Here at Semilla Besada, we offer the opportunity for walkers, birdwatchers and wild plant spotters, to spend time in the Sierra Nevada Natural Park, at The Lodge, which is set at 1300m above the town of Lanjarón. Using Holistic Management as a decision-making framework, we created as eco-friendly accommodation as possible. We also provided bio-degradable bodycare products, recycled all the grey water from The Lodge, composted all bio-degradable waste, provided fresh produce, bread, eggs and milk from our farm, and offered guests the opportunity of mitigating their impact even further by providing access to a composting toilet. However, four years down the line, we have to admit that eco-tourism is an oxymoron. On average 4 guests at The Lodge will generate in a week the same amount of landfill waste that 4 of us generate in a month, and consume anything up to 3 times the resources that we do. Am I being churlish by moaning about our guests? No. We have had delightful people stay with us over the years, but I am taking a long, hard look at what many locations in the world are heralding as the salvation to the economic woes of any region … eco-tourism.
There is nothing ‘eco’ about moving people all over the world, with the attendant carbon footprint, to marginal areas where the capacity of the environment to support its own inhabitants have long since been played out, nevermind support the seasonal influx of tourists who receive no education as to how to ensure that they have a minimal impact on their host community. At The Lodge we include a booklet outlining the many ways in which visitors can mitigate their impact on this fragile area, and reduce their carbon footprint as much as possible.
Aspen signing off from some some thoughtful concerns about eco-tourism.
Semilla Besada - shaping the future 