![\"Impact](\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/11\/Progetto-senza-titolo_page-0001-870x490.jpg\")
Impact House, Interview with Rita, the Sustainable Hostel founder<\/h2>\n![\"Rita,](\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/11\/Schermata-2020-11-18-alle-15.17.33-870x490.png\")
Rita, eco-host and founder of Impact House in Portugal<\/div><\/div>\n\u201cSustainability concerns minimizing our environmental footprint and maximizing our positive social impact. Sustainability means taking care of\u00a0environmental and social issues.\u00a0<\/strong>While we live and while we travel, we should\u00a0be conscious of our actions\u2019 consequences<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nTo explore what it means to travel with a positive impact, we interviewed Rita, founder and CEO of this Sustainable Hostel Impact House.<\/p>\n
Hi Rita, could you introduce yourself?<\/h3>\n
I am Rita, I am Portuguese<\/strong> and I am the Founder and the CEO of Impact House since April 2018.\u00a0I studied Management<\/strong> at Lisbon School of Economics and Management and at Nova School of Business and Economics. After that, I worked a bit in the Marketing <\/strong>field and then I decided to start this activity.<\/p>\nWhy\u00a0did you decide to create\u00a0this sustainable hostel?<\/h3>\n
Before the hostel, I created a travel agency called\u00a0Impact Trip.\u00a0<\/em>It aims to develop volunteer programs around Europe, being a Responsible Tour Operator, a social business that promotes Responsible Travel experiences around Portugal. Since there were a lot of people coming to Lisbon to do volunteer experiences, I decided to try to do something to reduce their expenses and their efforts to look for a place to stay. For this reason, the idea of Impact house<\/strong> project came up.<\/p>\nSince I am very\u00a0engaged\u00a0<\/strong>in\u00a0sustainable issues<\/strong>, I am used to\u00a0travelling choosing sustainable tourist places.\u00a0<\/strong>Since I saw that there weren\u2019t enough sustainable tourist establishments in the area here, I decided to create a sustainable hostel\u00a0to educate<\/strong>\u00a0our travellers<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0make<\/strong>\u00a0them more\u00a0aware of environmental and social aspects<\/strong>.<\/p>\nFirst, I created the hostel for these volunteers, but then I decided to open it to the general public, everyone can come and join us local volunteer programs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n![\"Living](\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/11\/Living-room_page-0001-870x490.jpg\")
Living Room, Impact House<\/div><\/div>\nWhich\u00a0characteristics\u00a0does your\u00a0accommodation\u00a0have regarding\u00a0sustainability aspects?<\/h3>\n
We are sustainable because we do\u00a0recycling\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0upcycling<\/a>;\u00a0<\/strong>in fact, we like to upcycle our trash and find a new use for it, for example, the room furniture is made from wooden waste.<\/p>\nWe take care of\u00a0food waste<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and composting; all our\u00a0leftover food<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is donated to people in need and we have the compost turning fruit and veggie scraps into nutritious fertilizer for our vertical garden.<\/p>\nWe have a\u00a0vertical garden<\/strong>\u00a0where we use herbs for our home-cooked meals. There is\u00a0a social and sustainable shop<\/strong>\u00a0where we sell lots of little products arts and crafts from our social partners.<\/p>\nAn\u00a0art gallery<\/strong>\u00a0regularly exhibits the artworks of\u00a0local disabled artists<\/strong>. We use\u00a0ecological and biodegradable cleaning products<\/strong>. We attempt for\u00a0sustainable options<\/strong>\u00a0when we choose our\u00a0suppliers<\/strong>\u00a0and products. Also, we regularly host events around various sustainability topics.<\/p>\nFinally, we connect\u00a0travellers with local NGO programs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n![\"Vegetarian](\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/11\/Vegetarian-Food-Impact-House--870x490.jpg\")
Vegetarian Food, Impact House<\/div><\/div>\nHow did you\u00a0learn these sustainable\u00a0practices you are offering?<\/h3>\n
I learnt by myself attending various workshops<\/strong>, my family<\/strong> also transmitted me some practices, and I learnt a lot from my previous travels<\/strong> and people I met because I was always looking for sustainable solutions.<\/p>\nWhich kind of\u00a0volunteer activities are you offering to your guests?<\/h3>\n
Thanks to Impact Trip we have a good network of different NGO partners. We aim at combining the best of travel with a positive\u00a0social and environmental impact<\/strong>\u00a0by connecting our travellers and our partner associations. Travellers can\u00a0support environmental\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0social causes<\/strong>. Some volunteer programs we offer for example are the following:<\/p>\nFood<\/strong>\u00a0Rescue,\u00a0Youth<\/strong>\u00a0Support,\u00a0Homeless<\/strong>\u00a0Support, Marine\u00a0Conservation<\/strong>, Wolf conservation<\/strong>,\u00a0Sustainable Fashion<\/strong><\/a>, Inclusive\u00a0Agriculture<\/strong>, Animal Care,\u00a0Beach cleaning.<\/strong><\/p>\nWith that we help travellers who join us\u00a0to connect with the locals<\/strong>, experiencing the culture and contributing in a positive way to the local communities. They can stay at our sustainable hostel and\u00a0join different volunteer activities during their stay<\/strong>. During 2019 we had 705 volunteers who joined the programs we offered.<\/p>\n![\"Volunteer](\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/11\/Volunteer-activities-in-Lisbon--870x490.jpg\")
Volunteer Activities in Lisbon<\/div><\/div>\nWhat does\u00a0sustainability\u00a0mean for you?<\/h3>\n
For me, sustainability concerns minimizing our environmental footprint and maximizing our positive social impact. Sustainability means taking care of\u00a0environmental and social issues.\u00a0<\/strong>While we live and while we travel, we should\u00a0be conscious of our actions\u2019 consequences<\/strong>. Our little actions can help a lot the others.<\/p>\nFor instance, while travelling, it is better to choose places that make efforts to reduce inequality and that try to have a good social impact, preferring local suppliers, local workers, helping the local community with the activities that they offer to their guests.<\/p>\n
What does\u00a0sustainable tourism\u00a0mean for you?<\/h3>\n
I think that sustainable tourism regards all the\u00a0good practices that the tourism sector can incentive<\/strong>\u00a0through its activities.\u00a0Travelling with a good purpose<\/strong>\u00a0trying to\u00a0reduce as much as possible the negative impacts<\/strong>\u00a0on the\u00a0environment<\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a0community<\/strong>, this implies, for example, choosing the travel transports, accommodation, activities to do. It regards also deciding consciously to\u00a0who we give our money<\/strong>, for example, the restaurants we go to eat, the shops we go to buy. The more we\u00a0prefer local,\u00a0<\/strong>the better it is.<\/p>\n![\"Sustainable](\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/11\/Schermata-2020-11-18-alle-15.04.23-870x490.png\")
Sustainable Practices<\/div><\/div>\nWhat does sustainable accommodation represent for you?<\/h3>\n
I think that sustainable accommodation is a tourist establishment that tries\u00a0to create a network<\/strong>\u00a0between\u00a0guests<\/strong>,\u00a0local community<\/strong>,\u00a0local suppliers<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0local offer of services<\/strong>. Also, it tries\u00a0to reduce the waste<\/strong>\u00a0of resources like energy, water, food. It tries\u00a0to educate his travellers<\/strong>, making them conscious and making them feeling part of a\u00a0sustainable community<\/strong>. It doesn\u2019t see the tourism sector only as a way of making money, but there\u2019s something more, it tries\u00a0to incentive good practices<\/strong>\u00a0and to\u00a0educate.<\/strong><\/p>\nWhich is the typical traveller who stays at your place? Why do they come, and what are they looking for?<\/h3>\n
Our guests are mainly\u00a0young travellers<\/strong>,\u00a0surfers<\/strong>,\u00a0solo-travellers<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0group of friends<\/strong>\u00a0who aim to live local and meaningful experiences. They look for meeting\u00a0other similar people<\/strong>\u00a0with similar needs and\u00a0similar points of views.<\/strong>\u00a0The majority are open-minded and very social; they look for sharing stories and experiences. Their aim is to come back home spiritually richer; here they want to learn and not to consume.<\/p>\nDo you know which\u00a0experiences your guests\u00a0highlighted\u00a0at\u00a0Impact House?<\/h3>\n
I think the guests coming here are mainly interested in\u00a0environmental issues<\/strong>, and in fact, it is not easy to find establishments that\u00a0implement<\/strong>\u00a0what we do. Also, they appreciate a lot the\u00a0social aspects<\/strong>\u00a0regarding the particular\u00a0activities we offer<\/strong>, since we try to be different and not to offer the standard activities.<\/p>\nThey appreciate learning<\/strong>\u00a0more sustainable practices to act in a more sustainable way when they come back home. They want to incentive people like us who try to make a change, who try to make efforts to find sustainable solutions. We noticed that they particularly like our homemade vegetarian food<\/strong><\/a>, for instance when we organized a workshop about conscious vegetarian alimentation, we had a lot of success. Also, the worm composter<\/strong> in the hostel has been really appreciated. Thanks to that they can learn more about home composting. Also, our guests like the local markets<\/strong> list we recommend.<\/p>\n![\"Green](\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/11\/Schermata-2020-11-20-alle-18.58.30-e1606578650459.png\")
Green Thumb a Impact House<\/div><\/div>\nConclusion<\/h2>\n
Be conscious of the consequences of your actions and try to have a meaningful purpose as Rita has with her sustainable hostel.<\/p>\n
\n
\u201cSustainability concerns minimizing our environmental footprint and maximizing our positive social impact. Sustainability means taking care of\u00a0environmental and social issues.\u00a0<\/strong>While we live and while we travel, we should\u00a0be conscious of our actions\u2019 consequences<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n To explore what it means to travel with a positive impact, we interviewed Rita, founder and CEO of this Sustainable Hostel Impact House.<\/p>\n I am Rita, I am Portuguese<\/strong> and I am the Founder and the CEO of Impact House since April 2018.\u00a0I studied Management<\/strong> at Lisbon School of Economics and Management and at Nova School of Business and Economics. After that, I worked a bit in the Marketing <\/strong>field and then I decided to start this activity.<\/p>\n Before the hostel, I created a travel agency called\u00a0Impact Trip.\u00a0<\/em>It aims to develop volunteer programs around Europe, being a Responsible Tour Operator, a social business that promotes Responsible Travel experiences around Portugal. Since there were a lot of people coming to Lisbon to do volunteer experiences, I decided to try to do something to reduce their expenses and their efforts to look for a place to stay. For this reason, the idea of Impact house<\/strong> project came up.<\/p>\n Since I am very\u00a0engaged\u00a0<\/strong>in\u00a0sustainable issues<\/strong>, I am used to\u00a0travelling choosing sustainable tourist places.\u00a0<\/strong>Since I saw that there weren\u2019t enough sustainable tourist establishments in the area here, I decided to create a sustainable hostel\u00a0to educate<\/strong>\u00a0our travellers<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0make<\/strong>\u00a0them more\u00a0aware of environmental and social aspects<\/strong>.<\/p>\n First, I created the hostel for these volunteers, but then I decided to open it to the general public, everyone can come and join us local volunteer programs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n We are sustainable because we do\u00a0recycling\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0upcycling<\/a>;\u00a0<\/strong>in fact, we like to upcycle our trash and find a new use for it, for example, the room furniture is made from wooden waste.<\/p>\n We take care of\u00a0food waste<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and composting; all our\u00a0leftover food<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is donated to people in need and we have the compost turning fruit and veggie scraps into nutritious fertilizer for our vertical garden.<\/p>\n We have a\u00a0vertical garden<\/strong>\u00a0where we use herbs for our home-cooked meals. There is\u00a0a social and sustainable shop<\/strong>\u00a0where we sell lots of little products arts and crafts from our social partners.<\/p>\n An\u00a0art gallery<\/strong>\u00a0regularly exhibits the artworks of\u00a0local disabled artists<\/strong>. We use\u00a0ecological and biodegradable cleaning products<\/strong>. We attempt for\u00a0sustainable options<\/strong>\u00a0when we choose our\u00a0suppliers<\/strong>\u00a0and products. Also, we regularly host events around various sustainability topics.<\/p>\n Finally, we connect\u00a0travellers with local NGO programs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n I learnt by myself attending various workshops<\/strong>, my family<\/strong> also transmitted me some practices, and I learnt a lot from my previous travels<\/strong> and people I met because I was always looking for sustainable solutions.<\/p>\n Thanks to Impact Trip we have a good network of different NGO partners. We aim at combining the best of travel with a positive\u00a0social and environmental impact<\/strong>\u00a0by connecting our travellers and our partner associations. Travellers can\u00a0support environmental\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0social causes<\/strong>. Some volunteer programs we offer for example are the following:<\/p>\n Food<\/strong>\u00a0Rescue,\u00a0Youth<\/strong>\u00a0Support,\u00a0Homeless<\/strong>\u00a0Support, Marine\u00a0Conservation<\/strong>, Wolf conservation<\/strong>,\u00a0Sustainable Fashion<\/strong><\/a>, Inclusive\u00a0Agriculture<\/strong>, Animal Care,\u00a0Beach cleaning.<\/strong><\/p>\n With that we help travellers who join us\u00a0to connect with the locals<\/strong>, experiencing the culture and contributing in a positive way to the local communities. They can stay at our sustainable hostel and\u00a0join different volunteer activities during their stay<\/strong>. During 2019 we had 705 volunteers who joined the programs we offered.<\/p>\n For me, sustainability concerns minimizing our environmental footprint and maximizing our positive social impact. Sustainability means taking care of\u00a0environmental and social issues.\u00a0<\/strong>While we live and while we travel, we should\u00a0be conscious of our actions\u2019 consequences<\/strong>. Our little actions can help a lot the others.<\/p>\n For instance, while travelling, it is better to choose places that make efforts to reduce inequality and that try to have a good social impact, preferring local suppliers, local workers, helping the local community with the activities that they offer to their guests.<\/p>\n I think that sustainable tourism regards all the\u00a0good practices that the tourism sector can incentive<\/strong>\u00a0through its activities.\u00a0Travelling with a good purpose<\/strong>\u00a0trying to\u00a0reduce as much as possible the negative impacts<\/strong>\u00a0on the\u00a0environment<\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a0community<\/strong>, this implies, for example, choosing the travel transports, accommodation, activities to do. It regards also deciding consciously to\u00a0who we give our money<\/strong>, for example, the restaurants we go to eat, the shops we go to buy. The more we\u00a0prefer local,\u00a0<\/strong>the better it is.<\/p>\n I think that sustainable accommodation is a tourist establishment that tries\u00a0to create a network<\/strong>\u00a0between\u00a0guests<\/strong>,\u00a0local community<\/strong>,\u00a0local suppliers<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0local offer of services<\/strong>. Also, it tries\u00a0to reduce the waste<\/strong>\u00a0of resources like energy, water, food. It tries\u00a0to educate his travellers<\/strong>, making them conscious and making them feeling part of a\u00a0sustainable community<\/strong>. It doesn\u2019t see the tourism sector only as a way of making money, but there\u2019s something more, it tries\u00a0to incentive good practices<\/strong>\u00a0and to\u00a0educate.<\/strong><\/p>\n Our guests are mainly\u00a0young travellers<\/strong>,\u00a0surfers<\/strong>,\u00a0solo-travellers<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0group of friends<\/strong>\u00a0who aim to live local and meaningful experiences. They look for meeting\u00a0other similar people<\/strong>\u00a0with similar needs and\u00a0similar points of views.<\/strong>\u00a0The majority are open-minded and very social; they look for sharing stories and experiences. Their aim is to come back home spiritually richer; here they want to learn and not to consume.<\/p>\n I think the guests coming here are mainly interested in\u00a0environmental issues<\/strong>, and in fact, it is not easy to find establishments that\u00a0implement<\/strong>\u00a0what we do. Also, they appreciate a lot the\u00a0social aspects<\/strong>\u00a0regarding the particular\u00a0activities we offer<\/strong>, since we try to be different and not to offer the standard activities.<\/p>\n They appreciate learning<\/strong>\u00a0more sustainable practices to act in a more sustainable way when they come back home. They want to incentive people like us who try to make a change, who try to make efforts to find sustainable solutions. We noticed that they particularly like our homemade vegetarian food<\/strong><\/a>, for instance when we organized a workshop about conscious vegetarian alimentation, we had a lot of success. Also, the worm composter<\/strong> in the hostel has been really appreciated. Thanks to that they can learn more about home composting. Also, our guests like the local markets<\/strong> list we recommend.<\/p>\n Be conscious of the consequences of your actions and try to have a meaningful purpose as Rita has with her sustainable hostel.<\/p>\nHi Rita, could you introduce yourself?<\/h3>\n
Why\u00a0did you decide to create\u00a0this sustainable hostel?<\/h3>\n
Which\u00a0characteristics\u00a0does your\u00a0accommodation\u00a0have regarding\u00a0sustainability aspects?<\/h3>\n
How did you\u00a0learn these sustainable\u00a0practices you are offering?<\/h3>\n
Which kind of\u00a0volunteer activities are you offering to your guests?<\/h3>\n
What does\u00a0sustainability\u00a0mean for you?<\/h3>\n
What does\u00a0sustainable tourism\u00a0mean for you?<\/h3>\n
What does sustainable accommodation represent for you?<\/h3>\n
Which is the typical traveller who stays at your place? Why do they come, and what are they looking for?<\/h3>\n
Do you know which\u00a0experiences your guests\u00a0highlighted\u00a0at\u00a0Impact House?<\/h3>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"Activities](\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/11\/Schermata-2020-11-20-alle-18.52.19-e1606578662902.png\")