showers are heated via solar panels
- External lighting is solar-powered
- We work with the local authority to further develop recycling on the island – plastic, glass and aluminium as well as an ecological landfill project

Although we can accommodate up to 80 participants at a time, the site is self-contained with all the facilities our participants need – because of this, and as a result of the environmental policies we have put in place, impact on the local community and environment is minimised. Guests wishing to visit bars and tavernas off-site will also be directly benefiting the local economy as internationals are virtually unheard of here. Visitors are also requested to help with a few chores to assist with the running of the on-site community, from sweeping the yard and chopping vegetables to fruit picking from the garden. The objective is the creation of an ethical mini-society in which decent human behaviour counts more than money. We work with the local authority to further develop recycling on the island – plastic, glass and aluminium as well as an ecological landfill project

As part of your booking, you will be provided with a copy of the company philosophy and pre-trip information on the host community to raise cultural awareness and help you to make decisions on how to integrate responsibly. During your holiday you will have opportunities to learn some local language, and will be fed on locally sourced national cuisine. Many holiday sessions include courses on local history and culture, language or art forms, visits to the woodcarvers, potters, cheese-maker etc. (depending on the time of year some visitors can even tread the grapes to help with local wine production!). On some sessions there are other opportunities to further integrate with the host community in various ways e.g. volunteering to enter the mini-marathon which brings visitors and locals together.

However our commitment to positive action is not restricted to this island alone. At our administrative offices various environmental policies are in place, including:
- All single sided printed material is stapled into booklets and re-used for notepaper
- All staff living within a 3 mile radius have elected to walk to work
- We have made available downloadable versions of literature from our site to reduce reliance on printed brochures and encourage online booking as an alternative to paper-based methods
- Waste materials are sorted for recycling wherever possible

Staff, guests and suppliers are also actively encouraged to suggest further ways in which we can increase our environmental responsibility. The ethos of our courses focuses on creating rather than consuming.

People

We encourage responsible integration with the local communities including the teaching of local history, culture and language or the sponsorship of various events. One of the latter was the Skyros mini-marathon. In the same spirit, it has contributed generously towards the purchase of computers for the main local school, new medical equipment for its Health Centre, the refurbishment of the school theatre and the protection of the island’s magnificent forest.

We also supports the welfare of the Skyrian horses, dogs and cats and has contributed to the island’s folk dance society and the local children’s Tae- Kwon-Do group. The Skyros Support Fund, set up in 2013, has also during the last financial crisis helped mainly the heating in the winter of all the island’s schools and of its Health Centre.
For decades we have enjoyed a somewhat symbiotic relationship with our host island that has been, by definition, a mutually sustainable core. The local community has benefited from it as a significant part of our holiday fees is intentionally spent locally on goods, services and jobs.

Local staff are hired where possible and local food is served to guests as a delicious Mediterranean buffet cooked by our fantastic Skyrian chef, Takis.

We set up a fund to fill the gap that appeared in the supply of fuel to the island’s three schools, the clinic and the nursing home during winter.

We have also often contributed towards various projects that benefited the island. Our support includes a contribution towards the purchase of medical equipment for the local health centre and towards the refurbishment of the island’s school theatre. We have also contributed towards the care of the endangered Skyros Island Horses and other wildlife.