Environmentally Friendly
Stewards of the land
We have recently joined and been featured on the website Yonder.com. This new service matches visitors with Stewards of the land like Bonne Terre and facilitates booking. From their website:
What’s a Yonder Stay?
Stays are overnight accommodations offered by Stewards with a passion for connecting people to nature-rich experiences. Stays can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, including barns, cabins, treehouses, yurts and more.
“We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically.” ― Neil deGrasse Tyson
Like the studio and the cottage, the country house is comfortably settled in a rural Louisiana landscape to leave the lightest impact on the environment.
The original windows have had newer more energy efficient storms installed over them and an Energy-Star rated heat pump for central air-conditioning/heat and ceiling fans keep the house comfortable year round.
Bonne Terre’s 10-acre homestead includes a two-acre woodlot and a National Wildlife Federation certified wildlife habitat. It has an organic garden, a small orchard, and a small flock of free-range chickens.
Barred Owl at our farm. Photo by John & Lynnda McNelly
We provide our guests with:
- Recycling bins
- A kitchen compost pail for organic waste
- 100% cotton linens
- Natural soaps and sprays created by local artisans
- Organic and Fair Trade Certified food products
- Cloth napkins and non-disposable dishes
- Access to books, music and DVDs by Louisiana artists
- A non-smoking environment
Bonne Terre is now a Tree Ambassador with Community Carbon Trees.
Learn about what they do.
Exceptional travel destination
Bonne Terre is an awesome destination. It is an excellent central location for day trips in the surrounding area. Additionally, the cottage itself contains a vast and diverse blend of resources to help a traveler become intimately acquainted with the area (history, natural history, music, arts, food). The cottage host was also very open to assist with any questions or directions that we needed.
I have stayed at many cottages over the past twenty years, both in the U.S. and in Europe, and Bonne Terre is the cleanest cottage I have ever stayed in. The owners take exceptional care of this cottage.
I was happy that the cottage was equipped with exclusively environmentally friendly cleaning products and laundry detergents. Also, as advertised, there was no sign of pets or smoking in the cottage (excellent for those with allergies).
The location is very picturesque, with lots of wildlife. Ideal for birdwatching.
A perfect place for our Honeymoon
My husband and I stayed at Bonne Terre while we were on our honeymoon, and we could not have chosen a more perfect place. The artistic and homey cottage has such a vital energy to it, no doubt in large part because of the creative energy that radiates from Jen herself. Every detail is considered, from the thoughtfully stocked kitchen to the record collection featuring local musicians to the welcome basket left for us upon arrival. As environmental professionals, we appreciated the respect Jen clearly has for the earth and enjoyed spending afternoons watching and interacting with the horses, goats and chickens on the farm. Bonne Terre was the perfect home base for exploring the region, which is rich with music and Southern culture. It is truly a magical place, and we hope to return!
I’d highly recommend visiting
Jen’s place is very relaxing and scenically beautiful. I was amazed at how clean and organized her farm and studio was. All of the animals are so happy and I can understand why. I enjoyed sitting on the deck, playing the guitar with a cup of her signature roast coffee. I’d highly recommend visiting.