Anita Ericson
Sustainability has nothing to do with doing without. On the contrary: consciously shaping life is fun. Experiencing sustainability on holiday means finding your way back to the basics - ideally, let yourself be inspired by an all-round eco-experience.
“But oops, I know that”, Ulrike Retter from the organic hotel of the same name wondered again and again about her house florist Michaela. The hotel manager has often stood in front of a new decoration in the house and thought to herself: “The vase, the bowl, I've seen them before. Didn't even know how pretty she looked ”. This is due to the fact that Michaela is a veritable flower artist - and because hardly anything is thrown away here but is tidied away in the large warehouse. Michaela likes to rummage here, dig out old decorative items and spice them up with fresh materials from nature. The result surprises the head of the house regularly and that's how Ulrike Retter came up with the idea for the zero-waste decorating course: "Guests are invited to bring their old favorites and rearrange them together with Michaela."
Experience sustainability on vacation
This workshop takes place once a month. It goes perfectly with a house like the Retter, where careful treatment of the environment does not pay lip service: The hotel in the Styrian nature park Pöllauer Tal has been completely committed to sustainability on vacation for years. Resources are conserved, for example, by using as little energy as possible, collecting rainwater or largely meeting your food requirements locally and in any case using organic produce. Experience sustainability on vacation. Living here alone is a lasting experience, which is enhanced by various seminars, Ulrike Retter: “Our bread-baking course is a hit. We only use organic grain from our region as well as water and flour. Natural sourdough instead of E numbers, so to speak. Our guests appreciate the feeling of putting their hands in the dough, of being very close to the food. ”The bread in the restaurant is of course also baked that way.
Experience circular economy
As a third highlight in the range of events, Retter refers to the Bokashi course. The word Bokashi comes from Japanese and means “fermented organic material”: leftovers and grass clippings are layered in a large egg-shaped container, inoculated with EM and fermented into a high-quality fertilizer for four weeks. “It works much faster than compost and is also suitable for the garden at home. This closes the food cycle, ”says the eco-committed hotel manager, who also uses this technology in-house. The Retterschen Hotel also has a certified organic farm, which is directly connected to the area. Mainly fruit and berries grow here, which are processed into jams, distillates and fine ice cream. The guest benefits from this organic good in several ways in terms of sustainability on holiday: firstly, the delicious products are served in the restaurant, secondly, you can immerse yourself in the topic of circular economy during guided tours and thirdly, as a hotel guest, you can stroll wonderfully relaxing in the orchards, if you like while you nibble on ripe fruits.
Intense but exhausting
There is little time to laze around if you book your vacation with WWOOF. The abbreviation stands for “We're Welcome on Organic Farms” - which, loosely translated, means: roll up your sleeves. Mucking out the stable, mowing the mountainside with a scythe, filling bags with herbs, harvesting apples, pulling weeds, selling vegetables in the farm shop, repairing fences ... The range of possible holiday experiences is huge, although woof is anything but holiday in the classic sense: Man If you book your stay with the organic farmer, instead of paying board and lodging, you lend a hand with the farm work. How many hours a day and what kind of work you do in advance in detail, contact is established through the WWOOF association.
“We have a little over 300 farms as members. The spectrum ranges from small self-caterers to tractor-less organic farms and green asparagus gardeners to large vegetable farmers. They all operate organically, "says chairwoman Martina Heuberger, explaining the principle," Anyone who volunteers to join us receives access to the descriptions and contact details of all farms. " even only over the weekend, prior knowledge is usually not necessary. “A fundamental interest in organic agriculture and openness to people are the essential prerequisites for woofen to succeed,” says Heuberger, “for the duration of your stay you become part of the family. It is a wonderful experience to disappear from everyday life and to immerse yourself in the microcosm that such a courtyard represents. "
She speaks from her own experience: “I grew up on a farm myself, but went other ways professionally. I discovered woofen by chance and I was thrilled the first time. I was on a goat farm in a small village in Upper Styria, where I learned the many different things from milking to making cheese. Feeding the animals and repairing the fences were also on my vacation program. Since then I have often woofed and never found the work difficult - but always extremely enriching. "
Experience sustainability on vacation: active-passive combination
Back to vacation in the true sense of the word. The nature hotel is located in the Kleinwalsertal Chesa Valisa, where eco-conscious people find the perfect combination of vacation and sustainable experience. It starts with blissful idleness, when you stroll through the garden in search of relaxation and surrender to the natural experience of flowering meadows, fragrant herbs and shade-giving fruit trees. A few strips of path through the lush splendor have been mowed, and benches or loungers have been set up in the most beautiful places that invite you to rest. Here you can listen to the voices of the birds and the insects, in the background the babbling of the brook can be heard.
“My brother David and I prefer to hold our meetings out here,” enthuses Magdalena Kessler, who is now the 17th generation to run the hotel with her brother, about the relaxed creativity in her garden. “We usually sit next to the herb spiral Our thinker's bench. ”In the house itself, calming down works just as well, Kessler:“ We only use absolutely natural wood from a carpenter's hand, mainly silver fir from the region. Nothing has ever been painted on it and that is good for the air in the room. ”They also rely on clay walls instead of air conditioning. “The rammed earth walls cool on warm days and warm on cold ones. In addition, they ensure an optimal indoor climate by regulating the humidity. This leads to a peaceful, deep sleep. "
Highlight workshops
Of course, sustainability can be achieved on vacation in Chesa Valisa also experience very actively. Apart from the wonderful surrounding mountains, through which it is wonderful to hike, various workshops are offered in the house. which give those interested in knowledge and skills at home. Every week, for example, the herb fairy Marlene takes the guests by the hand to go on excursions with them, where wild herbs are collected and medicinal herbs are identified. Once a month she goes into detail in a workshop and shows, under the motto “The Green Pharmacy”, how to make ointments, pastilles or oils with healing powers. Andi Haller's seminar on biodynamic horticulture is also part of the weekly program.
“First there is a guided tour through our raised beds. This is where our vegetables, which are fertilized with the humus from our organic waste, thrive, "explains hotelier Magdalena Kessler," Afterwards you are asked to carefully look at your plate while eating. Andi Haller then explains how you can do this on a small scale in your own garden or even in the city on the balcony . As an ecologically conscious person, you want your vacation to be exactly the same.
TIPS for experiencing sustainability on vacation:
The Organic nature resort savior is embedded in the Pöllauer Tal nature park in Eastern Styria, directly surrounded by the orchards of the family's own organic estate. Sustainability on vacation is lived here on all lines: the house was built in a low-energy construction, the energy requirements that still arise are covered with green electricity and wood chip heating. The rooms are furnished with natural materials such as wood, wool or sheepskin, in the restaurant exclusively organic is served, mainly from local production. In addition to the workshops mentioned above, the seminar calendar also includes courses on making soap, making ointments and keeping bees among many other things.
www.retter.at
The Nature hotel Chesa Valisa in Vorarlberg lives up to its name: 100 percent organic and regional products dominate the kitchen, the rooms are surrounded by clay walls and equipped with natural wood. In several renovation and extension phases, the 500-year-old knitted wooden house was brought up to date with the latest ecological standards, while at the same time creating an architectural eye-catcher. District heating is used for heating, which is fed with wood chips from the surrounding farmers. The solar-heated outdoor pool is filled with its own spring water, cleaned with ionized salts. One focus of the seminars is on yoga. www.naturhotel.at
You can learn how butter is made in a course - or you can go apprenticeship to a farmer. In Austria alone, more than 300 organically managed farms offer the opportunity to work for free board and lodging. Contact can be found via the WWOOF association, which also exists internationally. So you can combine your sustainable break with a really big trip. www.wwoof.at, www.wwoof.net
The Swiss organization OceanCare has dedicated itself to this Protection of the seas since 2011 you have been the UN Special Advisor for Marine Affairs. OceanCare cooperates worldwide with leading scientists in protection projects and brings research results to all important international committees. In Sicily, the Balearic Islands and Greece, laypeople have the opportunity to take part in research trips. www.oceancare.org
Planting trees in New Zealand, helping to build an eco lodge in Colombia or teaching English in Indonesia: over 200 sustainable and charitable projects in more than 80 countries are supported by the Volunteerworld platform with volunteers provided. They work free of charge and also bear the costs of their stay - and thus support the projects twice. Such volunteer stays can be booked for as little as one week. www.volunteerworld.com
More information about sustainable travel here.
Photo / Video: Shutterstock.
