YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR PROGRAM BELOW

A. RECYCLING
Recycling centres and programs are not well developed in Cabo Verde. Despite this, we have developed our own practices and policies so that we recycle as much as we can.

1. PLASTIC
We aim to reduce all single use plastic to an absolute minimum.
   • Your mini bar contains only drinks which we can buy in glass bottles
   • As it is not possible to buy still water in glass bottles, we buy clean drinking water in bulk and complimentary refill your supply daily.
   • In our bar and restaurant, we use 1 litre bottles and pour out glasses (instead of using small plastic bottles)
   • Individual packaging:
   • We limit all individual packaging: jam, butter, sugar, cereals, are bought in large quantities to avoid small individual plastic packaging
   • We produce our own homemade tea infusions, natural juices, jams, jellies, yogurts and museli
   • Our bar and restaurant will not serve drinks with plastic straws. We have a supply of paper straws if needed.
   • Drinks and food by the pool during the day are served on reusable / washable high quality plates and cups.
   • Plastic bottles are collected for a recycling program in Santo Antão, which creates tiles from plastic waste. You can also throw away your plastic bottles at the metal fish collection point infront of Marina Mindelo or on Laginha beach!
   
2. ALUMINIUM
   • You will not find any coffee machine in your room which uses capsules bas they cannot be disposed of in Cabo Verde. Instead we supply a traditional French press.
   • Aluminium cans, rings, tops are given to organizations which are doing handicrafts and creating art work
   
3. FOOD WASTE
   • Perfectly good food that cannot be reused is donated
   • We separate the compostable food scraps and give to our gardener to create fertilizer for our plants
   
4. OTHER
   • We remove frying oils from the kitchen and dispose to groups who clean and reuse the oil for other purposes
   • Recycled paper and stationery is used where available. We reuse envelopes and paper for other purposes in the hotel.
   • In your room you will find a mini eco point with 2 rubbish bins
       • 1 in the bathroom for plastics, batteries and other items which we can do nothing about
       • 1 in the room for everything we can do something about: organic residue (such as apple cores, banana skins) wood or paper / cardboard products, aluminium tins)

B. ENERGY
   • All walls and ceilings of the house have been insulated for solar and noise protection
   • All terraces have traditional wooden shutters to block out the hot sun
   • Hot water is produced by solar panels on the roof
   • All hot water pipes throughout the house are insulated to avoid heat loss.
   • A continuous hot water circuit has been installed so that you do not waste water while waiting for it to get warm!
   • Our daytime energy is provided by solar panels on the roof. All high energy use activities such as washing and ironing are done during daytime hours.
   • On hot days, if needed, we cool down guest rooms during the day (using solar energy) and close the shutters to ensure you have a comfortable temperature in your room.
   • All rooms have ceiling fans and we ask guests to think twice if the air conditioning is really needed!
   • All rooms have a smart key card as the room key. This enables us to reduce energy, when the room is not occupied as all energy is switched off with exception of the minibar;
   • The mini bar is A+++ the most energy efficient model available. It has an energy consumption which is 79% lower than other market-leading minibars
   • All windows and terrace doors have an air conditioner sensor which will switch off the air conditioning once it detects that the door has been opened.
   • 90% of all our light bulbs are low energy LEDs. Remaining light bulbs are energy class A+ or higher.
   • All our devices and electrical equipment (kitchen, laundry, air conditioners room equipment) is high efficiency either A++ or A+++
   • We use movement sensors, photocells and timers to reduce unnecessary illumination
   • Dishwashers and clothes washing machines are only used when they are at full capacity.
   
C. WATER
All potable water in Sao Vicente is produced from desalination using diesel. Water is therefore very expensive and precious.
   • All taps have a water reducer installed.
   • Toilets are efficient minimum discharge and rooms have a toilet press for half and full discharge as necessary.
   • All showers have arguably the best water saving and hygienic shower head available on the market. We have selected an inovative small company in Germany producing the ‘Bubble Rain Shower’. This is a unique shower head made with copper which naturally kills bacteria (such as legionnaires disease). The shower reduces water consumption from the usual 18 litres per minute to just 3 litres per minute, while giving a wonderful soft rain experience. If guests are not happy with this experience, we will of course replace with a shower head that is still very water efficient but provides more power.
   • We ask that you save water and take shorter showers!
   • We ask that you communicate to the Reception whenever you detect water losses/leakage
   • We have a towel change policy:
       • We change towels every 3 days
       • Towel on the floor “Please, change”; left hanging “Still using them”
       • The blue towel is for the pool
   • We have a bedlinen change policy:
       • We change bedlinen once every 3 days
       • If our guests want to have this changed more often “Please place the card in your room on the bed”.
   • We have a10,000 litre rainwater tank to capture any rain and use this water for the garden.
   
D. CLEANING AND BATHROOM PRODUCTS
   • We use shampoos and liquid soap in the rooms to avoid waste from small packaging. All products are without paraffin for the benefit of your skin and the nature
   • The treatment and disinfection of the salt water swimming pool water is made with natural products. The salt undergoes a process that naturally converts it to chlorine avoiding the use of chemical chlorine.
   • We only use non toxic biodegradable products for cleaning
   
E. AIR QUALITY AND SOUND PROTECTION
   • For safety and comfort, all rooms and internal public areas are non smoking. Smoke and fire detectors are installed throughout the house for your safety.
   • All the rooms have natural ventilation with openable windows or doors. Although highest energy efficiency air conditioners have been installed, we ask guests to please think twice before using and to consider opening the window and turning on the ceiling ventilator!
   • All rooms are insulated for both heat and noise protection
   • We kindly ask guests to respect other guests needs for silence and reduce noise levels after 23.00 hrs.
   
F. FURNITURE & LINENS
   • Most of our furniture (including all doors) has been made here by local carpenters. Where possible we have recycled old window, door frames and furniture. Your bathroom table, writing desk and chair are made from recycled wood from the original house! Wardrobes, mirrors, mini bar cabinets and many beds have all been made locally.
   • The reception blinds and baskets in rooms have been made by local artisans.
   • We use cotton napkins to avoid excessive use of paper.
   • Bed linen and towels are 100% cotton
   • Mattresses and pillows are hypoallergenic
   • The lounge floor is bamboo (which can be harvested without deforestation). It is certified CO2 neutral, anti-static and anti-allergic
   
G. FOOD
Our focus is on using local ingredients so that we have used fewer fossil fuels to reach your plate. We have wonderful organic, local seasonal produce in Cabo Verde. As much as possible we make our own jams, sauces, juices and teas!
Of course, somethings are just not available locally. Milk, soy and oat milk is all imported. We offer local wine, but of course liquors and other wines are imported.

H. TRANSPORT
We supply information to our guests of the schedules of public transport and the numbers of reliable and trusted day and night Taxis, with the objective to avoid the need for hiring a car
Our hotel airport service uses trusted Taxi drivers.

I. OUR COMMUNITY
   • Good quality residual food is donated and not thrown out.
   • We support Aldeia - SOS children in need program. We are happy to collect any clothes, shoes or other objects that you might wish to leave
   • We support local artisans who continue to provide their products in our house
   • Old furniture and linens which we cannot repurpose and use ourselves is donated to people in need.
   • Each room has a cloth shopping bag. We encourage you to please take the shopping bag with you when shopping to support the subtle educational effect. We are happy if you take it home as a souvenir!
   • If you are staying longer and have a skill or expertise and would be happy to share your knowledge with some young people, please let us know! We can arrange with schools or universities that you provide a lecture or workshop on your field of expertise!
   • We invest in our staff and provide permanent training and further education.