Apollo - Visitor centres promoting the Gaia Vision

Apollo was known for his vision. This project deals with the setting up of Visitor Centres that could present a vision for a sustainable society.

In 2003 The Foundation upgraded its tree nursery at Għajn Tuffieħa to Malta's first Environment Visitor Centre. The site has been converted from a derelict water treatment plant to a beautiful Mediterranean garden containing a number of facilities for:

:: Cinecafe - where entertainment meets awerness

In the warmer months, our members can enjoy the beautiful surroundings at our centre overlooking Golden Bay in a relaxed atmosphere eating delicious and wholesome food, drinking and making merry. For anyone in the mood, we screen some amazing movies as part of our mix of culture and entertainment.

:: Information Panels

Visitors to our centre are surrounded by a number of very reader friendly and informative boards on a wide range of issues, including forests, Maltese biodiversity, organic farming, chemicals and natural body products, waste and recycling, marine conservation, eco tourism, fair trade, genetically modified organisms and eco villages.

:: Midas: Gaia's One Stop Organic and Fair Trade Shop

Gaia's centre is proud to host Malta's first organic shop, with both processed foodstuffs and fresh produce that are certified. We also have sections for fair trade, gluten free, eco friendly and natural products for the home and body care. For further information, you can check out our Midas page.

:: Tours

Our centre hosts a number of tours for local and foreign visitors alike. These include tours of our Mediterranean garden and nursery that specialises in the propagation of indigenous and endemic plants. You can get more information on all the tours we offer on our Odysseus page.

:: Conferences, Seminars and Workshops

The first step to building a better quality of life and a healthy planet for all who inhabit it is to develop a vision. The second is to figure out how to make that vision a reality. For this we have developed a programme of workshops on ecology, organic farming, environmental health, holistic living, and building a better world. We combine debates with hands on work, which allows participants to live the workshop experience. These are organised at our Elysium Visitor Centre at Għajn Tuffieħa.

:: Hands on Participation for Schools

If your class or group wants to visit our Elysium Tree Nursery, we can offer you workshops, presentations and healthy lunches [click here for workshop programme]. Please contact us on or call us on 2158 4474/3.

:: Gaia's Library

The books are related to Maltese culture, history, environment, nature protection, archeology, organic farming, architecture and cuisine.

:: Educational DVD's

As part of our projects we have made short documentaries about 3 of our projects. These documentaries will be available for online streaming soon.

:: GAIAFEST - The Festival of Holistic Living

	GAIAFEST 2006

Gaiafest promises to bring a cornucopia of lifestyles under one roof - or rather sky, as most of the festival will be held outside, under the stars, surrounded by nature, with the shimmering Mediterranean sea close by.

Torch-lit footpaths will lead to stalls selling organic food using Gaia's own produce, natural health products and services and fair-trade goods. An area will be set aside for meditation and live dance and music sessions will be held in Gaia's water reservoir which doubles up as an amphitheatre.

The event celebrates world environment day, which is Monday 5th June. It is also Gaia's local equivalent of "Green Week" which takes place in the first week of June in Brussels.

"The idea is for people to come for a stroll to a place where there is entertainment, information, education, food and live music, and soak up the general experience. Hence the word 'festival' as opposed to the concept of a fair which tends to be more exhibition oriented."

:: People to People

2006 M-Trav Group

The Gaia Foundation is collaborating with M-Trav Tourism services to organise ecological workshops for students from the U.S.A. This workshop includes guidelines on how to become responsible ecofriendly consumers.

Quotes:

"This is the best meal I've had on a 3 week tour" Barbara Menne

"I concur" Heidi Hobbs

"Thanks for the exceptionally good food" Gernot Schwendtner

"With one day to go I can say that it is the best meal on the trip" Amanda Lyon Washington

The programme on site is as follows:
- A brief introduction to Project Gaia
- 1 hour hands on practice
- Tour of the Visitor Centre
- 60 minutes workshop
- Vegetarian meal
- Beach

M-Trav Tourism services information:
Telephone: +356 21 494633 21 494644
Fax: +356 21 494655
Mobile: 99891750
Email: