Philosophy
In 2018 we decided to leave the rat race in the UK and move to southern France for a complete change of lifestyle. We wanted to live more in harmony with nature, more ecologically, more sustainably.
Since we met in 2015 our common dreams, drives and vision has led us to this enchanting area of South-West France. We fell in love with Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, its rivers, gorges and surrounding countryside, the first time we visited the area. It felt like home, and we decided to make it our home.
We wanted to learn to live ‘with’ nature, with earth’s 4 basic elements: to enhance the power of solar energy, a supply of natural water sources, cultivate the earth to grow our own produce, and breathe clean air. We want to share this philosophy with our animals too - besides our lovely two cats, we have rescued ex-battery hens who now live completely free-roaming.
The River Seye runs along the boundary of our property for almost half a kilometre. In Spring and Autumn come and fish for Trout, free from the chemicals and antibiotics of farmed fish. We also use the natural water source or well water on our home grown organic produce which we share with our visitors.
Our own home and the gîtes are heated by an eau/eau heat pump. In winter in addition to the central heating we provide you with seasoned logs for the wood-burner, cut from our own land which is sustainably managed. For electricity production we will shortly be installing solar panels on the roof of the étable, which is exposed to UV rays all day, all year round, and we have plenty of sunny days here! Cooking is by bottle-gas because France is renowned for its dramatic thunderstorms and there can be intermittent power cuts. We will also supply you with tea-lights and church-candles!
The outdoor pool is naturally heated by the sun’s energy, assisted by a geo-bubble summer cover to help it reach a comfortable temperature in spring /early summer, and to prevent heat-loss overnight. We can normally use the pool from late May through to the end of September.
We aim to compost everything that is green/natural waste, including egg-shells, cheese rind, tea-leaves and coffee-grounds, and we ask guests to do the same. We are not connected to mains drainage here so the fosse-septique manages all our waste-water which cleanses the water itself in stages, passing through a filter-bed, and finally the purified water drains naturally back into the ground.
Our garden and other land is managed organically. We aim to keep some areas well managed and under ‘control’, while other parts are very wild. Le Moulin Vert, the Seye and the surrounding valleys are brimming with all sorts of wildlife, including deer, wild boar (sanglier!), foxes, badgers, red squirrels, pine-martens, snakes and lizards. The trees are home to Tawny Owls, Nightingales, Buzzards, Hoopoes, Golden Orioles, Tree-Creepers, Nuthatches and all kinds of Woodpeckers. La Seye and our millpond regularly attract the likes of Kingfishers, Dippers, Mallards, Herons, Cormorants, Great White Egrets and we have even had Teal and Mandarin Ducks visiting. A very special experience is the sighting of an Otter which happens occasionally! The garden flowers and shrubs attract too many insects to mention, however look out for Swallowtail butterflies, Hummingbird Hawkmoths, the huge blue/violet Carpenter bees and flying Stag Beetles, to name a few distinct species.
Inside we strive wherever possible to use materials which are reclaimed, locally available, and natural. We always try to source vintage/antique furniture and furnishings and up-cycle wherever feasible. Even the ‘new’ contents such as kitchen-ware are generally bought from a nearby ‘vide-maison’ and are not shop bought.
Visiting the local food markets is a great way to eat naturally and healthily and support local producers. As opposed to your weekly supermarket shop, what is available on the markets is mostly seasonal produce, grown locally, very recently harvested and full of nutrition. Tarn-et-Garonne is a big producer of fruit and vegetables. There are gorgeous chevre (goats) and brebis (sheeps) cheeses from producers in the Tarn and Aveyron and from all over France of course, also cured hams and sausissons from the Aveyron, and many local farmers sell their organic meats. The French love to forage too! Depending on the time of year you can find cèpes, walnuts, truffles and chestnuts on market stalls.
We love to recommend local bio wines from the Gaillac too. On our doorstep, the Gaillac region in the Tarn has undergone a new movement of bio wines. With over 2000 years of wine-making in the region, there is a whole new generation of vignerons who left home to study various subjects at university, but then returned to their family domaines with a renewed philosophy about wine making. They are returning to the older traditionally used grape varieties, such as braucol, duras and mauzac, but incorporating new biodynamique philosophies and techniques. And these wines truly are 100% bio, in how the grapes are grown, harvested and then in how the wine is produced. We can book wine-tasting for you at any of the chateaux - fill up your boot with quality wines - another good reason to drive instead of fly!
Come and stay at Le Moulin Vert not only for a completely relaxing break amongst the beauty and tranquility of deep rural France, but also to experience a green way of living. It doesn’t have to be difficult. It is just about changing the set of parameters around you, and once done you will question why you never did this sooner.
Come and stay with us and take a little piece of Le Moulin Vert from south-west France back with you : a new philosophy.
With love