Cornwall is an Eco Hotspot

West Cornwall is set to become a holiday hotspot for those seeking to tread with the lightest possible environmental footprint.

Plan-it Earth’s Eco Camps at picturesque Sancreed, near Penzance, come complete with Mongolian yurts, bell tents, turf-roofed compost toilets, wood-burning showers and drinking water from the well.

And, from May 2008, visitors will be able to take courses in traditional, environmentally friendly skills like wild food foraging and green woodworking, to help make their own lifestyle gentler on the planet.

The initiative, part of the Plan-it Earth Environmental Education Project, is the brainchild of award-winning film-maker Rachel Smart-Knight and husband David, a former computer consultant turned Environmental Educator.

David explains: “Most other eco-holidays still use mains electricity and water for shower facilities, but we are very close to being entirely carbon neutral. We are raising the bar and we believe this is one of the greenest holidays now available in Europe.”

Shower and washing up water on the seven-acre site is recycled into a pond filtering system. A 3,000 tree coppice supplies fuel and material for furniture making, water is gathered from the well and fabrics are made from sheared sheep wool and dyed using plants from the herb garden.  Chutneys and jams are cooked from fruits in the orchard and vegetables are handpicked from the plot for lunch.

Uniquely, guests will soon be able to replicate aspects of this idyllic lifestyle at home.  A custom-built classroom on the site will provide workshops by local environment and nature experts in skills such as bush-craft, dyeing and felting and how to make herbal ointments.

David continues: “We want to show people that simple lifestyle changes can make all the difference and these crash courses are unique. We must be the first eco-holiday which has set out to teach visitors such a wide range of eco-skills in a virtually carbon neutral environment.’
 
In a further innovation and to increase the Eco-Camp’s environmentally friendly status still further, visitors are offered up to 50% off the price of the holiday if they leave their car at home.

www.plan-itearth.org.uk.

8 March 2008