QUALITY AGRI-TOURISM RESPECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

The reasons behind a choice

Our story begins in 2001 when, with the take over of my parents’ activity where I was born and brought up and where I had been working since I was a child, I thought I could start the project I had dreamt about for ages:
To create an agri-tourism where I could host people wanting to spend their holidays in contact with the plainness and authenticity of country life.
Aware that I lived where the beauty of the Tuscan countryside mixes with the beautiful sea of the Etruscan Coast, I was encouraged to start.
In 2004 the main building was refurbished with the creation of 5 rooms, each with bathroom, a large kitchen and other communal areas. We did not need to wait long for results. Much to our satisfaction, our guest numbers grew more and more and they were always more affectionate.
In 2008 we started the construction of our Agri-camping, inaugurated at the end of 2009. Our informal and friendly hospitality is made of simple things but it is much appreciated; some customers say that, coming to our place, reminds them of their childhood, when they used to go on holiday at their grandparents or at their uncles and aunts who lived in the countryside.

One of our most satisfactory aims is to make our guests meet and/or rediscover the simple, authentic and often forgotten tastes, like those of a peach or an apricot picked fresh from the tree, or a tomato or a pepper coming directly from the field.

The Tuscan Agri-tourism classification system is based on an evaluation of the rural aspects both of the farm and of the territory hosting it.
The more Ears of Wheat an agri-tourism gets, the higher the rural quality is, although not necessarily the more “comfort”.
The highest classification is THREE “EARS”.
This classification is mandatory for all agri-tourisms.
The possession of a number of mandatory requirements is a necessary condition for the conferral of an “Ear”.
Among the mandatory requirements are:
- an information pack on the history, the traditions and the production of the territory and the farm;
- management of the farm according to techniques and practices respecting the environment and the wellbeing of animals;
- civil liability insurance towards third parties;
- enough furniture and linen according to the quantity of guests;
- at least weekly cleaning of all areas and at every guest’s changeover;
- at least weekly substitution of all linen and at every guest’s changeover.

In order to be promoted to the higher classification level, the farm must also possess other requirements. Among these are:
- direct sale of products;
- breeding of animals and /or cultivation of products with guarantee of origin.

For the conferral of two or three “Ears” more specific requirements are necessary, some mandatory, some optional. Among these are :
management by a professional farm manager;
management by a person with Agri-tourism operator qualification;
use of alternative and/or environment friendly sources of energy;
presence of buildings with a significant historic value;
presence of botanic, architectural, historical evidence within the farm;
breeding of native species or with guarantee of origin;
breeding and/or cultivation using organic methods and/or Agri-quality;
cultivation of traditional products;
horse riding, trekking, bike rides and other sports and entertainment activities connected with the enhancement and the knowledge of the country environment;
cooking and wine tasting courses, craft courses connected to rural activities;
communication of knowledge related to the processing techniques of the farm products.

Our attention and our respect towards the environment led us to decisions that, in 2009, granted us the ECOLABEL certification.

Ecolabel is the European brand for environmental certification of products and services. It is a voluntary award, granted to those products and services that respect established ecological criteria on a European level. The achievement of Ecolabel therefore constitutes a certificate of excellence that is only released for those products and services with a low environmental impact.

With such an aim, the initiatives we consider that have particular interest and significance are the installation of a photovoltaic system of 12Kw for the production of electricity; of a geothermal system, integrated with a solar system, to produce hot water; and the implementation of various energy saving items and resources such as the careful selection of household appliances, reduced energy consumption bulbs, water flow reduction devices, careful waste separation, etc.

Our guests are informed about these initiatives upon arrival and have been very happy to co-operate!

ECOLABEL IT/025/176