Dear readers, are you looking for moments of escape, eco-responsible trips, micro-adventures in Gironde? We met for you Alexandre de Zan, from the agency Solidarity paths. He tells us his story, his values, but above all he makes us want to leave everything behind to go on an adventure... We have warned you!
Hello Alexandre, since 2019 your agency Solidarity Paths, offers eco-responsible travel around the world. But my little finger tells me that you also offer stays in Gironde. Why this choice ?
We discovered the Gironde in 2018 when we arrived and we were surprised by the richness of this territory. The Gironde has a strong historical heritage with many castles, an exceptional wine region and also has a preserved natural area with significant biodiversity. If we add to this, meetings with passionate and fascinating people, all the ingredients were there to create eco-responsible stays in the department.
You work closely with the Landes de Gascogne Regional Nature Park within the “Cercle des imaginaterres”. Can you tell us more?
The circle of imaginaterres, and more generally the Landes de Gascogne Regional Natural Park, are working to develop sustainable tourism in the area. It is therefore natural that we joined this network which brings together many tourist service providers with whom we share this common ambition of tourism that is more respectful of nature. The opportunity for us to meet great people and forge partnerships for future stays...
In 2019, Solidarity paths was a finalist for the Palmes du Tourisme Durable, and that's not all, your company is also committed to the Social and Solidarity Economy. How important is it to you?
It is even essential for us! All our trips are based on the same common thread which is: discover, meet and share. It was therefore obvious to us that these values are reflected in the operation of the company. We therefore created Chemins Solidaires in the form of a commercial enterprise (SAS) with social and solidarity values, enshrined in our statutes. This takes the form of a corporate purpose based on solidarity, democratic governance and fairer management of benefits. And that's not all, since we donate 3% of the sale of each trip to social, educational and environmental projects related to the destinations we offer.
Being a finalist in the palms of sustainable tourism among major tour operators was for us a real recognition of what we have put in place with Chemins Solidaires.
Your stays give pride of place to the South Gironde but you also propose to discover other landscapes and in particular the vineyard. Tell us !
We offer tailor-made weekends and stays to meet winegrowers. As we always try to favor meetings with local producers, it is “small” farms, sometimes unknown, that will open their doors to you. They all have in common a love of the land, a passion for their work and a great desire to share it. We therefore propose to (re)discover the women and men who make the vines of today on the lands of Bordeaux.
You recently launched new stays called “Unknown Detours in Gironde”. It intrigues us...
It's an idea we had for a long time and the current situation was the trigger to launch this original concept. With Détours Inconnus, we invite you to go on a mystery stay in France. It is finally, another way to discover the riches of our territories, our terroirs and these inhabitants with an eco-responsible and secret adventure.
Today, we offer “Unknown Detours” in Gironde, but we have great development projects, particularly with the regional natural parks of France.
If you had to share a Girondin favorite with our readers, which one would it be?
For nature, it would be without any hesitation the Ciron, this small river conceals unsuspected treasures of biodiversity. This is the reason why a large part of the stay “The Gironde differently” takes place on and next to the Ciron…
But we could share lots of favorites! So to know them, the best is to go on one of our stays in Gironde 🙂
Thank you Alexandre for this moment, see you soon.
Cathy and Alexandre de ZAN – SOLIDARITY PATHS