In 2006 Denise and I sold almost all our worldly possessions, packed the rest in the back of a Ford Transit van and emigrated to Montenegro. Our dream was to develop a naturist resort. In 2010 we opened Camp Full Monte, a clothing optional, eco-campsite.
It would be fair to say that back in 2006 we were simply sun loving naturists - we certainly weren't eco-warriors. Yes, we would conscientiously make full use of our local authority recycling boxes; we'd dutifully fill our hessian bags for life with the weekly grocery shop but like so many people we held the belief that our lifestyle meant that many environmentally sustainable practices simply werent sustainable?
Six years on and how things have changed. We still dont consider ourselves eco-warriors but wed like to think weve broadened our naturist outlook to include a greater awareness for the natural world. This change wasnt particularly driven by any deep concern for the planet it was motivated by the need to solve the very real problems our project presented.
The land we bought was completely off grid. No mains water, no mains electric and no mains sewerage. How on earth were we going to develop a campsite without these basics? Our first task was to solve the water supply issue. Fortunately, we had a stream & natural spring but it dried to a trickle during the summer. We needed to build a water tank that we could fill from the spring but how big did it need to be?
We started to research water use and were genuinely shocked by what we learnt. The consensus seemed to be that an average household would use between 150 200 litres per person per day. We knew our per person usage would be low, there would be no washing machines, dishwashers or baths on-site but it was likely that our guests would want to regularly shower off their sun cream. We also wanted to establish an organic kitchen garden, that would need watering. So in the height of the season with 20 people on site we would potentially need 4,000 litres of water per day! We would need one hell of a water tank to see us through the dry season.
We also learnt that approximately 35% of household water quite literally goes down the toilet. Inspired by real eco warriors around the world we began to question the practice of using perfectly clean water (often as much as 5-6 litres per flush) to transport human waste. Doubly insane when you consider that having created a toxic foul smelling soup, you then have the problem of separating the water from the waste at the end of its journey. There was no mains sewage system in our area so it would have to be a septic tank and our experience of septic tanks in Montenegro was not pleasant.
Salvation came in the form of a publication from the Centre for Alternative Technology (C.A.T.) in Wales entitled Sewage Solutions Answering the call of nature. In it we learnt that, dry, composting toilets might be a viable solution. Still sceptical, we visited compost toilet installations in a national park on the island of Mljet in Croatia. We were amazed to find they were not smelly and even looked a little like a conventional toilet with a proper toilet seat!
The key to successful compost toilets is ensuring there is a good flow of air over the pile of waste and that surplus liquid drains away, thereby encouraging aerobic decomposition by bacteria and micro organisms. When human waste is mixed with water only anaerobic decomposition can occur and this generates the distinctive sewage odour. In a compost toilet, the bowl is located directly over a vented chamber. A small solar powered fan in the vent pipe continually draws air down through the toilet bowl, over the pile and up to the roof. Any smells from recent visits are carried away and the aerobic bacteria get to work breaking down the waste, leaving the toilet cubicle odour free.
To ensure the pile doesnt get too wet, a layer of plastic palettes (or in our case discarded beer crates) is placed in the bottom of the chamber. These are then covered with agricultural shade mesh that is topped off with a layer of starter compost. We used a mix of commercial peat free compost and leaf mould or garden compost. Ongoing, the pile of composting waste is managed much like you might manage a garden compost heap. If it appears to be getting too wet we add organic soak material, sawdust, shredded newspaper and dried leaves all work well. If the pile seems to be getting too dry we pour additional water down the toilet Periodically, the pile is raked forward and turned to ensure healthy decomposition occurs. This is not as onerous as it might sound and simply becomes part of the toilet cleaning regime and takes only a few minutes.
Our toilets performed very well foralmost a year and were a talking point for our camping guests but half way through our second year we started to hit problems. All the chambers had apparently become infested with flies. Not pleasant. Once again we called our compost toilet Guru. His answer was simple, you must have standing water in chambers. He was right. The pipework the plumber had installed to take away the surplus liquid from the chambers was 1 cm above the chamber floor so there was always a pool of liquid 1 cm deep. We had no alternative, the chambers had to be completely emptied and the floor raised by at least 1cm. Although the compost in the chambers was already well rotted we were not looking forward to the task. We neednt have worried. We removed approximately 700 litres of amazing, sweet smelling compost and distributed it around the gardens and grounds. A 70 litre bag of compost from a garden centre here can cost up to 10 Euros so not only had we saved 100 Euros, wed saved a considerable amount of water too. Were hopeful the improved drainage will prevent a repeat fly infestation this year. So far so good.
Spurred on by our success we decided to compliment the toilets with a waterless air flush urinal system. The principle is similar. Standard urinal bowls are vented with a solar powered fan so air is constantly drawn down the bowl removing any odours. A U-bend fitting in the system also ensures no odour returns back through urinals. The liquid from these joins that from the compost toilets and is collected in a small tank. On its journey the urea is naturally transformed first to nitrites and then into nitrates - the basis of most liquid fertilizers. Periodically we empty the tank and dilute the odourless effluent 1:8 with water and use it to feed the trees and gardens.

So not only are we able to conserve our precious water supply we also have modern and environmentally friendly toilet facilities. Another advantage is that the remainder of our waste water from the kitchen, showers and wash basins is relatively clean. This means we can re-use this grey" water to irrigate the gardens and grounds. We installed a small tank to act as a grease and solids trap and from there the water was piped through a series of old baths. These were part filled with sand and gravel and planted with reeds and other moisture loving plants. These remove and recycle a good deal of the water and also help to equalise water surges. Micro-organisms living in the root systems can effectively deal with any harmful bacteria that might be present and ultimately the water flows out of the final bath into a network of perforated pipes buried in the gardens and grounds. With the exception of very shallow rooted seedlings we no longer need to use our precious fresh water to keep our gardens green and healthy.
Without mains power or mains gas the next issue we faced was providing our guests with a supply of hot water. All the solar water heating systems wed seen in Montenegro needed power to circulate the hot water. Thanks to AES Solar in Scotland we discovered that it was possible to construct a solar water heating system that relied on Thermo Convection. i.e. the fact that hot water will rise and cold water will fall. Provided we could position the hot water tank above the top of the solar heating panels we would be able to use the suns energy alone to heat our water. So we mounted the panels on the side of the communal campsite building and placed a 400 litre vented hot water cylinder in the roof space. So began our seemingly limitless supply of hot water. During the summer months the water in the tank reached temperatures approaching 80 degrees C. A thermostat safety valve ensures that cold water is mixed with the hot so the water from the taps never exceeds a much safer 37 degrees C. Even during the winter months, when there is less sun (and less demand) the temperature in the tank never dropped below 25 degrees C. We cannot recommend this system highly enough. It can be installed with basic plumbing knowledge, has no moving parts, and is virtually maintenance free and environmentally friendly.
There was no stopping us now and we started to adopt the mantra, reduce, reuse, recycle in every aspect of the project. The boundary walls, steps, fences and raised vegetable beds were constructed from old railway sleepers that would otherwise have been burnt by the Montenegro railway company. Palm leaves trimmed and routinely burnt by the local council were also collected and used to create screening. There is no glass recycling in Montenegro(it all goes to landfill) so we collected wine bottles from bars, restaurants and friends and used them to make windows in the campsite building.
We also needed windows that could be lifted into place whenever it was raining or windy. We noticed that the bottom of plastic 5 litre water containers looked a little like glass bricks. So we made wooden frames that we filled with the bottles to make lightweight removable window panels.
Our latest project is to ram old car tyres (again routinely burnt in Montenegro) with earth and use them to create terrace walls that can be filled with flowering plants. To quote a past UK recycling campaign the possibilities are endless.
In conclusion, we know we could have done more to reduce the impact of our campsite on the environment. Availability of materials and prohibitive costs are two big factors in Montenegro. We still dont consider ourselves eco warriors but our naturist lifestyle is now not just about getting our kit off in the sun its also about having greater empathy with nature.

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