Yurts Tarifa, Andalucia, Spain

How does Yurts Tarifa minimise its impact on the environment and contribute to a sense of place?

They are completely self-sufficient in terms of water and electricity: water is from a borehole and electricity is sun and wind powered, as a result they are very conscious of conserving our resources. All lights are low energy or LED and, in communal areas, activated by movement triggered sensors. They have very few modern conveniences and encourage guests to be conservative with energy use. Yurts are insulated for shade in summer and warmth in autumn and spring and the cottage has a wood burning stove. The fridges and hot water run on gas. They have bins for recycling glass, plastic, paper and organic waste (for the chickens) and use eco-friendly cleaning products and soap decanted from industrial sized containers. When building or maintaining installations on the farm, they recycle and re-use materials as much as possible.

Water comes from the well and is pumped by solar energy, so its use is carefully monitored. The washing machine is very efficient and all grey water goes straight out to the gardens. The run-off from the septic tanks waters strategically planted trees. All cleaning products are eco-friendly.  Most taps have flow restrictors. Both the bathroom and kitchen roofs have been designed to accommodate green roofs in the future.  The homemade breakfast includes freshly laid eggs, organic coffee and, when possible, the farm organic produce. Guests are welcome to help themselves to seasonal fruit from the trees in the gardens and to purchase the owner’s produce (when available) and some basic cooking ingredients from bulk supplies. Guests are also encouraged to use the homely kitchen area to try out some locally bought produce or barbecue freshly caught fish.