Alicia and I lived 3200 meters above sea level, in the Ecuadorian Andes, at the Black Sheep Inn. We were volunteers/caretakers of an eco-resort.
Our days were filled with gardening, feeding the animals and stoking the fire to heat the sauna.
The Black Sheep Inn is an eco-lodge, a ‘real one’. They are serious about operating in a conscientious way that minimizes their environmental impact and positively benefits the local community. Most of the buildings are made from adobe bricks – dug from the site, all the toilets are composting, the restaurant serves vegetarian food, they collect and re-use water onsite, recycle and re-use as much as possible to the point where they produce less than 25 grams of waste per guest per day, very commendable.
My favourite feature was the composting toilets. They are showpieces of low cost, environmentally friendly technology, that turn a waste product into a resource.
They don’t smell and have all been designed with magnificent views to ponder while you plop. Invariably, the toilet ends up being a topic of dinner conversation, and it’s all positive comment.
