BnB La Cavàna is situated in the Venetian countryside in a central location between Venice, Padova and Chioggia. They have an eco-friendly approach and a very positive viewpoint towards slow tourism. You can explore the surroundings by bike or by feet going for either long or short itineraries or enjoy specific local experiences.
Hence, if you’re looking for an immersive experience, at this BnB you for sure are at the right place as the passionate owner knows how to make you live the territory. We talked with Alberto, the owner of the BnB La Cavàna, about his eco-friendly hospitality project.
How was BnB La Cavàna project of eco-friendly hospitality born?
The idea was to buy a house not only for sleeping and eating inside, but that it would be a home also open for other experiences. So let’s say that for me the main point is the hospitality, that some values or lifestyles could be shared and that there’s the possibility to exchange viewpoints, ideas, etc. Therefore, at one side there’s this pure free hospitality, for cycle tourism who do long itineraries and can eat and sleep here for free. At the other side there are people who give me a helping hand with the vegetable garden, the greenhouse, and we give them accommodation and food and we exchange experiences. Because often there are young people and sometimes also families that took a gap-year or just travel Europe or several continents and are looking for experiences like this. As last we also have rooms for rent for travellers to stay and for a minimum income that helps to manage.
What does sustainable travel mean to you?
For me it’s a way of living. The objective is to create well-being for the territory. Well-being doesn’t mean ‘Euro’, it doesn’t mean money, it means to have a good lifestyle. Of course then you also need money oké, but the money is a tool to reach the objective of well-being: preserve the territory and improve rather than damage. So to pollute as least as possible, to use ecological materials, to have good relations with the other local people and to share and tell their stories to the travellers that come to visit the place. In this way we can use storytelling and explain about the territory, make the travellers live the place and its culture, traditions and above all make them live experiences. Make them live it in what way? In a sustainable way.
What green experiences do you recommend mostly to the people that come to you?
Yes, so there are offers that I am creating at the moment together with other local people in which travellers can reach certain places by bike or by feet where you can enjoy a local experience. So these offers are always here in the territory and not far away. It are these things that really make you discover the territory which is very important and we are creating that now. Besides that, there are also regular itineraries by bike or feet, also long ones, like you can follow for example the Riviera del Brenta which is not so far away. So yes, there are some very nice possibilities here.
What practises of sustainability did you adopt?
You need to be aware of the fact that this is an old house. We re-use many materials and I build many things myself. For example where I host the guests I constructed the floor with wood and used natural painting, very easy. Furthermore there’s no tv, we have no television because there is not the right ambient for that. We also seek to use the outside area of the garden as much as possible and we have bicycles at disposal to move around the territory. Then there is also what we offer to eat, this surely is eco-friendly and local. We also have the prevision to work with direct green energy, but for example photovoltaic panels. I couldn’t install yet due to financial matter. But there are also other possibilities, like for example the woodstove that we use. You know, it are also the little things that count!
Thanks Alberto for the interview. It is always exciting for us to know about green experiences.
Cover Image: Cristina Gottardi, via Unsplash
