Respect for nature and the world around us is one of the values that guides the actions of the Waldensian Diaconia. Cares House is a place that lives in harmony with the territory that surrounds the farm. Over the years, we have undertaken a series of measures to reduce our environmental impact as far as possible: from attention to the differentiation of wastes to the production of quality compost; from installation of solar panels for the production of electricity to the installation of a wetland for wastewater treatment; and, finally, care for the earth.

Cares House belongs to Legambiente Turismo and is included in the EcoLabel programme of Tripadvisor. It is committed, year after year, to improve the sustainability management of the structure, to reduce critical consumptions and to sensitize its guests to the theme of environmental protection.

Villa I Graffi is situated at the base of the Pratomagno ridge on the side facing the Arno river valley and the Chianti hills, inside its own park with cultivated terracing.

In our vegetable garden, we cultivate fine local vegetables, medicinal and aromatic herbs by using organic farming methods, although not certified. We use our produce to prepare the meals we serve our guests. In the orchard we cultivate forty trees including ancient and local varieties such as apricots, plums, apples, peaches, pears, medlars, jujubes, azaroles, cherries, several varieties of persimmons and many others, guaranteeing that fresh seasonal fruit is always available, The olive groves cover an area of approx. 35,000 m2 or almost 9 acres. There are approx. 750 olive trees, of which 130 planted between 2014 and 2017, and three local varieties that yield different varieties of olive oil. One of these is an accredited Slow Food quality of extra virgin olive oil. The olive oil of the House is cold milled in a local olive press, which provides us with the guarantee of processing within a few hours of collecting the olives. The small wooded area of the farm provides the firewood to supply the fireplaces in the Villa and the farmhouse where asylum seekers who have arrived in Tuscany through the Mediterranean Hope project are housed. Finally, we have a chicken coop with 20 hens. They provide us with fresh eggs and help to clear away some of the food surplus of the kitchen.