Preserving Ecological Balance

At the Xara Gardens, together with the owning family and management, with the guidance of expert farmers and Sustainable Resource Innovator Michael Bourne, are actively and perceptibly looking for a more sustainable way of doing business. The Xara Collection is essentially a pioneer in investing in innovative practices in sustainable growth.

At the Xara Gardens, 50% of the vegetables used in the various restaurants and The Xara Palace Relais & Chateaux forming part of The Xara Collection portfolio are home-grown. Waste food recycling, upscaling of waste material including wood and carton boxes amongst others, storage of rain water and water retention techniques in the fields to reduce water required for irrigation, no pesticides (through companion planting) are all great additional sustainable concepts that add more value to the work done at the Xara Gardens.

Through Xara Gardens, a space found a stone’s throw away from the Xara Lodge; farming experts and chefs work together to establish which seasonal crops to grow that will ultimately find themselves on the menus of the various restaurants; guaranteeing not only the freshest of ingredients but also a solid reduction in fuel miles that would result from deliveries on trucks from third party suppliers. The end result being a true farm to fork experience for our clients.

In addition to the Xara Gardens, our Chefs are working with Tal-Kampanjol Farm, which is found only a few  minutes away from the Xara Lodge and The Xara Palace Relais & Châteaux. All their produce is locally grown in a sustainable way, without the use of pesticides, herbicides or harmful chemicals. Not only do they adhere to organic practices, they use 90% less water, recycle nutrients and have a zero-discharge recirculating system, and use only rainwater collected from the Greenhouse roof to grow all their produce.

AQUAPONICS

• The fish and plants are top quality ingredients used in the Xara kitchens
• This system keeps Green House Gasses in the food-chain, and out of the atmosphere
• Also addresses water and energy sustainability

“I find Xara’s approach to sustainability exciting, forward-thinking and strongly engaged in the wider challenges. Xara is also pioneering a hospitality focused higher education initiative promoting sustainability and excellence in hospitality, to ultimately benefit their guests but also improve the work-life quality of the dedicated workforce. Together we are delivering solutions that can set important examples, hopefully ensuring all our descendants have a liveable and healthy world to live on and enjoy.”

MICHAEL BOURNE