More than just a guesthouse, we are a Living Laboratory where we explore the practical application of Degrowth and Permaculture principles: care for the Earth, care for people, and shared prosperity.
We offer you a place to take time for yourself; you can rest or do sports, enjoy healthy food and experience life in a space that is in harmony with the environment. Achieving this, at no cost to the environment, is a difficult task that calls for collaboration, such as learning new things, or unlearning unsustainable practices, a mission that we want to share with everyone who visits.
In La Bruguera you will discover that it is possible to enjoy abundance within sustainability by engaging in regenerative tourism with us.
We produce our own food and drink, and buy, trade or share locally as much as possible. We promote a plant-based diet and regenerative agriculture to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, soil degradation, and water pollution caused by industrial farming in our supply chain.
We foster holistic wellbeing, that is, care for the mind, body, and spirit, as well as for our community, ecosystems, and the earth that sustains life.
Aware of the thermodynamic impossibility of a completely circular economy, we strive to achieve the most balanced economy possible: we minimise waste, repair or reuse items, reject low-quality objects, buy in bulk, and share within our community.
We produce, buy and sell 100% renewable energy, and strive to reduce
our total energy consumption year after year, following a degrowth approach.
We are privileged to have learned and studied so much about regenerative living thanks to the generosity of many people. We are eager to share our knowledge and use our space to learn more from new professionals who share our goal of a just climate transition.
We have had to unlearn many Western principles in order to understand how to live not just sustainably, but better. As a Living Laboratory for the Master’s in Degrowth and i Ecological Justice at the UAB, we support students in doing the same.
We value our regenerative impact more than economic profit, and aim to spread this impact throughout the community. We offer discounts for those who arrive by train instead of flying or driving. We reinvest profits into our project and actively participate in local governance and planning.
We know that monocultural mass tourism has a huge impact on local communities, including our own. We encourage low-carbon travel, support local and independent partners, incorporate environmental education into our tourism offering, and teach about our work in various tourism faculties.
Tour of the estate, filmed by the “Fossil Free Zones” team, explaining our energy strategy, around the time La Bruguera was awarded Fossil Free Zones certification.
At home, all our energy comes from renewable sources. The Costa Brava sun heats our water, generates electricity for our heat pumps, and powers our electric car. We store the excess energy in batteries to be able to use it during the night.
Thanks to the water we collect from the rain, we bring our gardens to life. With solar thermal panels, aerothermal heat pumps, and a biomass boiler fuelled with logs and forest debris from our preventative woodland maintenance, we heat and make the most of this water.
How can we reduce our environmental footprint? How can we leave the planet in a better state than we found it?
Learning is a never-ending journey that we want to share with all of you.
At La Bruguera, we believe in responsible tourism that spreads knowledge through lived experience. That’s why our guests take part in activities that not only bring them joy, but also actively regenerate and revitalise our surroundings. Learning about new sustainable models and contributing to the wellbeing of the planet, all while enjoying the Costa Brava, is deeply enriching!
For those coming from afar, you will enjoy local, fresh and sustainable food, and you can even learn how to prepare it in the traditional way.
Our drinking water, very rich in minerals and purified on site, comes from our well.
We serve olive oil from our own olive trees, and our products are grown here or sourced hyper-locally, from suppliers we know face to face and who also work under the philosophy of sustainability.
We offer a selection of seasonal artisan products such as kombucha and kefir, limoncello, and jams made from peaches and loquats. For those who enjoy a good pairing, we stock and can recommend local wines and wineries. All of the wines we offer are at least organic, some are natural, and a few are even vegan. In fact, the vineyard closest to La Bruguera was the first in Spain to receive the prestigious CO2FREE certification.
Here, nothing goes to waste; we make use of the waste we generate. The food we no longer need becomes nourishment for our animals, plants and crops. Used water is treated on-site using natural processes, then used to irrigate agroforestry crops and returned to the surrounding nature.
We understand the importance of reducing our consumption, especially of materials like plastic. That’s why giving new life to objects through repurposing, or finding alternative, more planet-friendly ways of consuming, is our speciality. In this way, we not only reduce, but also redirect our expenses. For example, we buy soaps made naturally and locally, and provide them for our guests. When used, the environmental benefits are immediately visible in our ponds, which remain clean and healthy, unlike when chemical products are used.
Guests can learn more about the techniques we use at La Bruguera through tours, talks or workshops held at the estate’s Living Laboratory.
We are an educational and research space open to learning and improvement, and that is why we love to get involved in projects that share our values. Since 2020, we have been members of the Research & Degrowth International Association. La Bruguera is a Living Laboratory of this academic association, which, together with the UAB (Autonomous University of Barcelona), offers the Master’s in Degrowth: Ecology, Economics and Politics.
We teach in the Living Labs module, focusing on the practical application of theories and principles from the activist and academic degrowth movement, and on how to bridge practice and academia to accelerate systemic change. We also work as experts on systemic change and alternative systems to capitalism, with Girona City Council and the European Union, through Dark Matter Labs, a non-profit organisation.
Short film by BBC News, about degrowth-related projects in Catalonia, featuring scenes and interviews at La Bruguera de Púbol.
We declare our shared commitment to unite all stakeholders involved in the transformation of tourism to achieve effective climate action. We support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050. We commit to consistently align our actions with the latest scientific recommendations, to ensure that our approach is in line with limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.
As signatories, we commit to:
Develop a climate action plan within 12 months of signing.
Report publicly on progress on both interim and long-term objectives, as well as actions being taken, at least once a year.
Align our plan with five shared pathways (measure, decarbonise, regenerate, collaborate, finance) to ensure climate action is consistent across the tourism sector.
Share information about activities related to Tourism Declares and/or the Glasgow Declaration with our contacts and networks.
Work collaboratively and constructively with other members of Tourism Declares and/or signatories of the Glasgow Declaration.
https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/programmes/sustainable-tourism/glasgow-declarationz
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