Sustainable Agritourism in Tuscany: ecology, biodiversity and sustainability grown from Podere Mulinaccio

In the Italian legislation does not exist a definition of sustainable farm yet, but now several initiatives are promoting the development and visibility of farms that focus on sustainability. Podere Mulinaccio, for its part, seeks to encourage all those practices that make the farm and its accommodations fully sustainable in the environment and landscape where we live, but also in relation to the reception of tourists, encouraging recreational activities that are in complete harmony with the natural and historical environment in which you will find our farm.

In short, we do not want the house to be yet another "excuse" to promote mass tourism, but should be an opportunity to promote a sustainable way of living your holidays. Thereby complying with the directions of the law n. 135/2001 on tourism, intended to protect and enhance environmental resources, cultural heritage and local traditions for the purpose of sustainable tourism development. Hence we decided to set up our business to be a sustainable farm in Tuscany. We chose not only to practice organic farming, but also all those activities that can make our business and the impact of the tourist holiday (almost) zero. We then focused on:

• Organic farming - Green building for all our properties
• Ecological production of electricity and heat for heating systems
• Phytoremediation of water
• Production of compost with organic wastes
• Recovery of local crops, to encourage biodiversity
• Offering to our guests, recreational activities that respect and enhance natural and historic environment.

All phases of the agritourism are therefore designed with this in mind. Going into detail, the rooms that accomodate guests have been realized by retrieving pre-existing materials and structures, and using techniques of green building. This has helped to reduce the impact of these structures, without building over new areas. Even our heating system is devoted to the principles of ecology and zero emissions: the solar panels are integrated, if necessary, by a heating system that uses wood, obtained in a sustainable and renewable way from our woods that surround the farm.

From this point of view we want to point out that the farm does not have an inground pool: this would have resulted in the denaturalization of the area dedicated to the pool itself. The activities that we offer our guests have therefore been dedicated to sustainability and eco-tourism in Tuscany. We are in fact in an area where nature is still strong, full of trails for hiking and mountain biking in the middle of fields and woods, as well as natural walls for climbing. Stables close to our agritourism offer our guests the opportunity to go horse riding immersed in the Maremma landscapes.