The discreet guest room in Faveyrolles, the P’tite Maison, has attracted the curiosity of many individuals over the years and has added signs on the tree at the entrance, including that of Gîtes Panda.
“These are all the labels of our establishment,” explains Hélène Driot, owner of the place. We distinguish between “Gîtes de France” and “chambre d’hôtes”, the classics. That of the “Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park” by the geography of the place. Then, a last one called “Gîtes Panda” accompanied by the famous WWF panda.
What is the WWF Gîtes Panda label?
“The organization wanted to label tourist accommodation focused on nature and the idea of bringing natural parks to life. They relied on the Gîtes de France and the Livradois-Forez park,” recalls Hélène. At the beginning of the 2000s, the name of P’tite Maison was mentioned at WWF. A representative suggests that Hélène and Thierry Driot submit a file in which 46 criteria are evaluated.
We find the minimum comfort of two ears of corn, no more than five guest rooms in the same building, the naturalistic interest, the environment visible from the windows, the environmental behavior of the owners or even the development of organic crops.
All roofs are connected to water collectors. We heat ourselves with wood in the evening.
Not surprisingly, La P’tite Maison ended up obtaining the “Gîtes Panda” label. WWF highlights the preservation of places and species, eco-habitat and eco-citizenship of the guest room. “All the roofs are connected to water collectors. We heat ourselves with wood in the evening. We have five of them and a 3,000 liter tank buried to collect all the water in the house. There are also three composts for all that. gardens as well as a solar water heater on our roof”, lists Thierry.
Since 2013, WWF has stopped labeling Gîtes Panda accommodation. The Faveyrolles guest room is therefore the only one in Haute-Loire to have this distinction. “I must have had 5 or 10 people come because it was labeled Gîtes Panda,” says Hélène. And that doesn’t stop the couple from continuing to improve their ecological impact.
The cabin is also equipped with a water collector.
“The guest room should also switch to wood heating within two years. For the moment, they are electric radiators. And the hot water comes from an electric tank. That only remains to change” , reports Thierry.
Today, the Gîtes de France sign has been crossed out since they left the network. Hélène and Thierry continue their journey more independently. But the spirit of the La P’tite Maison guest room has remained unchanged since 1995.
premium Stay in a B&B to discover Clermont-Ferrand off the beaten track
Felix Mouraille
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