Discover the sustainable practices of Hacienda Venecia, Coffee Farm, Hostel and Guesthouse located in Manizales, Colombia. As part of her Hospitality Tour through Latin America, Florie collected their responsible practices for Hopineo.org and share with them a few tips on the subject. Read the full article on: http://hopineo.org/hacienda-venecia-chambres-hotes-colombie

1. HACIENDA VENECIA
MANIZALES, LOS CAFETEROS, COLOMBIA
www.haciendavenecia.com - posada@haciendavenecia.com - (57)+320 636 5719

2. RESPONSIBLE PRACTICES
BY CATEGORY
Construction
Social Responsibility
Local Development
Travelers’ awareness
Local Heritage & Biodiversity
Energy
Water
Waste
Agriculture & Catering
Learn about Hotels Sustainable Practices on Hopineo.org

3. ENERGY MANAGEMENT
Current Responsible Practices :
 Low consumption light bulbs, no air-conditioning.
 Sheets of the beds are changed once guests are leaving.

4. Further Ideas :
• Monitor energy consumption: to valuate the results of your actions .
• Heat water using solar power: hopineo.org/en/active-solar-water-heater
• Heat water using compost: hopineo.org/en/compost-water-heater
• Replace low consumption bulbs by LEDs : hopineo.org/en/led-lights
• Minimize use of laundry dryer: bio-climatic room to dry clothes naturally (to make it softer: 10
min in the laundry dryer without temperature when it’s dry ): hopineo.org/en/solar-dryer
ENERGY MANAGEMENT

5. WATER MANAGEMENT
Current Responsible Practices :
 Water comes from a natural spring.
 Gray and black water: filtered in septic tanks.

6. Further Ideas :
• Monitor water consumption: to quickly notice and repair any sort of leaks .
• Filter and reuse grey water ( Biogarden): hopineo.org/en/biogarden
WATER MANAGEMENT

7. WASTE MANAGEMENT
Current Responsible Practices :
 Offer free potable water to guests to avoid plastic bottles.
 Organic waste from the kitchen and the garden are composted.
 Recyclable waste are sorted out and collected by the municipal waste collector.
 Eco-friendly cleaning products, soap dispensers.

8. Further Ideas :
• Follow the three “R’s” program: Reducing, Reusing and Recycling.
• Make a quality compost: for example vermicomposting hopineo.org/en/vermicomposting
• Make your own natural soap: hopineo.org/en/make-your-own-natural-soap
• Install a domestic biodigestor: hopineo.org/en/biodigester
• Minimize trashes: refillable water bottles to guests, refillable bathroom amenities, deposit
glass bottles (vs metal cans).
• Reuse soap’s amenities rests: hopineo.org/en/tablets-soaps-recycling
WASTE MANAGEMENT

9. AGRICULTURE & CATERING
Current Responsible Practices :
 Homemade and fresh cuisine cooked from local producers and fruits from the garden.
 The Coffee plantation Hacienda Venecia tries as much as possible to use responsibly
chemicals, filter gray waters, compost and recycles organic waste.

10. Further Ideas :
• Grown your own organic garden: to cook with fresh, seasonal and local ingredients.
• Tag the names of plants: to make an educational garden for guests to learn from.
• Make your homemade bread or jam: hopineo.org/en/homemade -jam & homemade-bread
• Prefer baby plants than cut flowers for decoration: hopineo.org/en/plants-vs-flowers
• Many manuals and guides about permaculture: on http://caminosostenible.org
AGRICULTURE & CATERING

11. CONSTRUCTION
Current Responsible Practices :
 Keeps the traditional architectural spirit of the region.
 Works exclusively with local labor and techniques .
 Try to use local and renewable material when possible: like bamboo and responsible
construction wood from plantations or fallen trees.

12. Further Ideas :
• Use passive solar building design principles: « Sun, Wind, and Light: Architectural Design
Strategies » Mark DeKay & G. Z. Brown
• Get a maximum of natural light: for example hopineo.org/en/solar-lighting-bottle
• Use responsible material , like certified wood plantation or bamboo for example.
• Build walls with rammed earth : hopineo.org/en/rammed -earth-construction
• Paint wood with a eco-friendly painting: hopineo.org/en/ochers-paint
• Many manuals and guides for bio -construction: on caminosostenible.org
CONSTRUCTION

13. LOCAL DEVELOPMENT
Current Responsible Practices :
 14 employees contracted all year long and from the neighborhood (12 full time).
 Works in collaboration with local people for extra tourism services: transportation,
guides, gardening, carpenters…
 Member of the national associations “Colombian Hostels” and “ Cotelco”.
 Receives regularly students for internships and apprenticeships (Program
“Semillero de Bilinguismo” at Caldas University)

14. Further Ideas :
• Sell local art-crafts to your guests, don’t take any %, buy some for your hotel decoration.
• Be an active member of a local development initiative to support collective efforts to better
promote the destination towards international markets.
• Offer to your staff to organize their own personalized “tours” to guests: “garden’s plants”,
“cooking class”, “wildlife night walk” as extra revenue during their after -work hours.
LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

15. Current Responsible Practices :
 Fully respect national laws in term of social security, insurances and working conditions.
 All extra hours of employees are compensated .
 Take a particular care of pregnant women employees.
 Offer free coffee tours to local schools and foundations.
 Welcomes local community events at the hotel (like christmas “novena”)
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

16. Further Ideas :
• Provide room and board to an English teacher to provide English classes to your staff and local
community.
• Support a local social initiative by donating the incomes of a cocktail or baby plants/seeds.
• Let a local school organizing swimming teaching lessons at your hotel swimming pool.
• Sponsor a local school: hopineo.org/en/sponsoring -school
• Organize a barter day with the community: hopineo.org/en/bater-day-with-the-community
• Offer at least one disabled -accessible room.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

17. Current Responsible Practices :
 Part of the property is a natural reserve.
 Inventory of bird species in order to offer bird watching tours.
 Promotion of animals conservation towards local community.
LOCAL HERITAGE & BIODIVERSITY

18. Further Ideas :
• Support a local program for biodiversity: hopineo.org/en/support-local-biodiversity-initiative
• Invest in a natural reserve and reforestation: protect animals habitats and wild vegetation.
• Create a butterfly sanctuary: hopineo.org/en/butterflies-sanctuary
• Invite your guests to become “Eco -Heroes”: offer recycled bags to trekkers so they can collect
waste found in the nature hopineo.org/en/green-trek-ecological-hiking
• Promote green mobility: like hiking tracks, horse back riding, bike, kayaks…
LOCAL HERITAGE & BIODIVERSITY

19. TRAVELERS’ AWARENESS
Current Responsible Practices :
 Share local know-how and responsible practices of the coffee plantation during coffee tours
(available in spanish and english).

20. Further Ideas :
• Engage your staff: raise their awareness on environmental / social / economical stakes, offer
them to share ideas of good practices and to be responsible of implementing successfully
their own initiatives.
• Communicate about your responsible practices: on your website and at the hotel: invite guests
to ask questions and take part as well. Read: www.responsibletourismcommunication.com
• Publish blog articles: get inspired by the excellent blog of Ka’Ana Resort.
• Use Humor: to better pass on the message, engage people and make them willing to take
pictures of it and share it (on social media?). Read this article click here.
TRAVELERS’ AWARENESS

21. Contact :
Florie Thielin
florie@hopineo.org
www.hopineo.org
www.thehospitalitytour.com
www.facebook.com/thehospitalitytour
This document was elaborated in a serie of works and studies
allowing tourism professional to make their activity more sustainable.
What is missing? Which improvments could be done?
Please, feel to free to share with us your feedback to continue
building together a better future for Hopineo, its partners, and more globally
for a more responsible tourism.
« The recognition of tourism as an economic powerhouse and contributor to all three pillars of sustainable
development – economic, environmental and social – underlined the enduring relevance of UNWTO’s mission to
promote responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. »
World Tourism Organization, 2013