Our Initiatives

This page is a constant work in progress, we check in regularly to share updates.

Environmental Impact

We are refining our vision of success for our environmental impact. Currently, our goal is to be climate positive by 2030.

We are most excited by our current projects in permaculture, carbon offsets, organic farming, solar power, and energy conservation.

2023 Offset Certificate

    • Climate Positive by 2030

    • PERMACULTURE: Professional opinion on land usage upon acquiring the property.

      • June 2023 - A permaculturist, Aimee Fenech, came to camp to give a 30-page report on suggested improvements. One of the priorities of the report was to improve our composting. The report also outlined where to place new plants to provide shade and encourage pollinators.

      • August 2023 - We built two new compost areas for our kitchen compost and redesigned our gardening compost.

      • March 2024 - We expanded our flower garden to encourage pollination. We identified and planted companion plants for our existing flower beds.

      • April 2024 - We created new potager garden beds

      • In 2025 we planted a new orchard to ensure that our aging orchard is replaced before it reaches its end of life.

    • CARBON OFFSETS:

      • October 2023 - Offset 16 tons of carbon using Gold Standard’s Certified Carbon Credit Marketplace.

    • ORGANIC VINEYARD:

      • September 2023 - We planted bio-organic barley mix in the meadow to prepare the land for an environmentally conscious vineyard. This is Step 1 to a 3-year process to get certified as an organic vineyard by Ecocert France.

      • January 2024 - We selected climate change-resistant, disease-resistant, organic rootstock and vines ready to be planted in the fall.

    • SOLAR POWER:

      • March 2024 - Philippa, our CEO, and Emily, our groundskeeper, worked with a French Solar Installation Specialist Team called “OFT Groupe” to assess to property for potential solar projects. They provided us with 3 potential projects.

    • LOWER ENERGY USE:

      • We replaced our washing machines with more efficient machines and donated the old ones to local staff members.

      • We expanded our outdoor laundry drying area to better accommodate air drying.

      • We replaced our bedding with bedding that can be line-dried to avoid using tumble-driers.

      • We have replaced the largest roof section and lined it with heat retaining felt to lower energy usage.

    • PERMACULTURE:

      • Ruth Patterson, our gardener’s assistant, is treating the rose garden organically to bring it back to its former glory.

      • The expanded flower beds and vegetable patch are being maintained with environmentally friendly organic treatments.

    • ORGANIC VINEYARD:

      • The vines are currently being grafted in readiness to be planted.

    • CARBON OFFSETS:

      • We are tracking our management team air travel to offset their CO2 travel emissions annually.

      • Contacting a service to get the carbon footprint calculated by the end of 2025

    • ELECTRIC CHARGING STATION:

      • We are in discussion with EDF (Electricite de France) to install an electric vehicle charging station.

    • SOLAR POWER:

      • Unfortunately, the ABF (Association Batiments de France) currently is not permitting us to do anything within 500 meters of the château. We have reached out to the mayor to seek an exception.

    • LOWER ENERGY USE:

      • We have successfully engaged a team, Eiffage Energie QRG, that specializes in insulation and heating solutions for historical monuments. This is subsidized by the French government and we will be participating in multiple site visits in the coming months to establish what work we can undertake at the end of the season and what financing and grants might be available to us.

    • CARBON OFFSETS:

      • Contact a service to get the carbon footprint calculated by the end of 2025.

      • Create a strategy to help offset the travel from the campers and staff by the end of 2025.

    • PERMACULTURE:

      • Additional companion plantings for the hillside may include almonds, pistachios, and olives.

      • We are working with a local beekeeper, Jeremy from Eurl Elimeo, to plan future beehives on the hillside in 2025.

    • ORGANIC VINEYARD:

      • The vines will be planted in autumn 2025.

    • SOLAR POWER:

      • We will continue to work with multiple authorities to achieve permission to proceed with solar projects.

    • LOWER ENERGY USE:

      • Implement recommendations provided by Eiffage Energie QRG‘s assessment. This may include a new heat pump heating system for the chateau for hot water production and heating, insulation for the roof, and double glazing for the windows.

      • We are lining our attic floors with insulation to lower energy usage for heating.

    • ELECTRIC CHARGING STATION:

      • Instal electric vehicle charging station on-site, exact location is to be determined.

Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We are excited to announce our sibling summer camp, Quamp Château!

An all-inclusive LGBTQIA+-only summer camp for adults with two inaugural sessions in 2027, one at each Camp Château location.

LGBTQIA+ SUMMER QUAMP

    • Our Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Team meets quarterly and the team has now grown to 14 members.

    • Our DIB team's first mission statement is “To create inclusive spaces for all women, where they can relax and rejuvenate and feel an authentic sense of belonging”.

    • We invited our subscribers to respond to a demographic survey so that we could identify opportunities to improve our inclusivity.

    • At Camp Château, inclusion is at the heart of our mission. Thanks to the generosity of our Founders and Campers, we’ve received the donations needed to move forward with the Happy Camper Opportunity Fund, which will provide supplemental financial support for campers who would not otherwise be able to attend Camp Chateau.

    • We are providing support to the Quamp team as they launch our new all-inclusive LGBTQIA+-only summer camp.

    • Please check our FAQ for more information.

    • Given what we have learned, we are working to set durable goals for expanding our inclusion.

    • Quamp first sessions will be held in 2027

    Please contact the DIB team if you would like to participate in or suggest any next steps!

  • More coming soon.

Our DIB team has crafted Camp Chateau’s value statement for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging.

We are committed to ensuring purposeful inclusion in our communications, opportunities and camp experiences. We pledge to continue improving the diversity of our camp every season.

Contact DIB Team

Financial Transparency

Financial transparency is crucial to our co-founding model, we aim to clearly communicate our expenses, and equity investors receive confidential reports.

    • We use French accounting and legal services to prepare and provide our tax, employment, and other required reporting.

    • We issue confidential reports to our equity investors at least twice a year.

  • Staffing:

    • We employ 7.5 permanent employees: camp director, groundskeeper, groundskeeper assistant (0.5), property manager, property manager assistant, social media lead, office manager and online community manager.  We also employ many seasonal counselors, cooks, and cleaners during the summer sessions. In 2024 and 2025 we were able to offer additional off-season roles to 3 of our camp counselor team. 

    • No employee of Camp Château is paid less than 15€/ hour, including seasonal staff.

    • All seasonal staff receive a 10% mandatory bonus at the end of the season.

    • We are aquiring a second property and have expanded our camp seasons.  This will result in a significant increase in both revenue and expenses and will allow us to nearly double our staffing in 2026.

Local Community Building

Our region has countless suppliers, vendors, businesses, job seekers, and activities available to support. We are grateful to our local Béduer community and how collaborative and supportive they have been since our founding. We hire, purchase, and promote from the Lot region to the best of our ability.

  • We have a reputation locally as a good employer and are receiving multiple employment requests from local teenage and college-age students and we will continue to prioritize hiring locally for the camp seasons. Most of our in-person staff are from the local region.

    • We have a policy of saying ‘yes’ to any requests from our local mayor to hold community meetings in the chateau.

    • This has included tourist board meetings, film institute meetings, historical society meetings and hosting the annual candlelit procession to the chateau for the local fete.

    • We invite the local school children to picnic on the grounds at least once each summer.

    • The whole village visits the grounds and picks all the remaining fruit in the orchard for themselves each fall.

    • We provide guided tours each year for the Journee de Patrimonie.

    None of these activities occurred before we took possession of the property and the impact on community relations has been very positive.

    • Our chef sources from local suppliers and partners for the summer season.

    • Counselor staff are encouraged to source locally for their materials for their electives to the best of their ability.