Program "Regenerating Lassithi Plateau and Its People"
Our Commitment
At Metaxa Hospitality Group, we are actively committed to minimizing our environmental impact, addressing climate change, and fostering a resilient, regenerative, and ecologically responsible food system with an emphasis on soil health. We are dedicated to enacting positive environmental change by restoring soil vitality, which is essential for tackling the pressing challenges posed by climate change.
Simultaneously, we uphold our commitment to providing unique experiences that authentically reflect the essence of Greece, encompassing the culture, customs, gastronomy, and history of each destination in which we operate. Our mission is to connect organic regenerative food production with culinary excellence, offering nutritious food options to both our local communities and guests.
Embracing Organic Regenerative Agriculture
Organic Regenerative Agriculture involves a set of practices aimed at enhancing biodiversity, enriching soils, and improving watershed health. This approach seeks to sequester carbon in the soil, increase crop yields, promote resilience to climate variation, and enhance the health and vitality of farming communities.
Key principles of Organic Regenerative Agriculture include:
- Minimizing soil disturbance
- Implementing crop rotation to maximize field biodiversity
- Establishing ground cover for natural protection
- Keeping soil ecosystems active throughout the year
- Integrating livestock into crop production where feasible
The program "Regenerating the Lassithi Plateau and Its People: Towards a Sustainable Food Destination
Our program, “Regenerating Lassithi Plateau and Its People – Towards a Sustainable Food Destination,” addresses critical global challenges related to soil management and agricultural production while prioritizing environmental consciousness, social well-being, and local economic enhancement through Organic Regenerative Agriculture.
As part of this pioneering program, local farmers are trained on site by specialized agronomists in the principles of organic regenerative agriculture, while the products produced are absorbed by our Group’s resorts and form the basis for the high-quality culinary experience enjoyed by our guests.
Vision & Goals
Our vision is to enforce the transition to Organic Regenerative Agriculture in the Lassithi Plateau. We recognize the potential of the region's ecosystem, and we believe that Lassithi Plateau can be transformed into a protected spatial system that merely relies on the carrying capacity of plant and animal production.
Restoring soil health is one of the main goals of the program, ensuring that agricultural practices within this ecosystem are regenerative, economically viable for farmers, and beneficial for the local community.
Collaboration for Success
Over the past two years, the program "Regenerative Agriculture for the Lassithi Plateau and its People | Towards a sustainable food destination"©, successfully implemented by the Metaxa Hospitality Group, in collaboration with the Lassithi Plateau Agricultural Cooperative and the contribution of Local Food Experts® who have been our scientific partners in sustainable development for over three decades.
Lassithi Plateau was selected as the ideal destination for the implementation of this program; it is one of the largest agricultural areas of Crete -and Greece- and furthermore, Metaxa Hospitality Group is deeply connected with this local community for decades. We have a long-standing, strong relationship with the Lassithi Plateau, through the Agricultural Cooperative and the farmers of the area, who supply the Group's resorts with local products.
How to join the Program
Active participation from the members of the Lassithi Plateau Agricultural Cooperative is essential. Key steps to enter the Program include:
- Selecting appropriate plots for cultivation and guiding farmers in aligning with European Regulation 2018/848 on organic farming.
- Collaborating with farmers and our group’s procurement departments to develop a tailored cropping plan, detailing quantities, products, and delivery timelines.
- Providing training for participating farmers in the implementation of organic regenerative practices specific to the Lassithi Plateau area.
- Ensuring continuous evaluation of practices to enable necessary adjustments for optimal outcomes.
- Supplying products cultivated through organic regenerative practices to our resorts, enhancing our guests’ experience.
Environmental, Social, and Economic Advantages
With this innovative program, Metaxa Hospitality Group fosters impactful synergies between the hospitality and food sectors and co-shapes, for the first time, a sustainable food management system in hospitality services, with significant - and measurable - environmental, social and financial benefits.
- Environmental: We significantly reduce our carbon footprint, contribute to climate resilience and promote a healthy, environmentally friendly food system while allowing cultivated land to regenerate essential ecosystem services. More specifically:
- Improves soil health and ecosystem services
- Promotes clean air and water
- Reduces environmental impact
- Supports climate change mitigation
- Social: We highlight Lassithi Plateau as a sustainable food destination implementing practices of Organic Regenerative Agriculture, promoting practices that benefit the environment while educating and inspiring the next generation of farmers. More specifically:
- Provides innovative agricultural training
- Engages younger generations in organic regenerative farming
- Strengthens long-standing community relationships
- Economic: We contribute to creating a global way of thinking, while developing business practices that directly support the local economy by sourcing products for our resorts, thereby ensuring income stability for local farmers. The shift to Organic Regenerative Agriculture also facilitates meaningful connections between farmers and the hospitality industry, enhancing economic opportunities.
Project in numbers:
- 8 farmers
- 12 categories of fresh vegetables and fruits cultivated following the principles of organic regenerative agriculture
- 20 acres, under the EU reg. 848|2018 on organic farming
- 41.5 tons of products cultivated through organic regenerative practices were supplied to our resorts over the past 2 years and were used by our chefs to create top quality dishes
