External Reviews

‘Emissions impossible in France’, Monday July 2, 2007, By Phil Bowman

When choosing a holiday in the past, carbon emissions didn't usually come into it, but in the current climate they are as much a consideration as location, cost, and language barriers.

Les Cygnes is the first ever self-catering gîte complex to allow visitors to offset their carbon footprint by purchasing trees when they get there, which will be planted at the site.

Based in the Poitou-Charentes region of France, within easy travelling distance of Limoges, Poitiers and the Atlantic coastline, Les Cygnes is a luxurious complex of three self-catering gîtes with over five acres of land. The gîtes have been converted from a former pigsty and 200-year-old barn, using local builders and architects. There is a terraced salt-water swimming pool and large indoor games room with table-tennis, darts and table football.

xpats Graeme and Graziella Swan bought the house and land in 2001. In doing so, they breathed new life into a property previously overlooked by the locals. They have now been accepted by the community, who can see that the Swans are committed to the area and its future.

After reading an article about carbon footprints last year, Graeme put aside over a hectare of land to be used for the planting of indigenous trees, such as chestnut, oak and lime. The trees are all surrounded by sapling protectors to prevent the local deer from grazing on them.

Visitors to the gîtes are encouraged to purchase trees to negate the carbon emissions from their journey. Whether you fly or drive, the footprint will usually amount to one tree. €10 will cover the cost, so with the money that you save on the local wine, why not splash out on a copse? 'We want guests to enjoy themselves while helping to secure the planet's future,' says Graeme. Although some might say if you're that worried about the environmental impact of your holiday, it would be better to stay at home.

In addition to this they also recycle as much material as they can and compost all organic waste. The gîtes are all double-glazed and insulated to the highest level. They are heated using wood from sustainable sources and even the rainwater is collected in a 12,000 litre tank and used to irrigate the gardens and land. Toilets are eco-friendly too. As with the rest of rural France, they use the fosse septique system, in which eco-friendly bacteria process the waste so that it, too, can be recycled.

Although the accommodation is self-catering, it is also possible to arrange for the local chef to supply a gourmet meal, using seasonal vegetables and Limousin beef all from within a 20 mile radius. What better way to celebrate your eco-friendly holiday than a shallot and red onion tarte tatin, beef stroganoff and a raspberry crème brulee. It will be the only thing on your conscience.

This French Life, May 2007:

‘A green view of the gîte business’

AS people become more aware of the impact their travel plans have on the environment, schemes have been introduced where you pay a small fee that goes towards a sustainable project.

But for Graeme and Graziella Swan this wasn't quite enough, so they looked closer to home for a way to reduce the carbon footprint of their three gîtes in the Poitou Charentes, as well as that of visiting holidaymakers.

"I was watching breakfast television and saw a piece about planting trees to help the environment," Graeme said. "I thought to myself that we could do similar and allow our guests to take direct action. "So on a portion of our land we will plant a sapling for people at a cost of €10, this also provides some protective netting as it grows and a name plate, so people know that is their tree.

"We worked it out that for a family of four driving the 1,200 miles here and back from Birmingham to our gîtes, Les Cygnes, a single tree would cover their carbon emissions. When we looked at a return flight from Birmingham then that was one tree per person."

Graeme also provides the option to visitors of making an online payment to a number of groups that are involved in supporting sustainable projects around the world, but he is also looking at a variety of ways to improve the efficiency of his own gîtes. And he is the first to admit that he gets a thrill from experimenting with some of the gadgets and methods he uses.

"When the gîtes were built we made sure they were very well insulated with 13 layers of foam plastic and reflective materials to ensure there was no need to heat or cool them," Graeme said.

"And instead of small windows we went for large 2m by 4m ones that act like storage heaters as they absorb the sun's rays during the winter when it is low in the sky, but are shaded from the sun when it is higher during the summer.

"I've also investigated solar panels and spoke to Electricité de France recently about geothermal heating and selling back excess energy. I come from an IT background and enjoy new technology so I am interested in ways we can save energy, it's a bit like taking apart your father's record player, and putting it all back together again."

Graeme and Graziella have been running their gîtes since early 2004, after spending sometime before that in France and they have settled into their local community, with neighbourly talk of a wind turbine and the French way of life rubbing off on the couple.

"The trees are being planted with a long term view, in the same way the local people do when they plant trees for future use either as fuel or for agriculture," said Graeme.

"In the UK we seem to want everything today, or at the latest tomorrow, but I think that is a little sad, I hope that we are self sufficient in time but I also want people to know that they can head back to Les Cygnes in 10 or 20 years to see their tree proudly displaying their name."