| We
are responsible for 3 of the tallest trees in the resort, all
planted back in 1975. Since then, we've planted 3-4 trees a year
on our agricultural land, alongside the produce we grow. We use
locally sourced manure to fertillise our soil and allow the local
shepherd in with his flock to keep the weeds low after harvest.
We also encourage guests to offset to their own flight emissions
at ClimateCare,
or purchase a tree/plant for us to plant on our land.
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We
grow our own vegetables and fruit, Tomatoes, cucumbers, melons,
olives, apples, peaches, oranges, aubergines, grapes. When in
season, some of this produce is provided to guests in the welcome
basket. Outside of these times, we source our vegetables, meat
and fresh produce from the local grocers in Marausa or Paceco,
the majority of who's suppliers come from the Trapani Region. |
The
villas are connected to the drinkable water mains and we encourage
guests to drink this healthy mountain sourced water, rather than
buy bottled water. Re-usable glass bottles are provided to store
water in our fridges during hot weather. All cisterns have been
fitted with UK-style 'Water Hippos' since 1998 to reduce the amount
of water used in a flush. Our extended family also use British
water hippos in their Sicilian houses to conserve water.
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The
internal lighting of both villas, together with the outdoor lights
were switched over to energy saving bulbs in 2005. Our manuals
for the villas urge guests to turn items like the TV/DVD player
off when not in use. Our washing machines and Fridges are energy
efficient A rated models and we advocate using the roof to dry
clothes on the fitted washing lines. We are saving up to install
PV Solar Panels at villa Anna in the next 3 years. |
We
have recently installed facilities to make it easier for guests
to recycle their plastics, glass and metals and have provided
many re-usable canvas shopping bags for guests to use during their
stay.
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Whilst
we do recommend car hire to properly explore Sicily - To encourage
guests not to drive locally, we have 4 free bikes available at
Villa Anna for daily trips to the beach and local shops. |
Running
a responsible tourist operation in this area means we can direct
our guests to markets and local shops and restaurants who source
their produce and wares locally. We guide guests away from the
chain stores and supermarkets and encourage them to visit the
fish market in Trapani or buy fruit and veg direct from the many
farmers' roadside stalls next to the fields in which it was grown.
We employ a local person to carry out the cleaning, investing
in the community.
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All
the paper we use to run the business with is recycled or sustainably
sourced. Our notepads used to be juice cartons and some of the
pens and pencils used to be polystyrene cups. Our printer paper
and cartridges are all recycled. We still use an old-style CRT
monitor on our PC as it consumes 3 times less electricity than
an LCD screen. Our website provides repeated references and
links to sites such as 10:10,
ClimateCare,
ResponsibleTravel,
and Seat
61.
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get2sicily.co.uk
