Sustainability is in our blood – a tribute to my father

Sometimes you come across something from the past that suddenly makes it crystal clear why you've become the person you are. That's what happened to me when I rediscovered this newspaper article from 2001 – a story about my father, Fred Broers, and his visionary ideas for sustainable energy.

My father wasn't a construction worker. He was an inventor —someone who recognized concepts before the technology was fully developed. And he possessed a special gift: he knew exactly who to involve to bring his ideas to life. Engineers, technicians, universities, companies… he brought people together long before “co-creation” was even a term.

The article described his grand dream: a house that heats, cools, and powers itself – with nothing but sunlight, intelligent storage, and a dash of courage.

And that was twenty years before sustainability became a trend.

The home tent – a system that was ahead of its time

While others viewed solar energy as something for later, he asked the question: Why not now?

His concept, the Home Centrale, was a visionary system that:

• stored solar heat in a heat storage unit,

• The house was heated and the water was warmed.

• generated electricity

• and even left space for charging an electric car – at a time when nobody drove electric cars anymore.

He designed, calculated, visualized, and persuaded. And then he found the people who could build it.

That was his strength: not the tools, but the network; not the screws, but the vision.

His ideas live on in our current way of building and thinking.

Interestingly, many of his principles are still reflected in Boutique Stay today – not consciously, but because that's how we grew up:

• the search for energy-efficient solutions,

• Heat pumps and heat storage systems

• the intelligent combination of systems,

• the pursuit of self-sufficiency wherever possible,

• And above all: Look at what is possible, not what is common.

This very way of thinking influences our decisions today. Not as a nostalgic story, but as a legacy of practical ideals.

Why I'm sharing this

For us, Boutique Stay is more than just beautiful houses and wonderful accommodations. It's a vision of living where comfort, nature, and smart technology come together.

And somewhere in 2001, this story begins with this article, with someone who believed that a family can be its own powerhouse.

It feels good to share this – not to look back, but to show where our sustainable roots lie.

A silent legacy that still provides guidance

My father is no longer with us, but his ideas live on: in our decisions, in our systems, in our view of energy – and above all in the way we always dare to think one step further.

This article is a tribute to him, but it also serves as a guide for ourselves. And perhaps that's why it fits so well with Boutique Stay.