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Ralleio Gymnasio Thileon Piraeus
Report from
the students’ group on Sustainable Development Through Sustainable
Tourism.
November,
20, 2004
Today we
traveled to the eco-farm named “Amficaia”, about 230 km from Piraeus,
on the slopes of Parnassus Mountain.
Mr Moros,
the owner of the farm gave us a warm welcome in the yard, in front of
the main premise of the farm. The weather was cloudy and rainy, so
soon we asked for a warm tea.
Mr Moros
spoke about the origins of the farm and about its features. It covers
an area of about 20 hectares belonging to him and his son. The farm
started working as an agro tourism enterprise in 2000, but years
earlier the owned had started his studies about the suitability of the
farm land, the soil, the climate, the water supply, etc.
The
construction and establishment of the farm was partly funded by the
Greek state (it contributes with a 25% and the European Union gives
75% of the initial investment.
The
activities offered to the visitor of the farm are
-
Taking
care of the animals of the farm (cows, ducks, geese, peacocks,
chickens-hens, horses, donkeys, etc)
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Taking
care of the trees and the aromatic herbs and plants
One also can
climb up the slopes of Parnassus, walk along the river Kifisos, help
in maintaining the farm in good condition, etc.
The moto of
Mr Moros is “You have your own farm” and he means that you make
yourself at home, so warm is the hospitality he offers to the visitor.
Three people
are permanent workers but according to the demand more people work
during some certain periods of the year. All the people working at the
farm are considered as members of the same family taking care of all
the aspects of the everyday life and the needs of the visitors and the
farm itself.
We asked
about the alterations that took place in the area during the
construction period. He replied that when he bought this piece of
land, it was full of big stones and boulders, with no trees apart from
some acanthus over the place. Working hard he has transformed this
land to what we see today, with small stone houses, a central premise,
animals, plants and trees, etc. In this respect what the farm has
caused to the environment was positive, although in a human manner. He
insisted that had avoided the use of chemicals and synthetic
substances and used wood, stone, and ceramics. In order to avoid the
overconsumption of materials and energy, he said that he uses energy
efficient devices, double glass windows, very thick stone walls, etc.
For the
irrigation of the farm he drilled a drill and for drinking water he
uses the water supply system of the neighboring village. Un
fortunately he said that is not possible to use the natural gas
because the farm is far from the network. For electricity he uses an
underground system carrying the current from the village, but he is
not employing other sources of energy (wind energy, voltaic systems)
because of the cost. As a small enterprise, it is very difficult to
buy the expensive machinery. However, he has sun water heaters to
conserve and save electric energy. He also uses drop irrigation in
order to save water.
Apart from
those he personally is very often discussing with the visitors about
the sustainable development and the protection and conservation of the
environment. He also asks them to avoid excessive use of natural
resources (electric power, water, etc).
No waste is
disposed to the environment, as he makes his own compost from the rest
of the food, the leaves and the dung from the animals.
Hunting is
not allowed in the wider area and certain precautions are taken when
harvesting wheat for the snakes. No fire is used for the cleaning up
of the farm land.
What mr
Moros believes is that his enterprise has affected the local
environment in a positive way, and at the same time gave some jobs to
local people. In this respect it is a sustainable enterprise.
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