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A self-catering annexe apartment for two, within easy walking distance of the train. You can take a bike, hire a canoe, or visit the alternative and wacky town of Totnes where Riverford Farm foods originated. Everything is organic and green. Little riverside allows you to go for a wild swim in the river right outside the door! Hire a canoe and go shopping down the river or to the pub. Great cafes and pub grub.
Near the sea and near the moors - fantastic situation for everything. Great carbon-free getaway for two.
www.littleriverside.com
Phone John & Debbie Carnegie on: 01803/866257.
I went to Kerala and took part in a Reach and Teach program with Yearoutindia. I volunteered for three weeks at a school in Adimali teaching Art and English, and helped the school prepare for Independence Day celebrations. All the local schools join in celebrating Independence Day, taking part in inter-school competitions and a show of strength in 2km march around the town, holding placards pledging allegiance to India and shouting Independence chants. It was quite a surprise for the locals to see a British citizen taking part in the celebrations and the head teacher called me in the evening to say the school was on the local news!
My experience of Kerala was fantastic, it has the most verdant flora and fauna, vibrant culture and the people I met were so welcoming. Besides many teaching and renovation projects at schools that really need help and support, Yearoutindia gives you the opportunity to be involved with the local communities and make a real difference to the lives of people in rural South India. They also run link school projects with schools in UK and looking to so the same with school in France and USA.
The coordinators and staff really go out of their way make sure volunteers have a great experience and that they really make a positive and direct contribution to the people and communities they work with. They only take on limited number of volunteers (usually 2-3) per project site, ensuring a personal commitment to the projects and a unique individual experience.
Yearoutindia is also a non-profit organisation who don’t advertise in print media, all their ex-volunteers who work on community development projects, conservation and environmental work, teaching in schools and orphanages act as volunteer coordinators back in their own country. A true volunteer experience run by volunteers themselves!
www.yearoutindia.com
info@yearoutindia.com
ruth@yearoutindia.com
Environmental education charity offering eco holidays that include training in ecology/traditional skills plus guided walks via woodlands, hills, bogs and lakes.
Also enjoyable local culture with traditional music, dancing, arts and drama.
Scariff, County Clare, Ireland.
www.celtnet.org (+353)61-640765
nearest station Birdhill
It's a cross between a hotel, a youth hostel and a summer school for families and adults into sustainable living. They run brilliant Family Weeks and workshop courses on environmental issues like composting, preserving, finding wild food and a few more whacky ones like Sacred Trees and Five Rhythms Dance.
Beautiful space - an amazing gothic Victorian building with great views, 11 acres of land, organic walled garden (lots of the food is grown on site) and a farm - and a really good atmosphere. It's three miles from Charmouth and Lyme Regis for seaside fossils and swimming. You can also go there as a volunteer - help out in return for free board and lodging.
www.monktonwyldcourt.org
monktonwyldcourt@btinternet.com
Tel 01297 560342
Stay almost anywhere in Cornwall, buy a group saver ticket to St Ives. Park and ride to St Ives, changing at St Erth, where you will be treated to spectacular views of Carbis bay and have a wonderful day out at one of Cornwall's prettiest resorts. It's green, cheap and if the shuttle is delayed you can enjoy a cup of coffee at St Erth station buffet.
Any manned railway station on the Plymouth to Penzance line
Eco-Hostel in a charming old slate school on a hillside with wonderful woodland valley views. It has a cosy communal lounge with wonderful wood burner which is great for snuggling after a walk up nearby Cadair Idris. Extremely restive for a weekend stay. Good beer, food and company at the Slaters Arms down in the village.
www.corrishostel.co.uk/
5 miles north of Maccynlleth, just off the A487, not far from the C.A.T.
Pun Pun is an organic farm, seed-saving operation, and sustainable living and learning centre based about 50km North of Chiang Mai. It offers a variety of workshops and training courses, with in-depth, hands-on experience in organic gardening, earthen house building and community living, as well as sustainability study trips.
www.earthoria.com/podcast-pun-pun-sustainable-organic-farming.html
The food is delicious, they follow the principles of local, organic, animal-friendly and fair trade... and everything is very reasonably priced too, with a great, easy, atmosphere and lots to do for children.
7 HOLDENHURST ROAD, LANSDOWNE
BH8 8EH 01202 558303 www.adamandevescafe.co.uk
Have just got back from Tanzania. By total fluke we found a beach (8km long) with only one small (nine-room) lodge - although they don't trade on their 'eco' side it's the most eco place we've found at a mid range price. Their electric is run on biomass, water is solar heated and the place is built from coco-wood (actually a grass apparently) - totally amazing. They have a website at www.mafiaislandtz.com, get there quick before everyone else discovers it.
Not only are you doing your bit for climate change (which scientists will tell you is the reason for the ever more unreliable snow fall), but you also get to unwind as you journey through the beautiful countryside of France. Plus, you won't get stung by the airlines for taking your equipment with you!
The Campaign for Better Transport are actually running a competition to win coach tickets down to various skiing destinations (including Val D'Isere).
Take a look at: www.bettertransport.co.uk.
I found a lovely little clothing and body care shop that sells only fair trade and organic products for all the family. I fell in love with it as I have never been in a shop selling only ethical goods. I didn't even realise at first which really added to the appeal. The staff were really helpful and informative and there wasn't a sign of any unattractive hippy clothing. And apparently they have a fan club that some of their customers have set up on facebook.
They have two shops, in Chorlton, Manchester (15 min bus ride from city centre) and Headingley, Leeds.
www.arkadash.co.uk
Bed and breakfast/farmstays with local families in and around San Luis de Pambil, Bolivar Province. Very basic (it's a poor, agricultural area) but friendly people and beautiful scenery, great for hiking, trekking, etc.
Not at all touristy, well off the beaten track (you need to speak some Spanish) but well worth the journey to experience genuine village life in Ecuador. They do river raft trips, too, and you help build the balsa wood raft. They have some suggested tours, and help you arrange whatever you want to do (in one case, a bug-hunt for a 10-year old and a 12-year old fascinated by the local insect life!) and make you feel very welcome.
It's run by a reforestation charity, so you plant a tree for each day that you stay there.
San Luis de Pambil, Bolivar, Ecuador
www.farmstaysecuador.org/
The new communal bike scheme operating since July 2007 is fantastic! Easy to use (once you get the hang of the terminals) you can cycle around Paris and cover far more ground than on foot and get a better view than you would by bus or car or metro!
There are over 10,000 bikes which are very solid and adjustable, and numerous 'bornes' or terminals where you can pick up and drop off.
You can get a day ticket for one euro and, provided you drop off each bike within half an hour of pick up, it won't cost any more. You can pick up and drop off as many times as you want within the 24 hour period. There are plenty of cycle lanes and, provided you have some road sense, it's a safe, interesting, very cheap and much healthier way to get to know Paris.
Mairie de Paris say there have been more than 2 million individual hires in the first 39 days of operating. Vive le velo! / Get on a bike!
Terminals all over central Paris. Go to www.velib.paris.fr/
Bruges is rightly famous for its architecture and history. However, what is not known is that Bruges is the first city in the world to have a space-age atomic waste disintegrator built in to its pavements.
Unlike anywhere else visitors will never see a cigarette end or other litter as the instant anything is dropped it is disintegrated by this built in device. Try it for yourselves and see if you can spot any litter at all!
The fishing village of Castara is undoubtedly the best location in Tobago and renting one of the six lodges at Castara Retreats is a superb way to enjoy the best of this unspoilt Caribbean island.
The philosophy behind Castara Retreats was to create a small eco resort to reflect principles of beauty, balance and respect and to reflect these aspirations in the buildings, the gardens, in the relationships with the local people involved, and with the clients.
The principle of sustainable tourism is having a positive impact on the local economy in the village of Castara, the community and the environment.
For those tourists who are interested in responsible travel and offsetting carbon emissions from flying, staying in Castara Retreats most certainly supports conservation and the local communities.
We stayed in Coasthanger Lodge for 12 nights (not long enough) and absolutely loved everything about it.
The lodge is thoughtfully and tastefully designed, and blends in sensitively with the landscape and the surrounding area.
The moment we arrived we felt instantly relaxed and we will never forget stepping into the lodge for the first time and looking out at the stunning views towards the turquoise sea and the beach.
Coasthanger is perfect for daily living, and the deck, which is just off the bedroom, is a perfect spot to relax at any time of day. The deck has full sun throughout most of the day but also benefits from a cooling breeze from the sea, so it was very tempting to spend all day there, relaxing and reading and generally delighting in the wildlife around us.
However we didn’t, and we had some wonderful experiences in Castara and some very happy memories to bring home with us.
We left Castara Retreats thinking that we had been part of something very special and feeling very privileged to have had the opportunity to share the local culture and the life of many of the people that we met.
There is no doubt that we will return to Castara and to Castara Retreats in the near future.
Check out the website which is very extensive and you will get a wonderful picture of what you can expect.
A little B&B for two in south Normandy (Le Perche). It's in a really cute little stone building next to the main house.
What makes it special is the lovely ambiance, and the care the owners took restoring it. We also had our first go on a compost toilet! The owners are very laid-back and friendly and the views over the garden are nice.
You can wander down and visit the chickens while drinking your coffee in the morning! Breakfast was all home-made and delicious!
perso.orange.fr/chambre-perche
02 33 83 34 57
Bryngolau old game keeper's cottage, Penrice Estate, Gower: this is home to the most amazing green outdoor activity company.
They have views of Oxwich Bay and they are just down the road from Three Cliffs Bay too. Their fun-loving staff will show you the most remote romantic parts of the Gower, South Wales.
Discover wild ponies, castles, sunsets etc and enjoy bushcrafting, sailing, surfing, beach art etc with internetoutdoors.
They also know all the best places to stay e.g Nicholston Farm overlooking Oxwich Beach, with its superb cafe and great woods or if you really want to push the boat out go and spot otters and drink pimms at Fairyhill Hotel.
eno is a lifestyle brand created in Shanghai. They provide a platform for Chinese artists, musicians and designers to create fresh clothing and lifestyle products. Also consumers can hand in their design and have the chance for them to be sold in the store.
Eno creates limited edition products: t-shirts, hoodies, long sleeves, bags, shoes.
Also very much worth visiting are their two monthly in store events called enoise with chinese and foreign bands performing in a relaxed atmosphere.
139-23 changle road/chengdu bei road
021-63860120
eno is a lifestyle brand created in Shanghai. They provide a platform for Chinese artists, musicians and designers to create fresh clothing and lifestyle products. Also consumers can hand in their designs and have the chance for them to be sold in the store.
Eno creates limited edition products: T-shirts, hoodies, long sleeves, bags, shoes.
Also very much worth visiting are their two monthly instore events called enoise with Chinese and foreign bands performing in a relaxed atmosphere.
139-23 changle road/chengdu bei road
021-63860120
www.eno.cn
We have just come back from a self catering holiday in the Deux Sevres department of France at a gite complex called Les Cygnes.
Although the weather was variable there was huge amounts to see and do both outside Les Cygnes and inside. It has beautiful pool and games room.
One of the best things though was that the owners had really thought about what makes a good family holiday.
They also helped us offset our carbon footprint by planting a tree on their land to help use up the CO2 used in our travel and stay there. A really good idea.
www.lescygnes.net
Le Breuil Coiffaud
Deus Sevres
France
near Poitiers
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