ECOFRIENDLY TOURIST DESTINATION
Tinos Eco Lodge is about providing an eco-friendly tourist destination on the island of Tinos, using the natural resources of the island in a sustainable way and creating an autonomous, state of the Art, off-grid system. We run completely on solar energy, we use local stone for building, we collect rainwater and we treat the waste water for irrigation, we grow most of our vegetables here, we minimize and recycle our waste and we promote and take part in activities connected to the natural environment. Our guests will know that by staying here they leave a minimal footprint, while at the same time gain first hand experience of the solutions provided for minimizing our impact.
The big stone house
With two private terraces, a large garden in front and a magnificent view of the sea, the big stone house is 65sqm with another 150 sqm outside space. It has two separate bedrooms, one with a double bed and the other with two single beds. The kitchen has a bed size sofa which provides enough space for another person to sleep on comfortably. The kitchen is fully equipped with a gas oven, fridge and all necessary utensils to cook and prepare meals. There is one bathroom with shower, as well as some basic essentials such as natural soaps. The kitchen opens onto a big terrace in the front of the house with a garden area, sofas and a dining table. A bit higher up a chill out terrace with hammock and sez longs can be accessed also from the bedroom. There is a private parking space outside the yard of the house.
The small stone house
The small stone house has two private terraces, and has direct access to a garden with trees and a sitting area under a mulberry tree. It has an inside area of 45sqm and an outside more than 150sqm. It has a private parking space right outside the yard entrance. It has one bedroom with a double bed and a kitchen bed size sofa which is big enough for another person to sleep on or to provide space for two kids. The kitchen is fully equipped with a gas oven, fridge and all the necessary utensils to cook and prepare food. There is one bathroom with shower, as well as some basic essentials such as natural soaps. The kitchen opens onto a terrace with garden sofas and dining table. The front terrace of the house looking east gives great views of the Aegean sea and the sunrise right through the bedroom window!
The little stone stable
The Keli is a project very dear to us, it is the transformation of a more than 150 year old agricultural building into a suggestion of modest living. It is situated at the upper corner of our plot and features a very detached private setting. Sitting at the terrace you can enjoy the island landscape, the view to the sea and the peace and quiet of nature. The house atmosphere is warm; it is designed to be comfortable, light and sunny, and has a fully equipped kitchen with oven to cook a proper meal.The keli has its own system of rainwater collection, filtration of waste water through a reedbed system and reuse of water for irrigation, closing the loop of the water cycle. It has a state of the art dry compost toilet minimizing even more water consumption. It is a fully eco choice and an alternative experience worth to live.
Staying at Tinos Eco Lodge will be a truly memorable and most certainly a very relaxing experience. From your terrace, which is facing east you have a perfect view of the sunrise as well as a spectacular view of the nearby islands Μykonos and Ikaria. There are two beautiful beaches only 1,5 km away, Santa Margarita and Lychnaftia, that you can easily walk to in about 30 min.
ECO CONCEPT
In order to supply a household with the basic infrastructural needs, we tend to use centralized networks for power, water, waste and sewage. This centralized approach is more suitable in more densely populated areas that are characterized by a short distance from input to output or output to input.
The Ecolodge project plot is far from these kind of supply networks. That’s why off-grid solutions became very attractive, on the one hand because we believe that under circumstances like these they can do a better, cleaner, cheaper and more sustainable job and on the other hand because the location made it an obvious choice.
All these different elements come together to create a highly sustainable infrastructure for modern living.
We implemented: power supply; rain water collection; rain water storage; rain water to fresh water; waste water treatment; composting human manure; use of treated waste water for non-edible plants and trees; natural light design and solar thermal design.
Electric Power
Photovoltaic system and wind generator. The combination of the two different power sources is ideal because of the varying strength of wind and solar radiation throughout the year. Read More
Water
At the Lodges, using the terraces and roofs as well as a big cistern, we can collect and store enough rainwater to supply the needs for 6-8 people through the 4 completely dry summer months. Read More
Solar thermal design
We kept some basic guidelines in mind while designing the houses and the landscape. Read More
Reed-bed system for sewage treatment
The reed-bed system is very effective in coping with usage fluctuation. The purification power is so high it is one of the few systems that allows you to reuse the treated water and it can be designed to be a beautiful part of the garden. Read More
The Organic Garden
The vegetation on the plot is mainly wild and very close to one of the few, if not the only old oak forest of the island. So apart from oaks there are also some mulberry, olive and plane trees which provide shade in the hot season. In our vegetable garden we aim to find and use local seeds and cultivate trees and vegetables that suit the dry and windy environment of the island, using permaculture methods to grow our plants. Apart from the garden we have installed a small Greenhouse for growing vegetables, a vineyard with local grapes and planted artichokes from local varieties! We also planted an extended herb variety of local herbs and plants such as thyme, oregano, lavender, sage and caper. Our goal is to have a variety of organically grown vegetables and fruits all year round that guests can enjoy picking and eating. We have also started a veggie box scheme that goes around the houses every week and provide a few very good restaurants too during the high season. Also we produce our own olives, herbs, capers, jams and of course raki!
Plants and Seeds
Read more
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summer vegetables
tomatoes
cucumbers
eggplants
zucchini
peppers
parsley
artichokes -
winter vegetables
lettuce
cabbage
broccoli
cauliflower
spring onions
beetroot
carrots
spinach
rocket -
trees & bushes
olive trees
fig trees
mulberries
capers
prickly pear
grapevine
lemon trees
almond trees
pomegranate trees
apricot trees
mandarin trees -
herbs
oregano
lavender
throubi (savory)
sage
rosemary
thyme
marjoram…
NEWS
Volunteer places 2025
Volunteer places for 2025. A life learning experience about agrotourism, permaculture, living off grid, living in nature, market gardening, stone building and sustainable tourism. 1 month min stay. Volunteers needed between May and end September. read more
Permaculture Design Course May 2025
24 May– 7 June. Join us for the 10th PDC that will be hosted in Tinos Ecolodge next spring!
Led by Peter Cow, Elena Symeonidou and Nicolas Bedau. Early bird prices until 31 January. Special Price for Greek participants!! read more
Design of the water loop in the little stone stable
Design of the water loop in the little stone stable. How to integrate rainwater collection, grey water reuse, construction of reedbed and compost toilets. read more
Water management in Tinos Ecolodge
Water management in Tinos ecolodge, a series of articles based on the HYDROUSA Horizon 2020 European project reports. read more
Permaculture Design Course May 2024
25 May to 8 June 2024. We are excited to announce the ninth 14day PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE (PDC) that will be hosted in Tinos Eco-lodge welcoming for the sixth time Peter Cow from England, Elena Symeonidou and Nicolas Bedau from Greece. Course fee 670euro/camping 850euro/houses until the 31 January (early bird price). read more
Energy live monitoring
This a live view of the energy system we are using at the Ecolodge. You can follow our electricity production, our real time consumption and the state of charge of our batteries. The little colorfull lines at the bottom of the boxes shows the data of the last two days. The blue moving lines indicate the direction of the electricity flow.
Short summery of the specification of our system:
It is an off-grid system and consists out of two PV – arrays with an 4,6 kWhp production capacity a battery storage capacity of 12,3 kWh and an inverter capacity of 9 kW.