A green guesthouse

We work in respect with nature and the environment. It's a big challenge and each time we discover how to get a little bit further. It's with pleasure that we discuss our experiences with you, to exchange ideas, to learn from you or to give you some ideas how to go a bit further. When each of us tries to do our part, with small and big actions, we will go together to a more healthy and respectfull world.

The management of the farm :

- The beauty of the farm Liards was already there before us, and we want to keep it the most natural as possible.
- No fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides in chemical form at our place.
- Creation of hedges, natural barriers and ponds, leaving dead trees in place, as well as untouched spaces and dry stone walls, in order to create niches for animals and insects.
- Refuge LPO (a kind of natural place managed in a way to accomodate birds).

Buying policies

- We buy from local producers, in order to promote the local economy and to reduce transport and package materials. Our engagement does not stop there, we were also very actif in setting up a kind of farmer market in Sauxillanges and we are now bot of us very engaged in the management of a cooperative shop, also in Sauxillanges.
- If the product we need is not produced locally, we try to buy it from as close as possible (rice from Italy and not from Thailand, oranges from Spain instead of Marocco, ...).
- Of course, we try to follow the seasons, we will not serve you strawberries or fresh green beans in wintertime. But since the season in the Auvergne is very short (mountain area!), we do not stick to this totally, we will serve you tomatoes from the south of France in July, although the tomatoes in Auvergne will only come to mature in August.
- Buying organic – more than 90% of the food is organic
- We give priority to products with packaging that can be returned to the producer or supplier, with or without deposit paid
- Toilet paper, tissues, kitchen paper and all the paper used in our office is recycled.
- Also all cleaning products, washing liquids, are ecological, except there where norms are forcing us to use special products.
- Coffee, tea, cocoa and chocolat are all fair trade and organic. The herbal teas are from our own production or from a neighbour producer.
- Since 2008, all new bed covers bought is made of organic coton (only the sheet under the down is from linen made by the orthodox monks in Russia; since we lived several winters in Russia, this was locally bought...). The new matrasses are made of natural wool, as well as the new downs, covered with organic cotton. Both are made by ARDELAINE in Ardèche. We buy now as well our pillows in wool, at Laine et Compagnie in the Limousin, where we also buy the matrasses to be used in our tents.
- The new beds (those in the Nepal Room bought in 2006 and those in the Terrace Room bought in 2008) are made in Egliseneuve des Liards, by a local artist.

Transport

- Rationalisation and grouping of buying in order to minimalise the milage.
- We have an electrical car

Our own production:

- We have a organic kitchen garden and an organic orchard.
- Home made jams and sirups, with organic sucre and organic or not-treated fruit. You can taste our own production of apple juice. We make herbal teas for the guesthouse, with the surplus for sale.
- Our chicken provide us with eggs, and they are fed with organic grain and supplement.
- We have beehives, but, as you know, the live of bees is very much in danger and we don't harvest much honey, we prefer to leave it up to them and not to feed them with sugar.

Waste management

- Waste selection: we separate ordinary waste from glass, all that can be put into the French 'bac bleu' (paper, plastic bottles, tins, etc) and compostable waste.
- Encouraging clients to do waste selection: there are boxes for recycable waste next to the Zebra, Blue and Nepal Room, and in the Terrace Room. However, it did not work out very well, so we have added very nice posters made by a local artist. And to be sure, we still do waste selection when we are emptying the waste bins in the rooms.
- We use food waste for our rabbits, chicken, goats, cats and dogs; the rest is put on the compost heap and will turn into compost.
- Priority is given to bottles with deposit.
- We print on both sides of a sheet, use sheets with one side printed for drafts, do not print if it is not necessary.
- We do not sell flat water in bottles: the tapwater at Liards is very good quality and does not need any packaging nor transport.
- We bring back package material to the seller / producer so that they can use it again.
- We refuse plastic bags and are using our own bags, boxes, crates, …
- Since we construct with natural materials, we can reuse the wast. For exemple, when we work with lime-hemp, we put the wast in water and we can reuse it the next day. So, except some bags, we do not have any waste in the construction.

The result? We have less than 3kg normal waste per week, as the average in France is more than one kg per person per day...

Electricity :

- We use LED lamps
- Switching off stand-by devices
- Tracking non-useful energy consomption
- Buying and using high efficiency appliances (A+ or A++ or A+++ or ...)
- Production of electricity (3000 Wc) by 24 m² solar panels to sell to the public grid
- We buy our electricity at Enercoop and so we are only using green electricity.

Water

- Using harvested rainwater for the watering of the garden. We have several 1000liter tanks for watering the kitchen garden and the flower pots, in addition to a digged in rainwater well. We also use rainwater in construction.
- Rationalisation of water use. For example, we do not automatically change the towels, we ask you to put them in a basket if you want us to change them. We use a linen sheet under your down. Washing a sheet demands less water (and electricity -also for ironing) than a downcover. The downcovers are washed once in 10 days (approximately); this saves a lot of water and energy, especially with those clients staying for only one night.
- We re-use water from the kitchen (when washing the vegetables) and from the bar for watering the pot plants.
- Two flow toilettes (3/6 litres)
- A small device on the water taps to reduce the water flow
- A study has been made for installing a whole system for water harvesting and re-using. The question is now how to finance it.
- Another study has been made for waste water treatment by plants. At this moment we are using a septic tank, but in the future this will be complemented by a purification system with plants.
- We have compost toilettes in the gite, in the sanitary for the campsite and in the banya. We take care of emptying the bucket, and to fournish you with sawdust, without any additional costs. So, if you were always eager to find out how it works: this is the occasion.
 

Chauffage / isolation:
- Chauffage pour une partie en bois (des Liards)
- Isolation des bâtiments : isolation partout des mures (sauf dans la grande salle), des toits et double vitrage.
- Nous avons un chauffe-eau solaire sur le bâtiment principal et on a vu la consommation d'électricité par personne par nuit diminuer par 1,5kW! Maintenant encore à faire sur le deuxième bâtiment.
- Air solaire pour les chambres népal et terrasse afin d'assainir l'air en hiver et tenir les chambres hors gel.

Construction:
- Nous ne construisons que selon des méthodes écologiques et nous utilisons des matériaux sains, non polluants, comme la chaux, le chanvre, la terre et le foin. Nous utilisons également des peintures naturelles. Demandez-nous de vous faire visiter nos nouvelles constructions !
- Comme nous sommes des passionées pour la construction écologique, nous avons beaucoup de livres sur ce sujet. Vous pouvez les consultez sur place. Nous disposons aussi de presque tous les numéros de Maison Ecologique.