Who are we

We are a family of three – Robert Vaughan, Elfride (wife) and Owain (son). We moved in 1999 from Dorset in the UK to Tuscany.

Robert has an HND in Furniture (Design and Make) and a degree in teaching. Elfride has a degree in Fine Arts and is a qualified youth worker. Owain was 2 when we left the UK and learning to talk; now he is bilingual and attends the local school in Montepulciano. Neither of us had any specific background in farming but decided that it is never too late to learn. So we set about learning the skills of viticulture and olive production in addition to the myriad other tasks of the Tuscan “contadino”. We decided from the outset to commit ourselves to working with the natural environment and to local traditional practices that were in accord with that aim. We applied for organic status for the farm in 2000 and by 2005 were fully registered and able to sell all our products with an organic certificate. As a development of this we looked at changing how we could heat our water and our living space using renewable sources. We installed a low CO2 computer-controlled clean-burn gasification wood boiler. The wood for the boiler comes from our own woodland which we coppice annually. We have also installed solar panels which provide all our hot water during the summer and about 50% during other times of the year. Our electricity is supplied from renewable sources such as wind, sun and water.

Water is very scarce at certain times of the year and in general we have seen a fall in the annual rainfall since we arrived in 1999. Ten years ago there was a plethora of surface water springs but in recent years they have all gone. So we collect rainwater from the roofs for watering our vegetable plot and garden and re-use outflow waste water for the same purpose. We hope our guests will share our concern for the environment, using the water saving devices in the accommodation and recycling wherever possible. The pigs are always grateful for kitchen scraps and are fun to feed!
Rosanna and Gobbo gromphing

To date we have a small flock of milking sheep, turkeys, chickens and 2 pigs and are considering taking on a pair of heavy horses for working the land. Watch this space!

Contact: reniella@libero.it 0039 0577 669449