This little piggy went to market ... and more 

• Hotel farmstay introduces circular economy thinking
• Crops, livestock, energy production, waste recycling ... everything is factored into this closed-loop business  

Na Farmě, a hotel and farmstay in the Central Bohemian region, is one of few in the Czech Republic that can call themselves totally energy self-sufficient. It serves as a great example of a business operation that works on a closed cycle encompassing all energy, animal products and waste.

Everything begins with sowing crops, leading to animal feed through to biogas generation, which produces heat and electricity for the area, and ends with the meat prepared by the local butcher and cooked on site. Indeed, the hotel includes not only the wooden guest building but also a biogas station, two animal lots with a breeding area, butchery and meat outlet shop.

In addition to investing in individual plants, efforts to protect the environment are most evident in everyday measures implemented by the business owners and employees. Waste is thoroughly separated, the remains from the kitchen or bar are used in two composting plants, which also process bio-waste from a neighbouring village. Part of organic waste is also used in a biogas plant that produces electricity and heat for the entire site.

A wellness centre is also envisaged in which the owners will use the heat and electricity from a biogas station. They also plan to clean gas from this station to drive agricultural machinery and vehicles. Any leftover heat can be chanelled to greenhouses growing the hotel’s own vegetables and flowers.

Key benefits

Sustainable efforts at Na Farmě have a number of direct and indirect benefits, including: 

• Livestock farming also takes place in such a way that it has the least impact on the surrounding nature
• Pigs are largely reared on straw, which reduces the production of ammonia
• Manure is returned to the soil as organic fertiliser, which helps improve soil quality
• Part of the farmstay contains a drying facility, which produces pellets for heating