The Vacationist Eco Cabin
28 Jul 2023
Top glamping provider Skoolie Stays has launched a second unique glamping site in East Sussex. Hand-built and full of quirky designs, The Vacationist eco-cabin offers luxury, comfort and the mental space and freedom of an off-grid stay but with an additional bonus: it is carbon neutral.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)’s research shows 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to tourism. Three quarters of that can be blamed on transport between origin and destination. 21% comes from hotel emissions. The answer? Camping closer to home! But what if you don’t like camping?
Ruth and Guy Wimpory, Skoolie Stays, say: ‘We wanted to come up with an alternative to camping, proving that you can holiday without compromising your standards or impacting the planet. We applied to LoCASE for funding, which helped us to incorporate lots of eco-technology to maximise our energy efficiency and create a carbon-neutral space that is comfortable and luxurious all year round!’
Funding from LoCASE helped toward double glazing; sheep’s wool insulation; infrared underfloor heating; bioethanol burner; waterless toilet and solar power. The husband-and-wife team then turned their attentions to design.
‘We realised that there was an opportunity to use the cabin as a place to showcase some of the incredible work of British companies who place sustainability at the heart of their business. We collaborated with Havwoods to create a show-stopping floor design from FSC approved engineered wood; Sofa Style, who are based locally to us in Newhaven, who hand-built two sofas for us out of 600 recycled plastic bottles; Mini Moderns helped us create a hidden kids bunk-room, with sustainably printed wallpaper, and Showerwall transformed the bathroom with an acrylic waterproof panelling system.’
To be truly sustainable Ruth and Guy wanted to embrace the circular economy. The Vacationist Eco Cabin features a kitchen countertop made from 2014 coloured pencils donated by the parents at Goldstone Primary School, Hove, and a bookcase full of donated books that hides the entrance to a secret bedroom, as well as cushions made from repurposed clothes and curtains!
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