Friendly, eco-responsible and family-friendly: a campsite that looks like us

A question is often asked during our discussions during the season: how does one manage to become a campsite manager in Auvergne? The story is nothing out of the ordinary. It begins with our desire to change our living environment and build a project that corresponds to our conception of family vacations. She was then guided by the values ​​of sharing, respect for nature and benevolence .

Originally from Saint-Etienne and after 12 years spent in Île-de-France, we left Paris in 2020 to take over the Les volcans campsite. Chance will have wanted that we moved in March with our children, only a few days before the first confinement. We will remember it :-)

We were looking for a small green campsite, which we could both manage, on which to live with our two children and above all a campsite where we would have liked to go on vacation! Our mode of accommodation in summer has always been the tent, with a move to a mobile home when our son is born. We wanted to rediscover the atmosphere of the small family campsites that had seduced us over the years since our childhood, we think among others of Lanchettes in Vanoise, Balanea in Corsica or Le Matin calme in Drôme.

After a few months of research, we fell in love, not to say love at first sight, with volcanoes ! We didn't know the region at all but it seduced us in the blink of an eye: wide open spaces, incredible landscapes in the chain of puys and the Sancy massif, a wide variety of sites between volcanoes, lakes and waterfalls, dozens of nature activities around... In short, we felt good there immediately.

Despite the Covid which turned our first season upside down, we wanted to put our stamp on the campsite so that it looked like us. After three seasons, our project is taking shape little by little:

• A family spirit. We do everything we can to make families with young children feel good in the volcanoes. Baby kit in the rentals, baby area in the toilets, loan of games for the little ones, dinette and sandpit in the playground, creative entertainment during the summer, service at the adapted snack bar... We try to offer what we like to meet with our children , who also contribute to this family atmosphere.
• An eco-responsible approach . It was one of the pillars of our camping project because we want to limit the impact of our activity on the environment around us as much as possible. We are therefore gradually working to reduce the waste produced (reusable bread bags, removal of paper table sets, etc.), develop sorting and composting (400kg of compost in 2020, 800kg in 2021 and 1000kg in 2022!), ensure saving water and energy , making the campsite an LPO refuge for biodiversity , using local products at the snack bar and the grocery store (St-Nectaire is produced by our neighbours)... The path is still long and to make further progress, we have joined the La Via Natura association , which brings together small eco-responsible campsites. We still have plenty of ideas and projects .
• Trust and friendliness . These are the watchwords at the campsite. We want campers to feel at home during their stay. They therefore find spaces for sharing and exchange : book box, board game box, sharing box... We also freely lend equipment to have fun: balls, petanque balls, rackets... Services are offered free of charge : freezing blocks of ice for coolers, recharging mobile phones... And above all, we make sure to be as available as possible to provide information on walks or activities to do, advise on visits or simply discuss things and others at the reception, at the snack bar or in the aisles of the campsite!

By choosing to offer a campsite that resembles us, we are aware that it is not a campsite that suits everyone. Those looking for entertainment galore and a giant water park will not find themselves here. It's normal, everyone needs it. We favor calm and proximity to nature for rejuvenating stays. An assumed choice that has made most of our campers happy since 2020. Our greatest reward is their/your satisfaction after a stay in the volcanoes.

Two exchanges marked us last summer. A camping dad with his children told us that he was not able to explain it but that "camping has something more, a soul, a particular spirit" , which made him come back a second time and no doubt others in the future. It's this inexplicable or indefinable little thing that we try to cultivate by small touches. That little thing that leaves more than just memories after living a few days in volcanoes.

The second anecdote is a response to our satisfaction survey. A family wrote to us that they felt like they were on vacation with friends during their stay. We obviously do not intend to become friends with all the campers but this little word underlines the closeness that we want to have with those who come to stay with us, our desire that everyone feels at their best during their holidays!

We could still write pages to explain what we are trying to build in Auvergne over the years but the best will always be to come and experience it for yourself ;-)

Looking forward to welcoming you to the volcanoes!

Stéphanie and Florian, with Ninon and Robin