Fattoria dell'Autosufficienza

Project Type

Project Summary

La Fattoria dell'Autosufficienza (in english Self Sufficienty Farm) is a permaculture farm in Italy. We have 68ha in the Appennines (close to San Marino), we aim to grow vegetables, fruits (heirlooms), have forest gardens and small animals.

Project Description

La Fattoria dell'Autosufficienza was established by Macrolibrarsi in January 2009. It’s located in the Emilia-Romagna Apennines on the edge of the Foreste Casentinesi National Park. It’s a wonderful place surrounded by breath-taking landscapes and uncontaminated nature. More precisely, it is part of the Cesena Apennines Mountain Community located in the urban district of Bagno di Romagna. The total area measures 68 hectares, which are mostly contiguous and mainly covered by woods and pastures. All fields are located between 550 and 1.500 m.a.s.l. Before the purchase of the current estate, the fields were mostly used for livestock. Over the years, the grasslands were partly cultivated to produce a forage crop and partly used as pasture.
THE NEW PROJECT "La Fattoria dell'Autosufficienza" comes from an idea of Macrolibrarsi, a company that mostly operates in the field of culture and well-being. With the Self-Sufficient Farm, Macrolibrarsi is pursuing its Mission: passionately promoting natural products and the knowledge through which people and communities can experience more well-being and inner growth.  Nowadays, more than ever, we are aware that the current model of society is no longer sustainable. The majority of scientists agree that if we do not make an effort to change our way of living, in the next 10-30 years the damage we cause will be irreversible and could even compromise our life on Earth. The age we are living in is characterized by the greatest challenges human beings have ever had to cope with over the last 5,000 years of life on Earth. As a consequence, we need to apply new models of reality. As Albert Einstein said: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Therefore, the Self-Sufficient Farm has the ever more important target to experience, promote and teach how to build human settlements that can be sustainable as well as time-enduring by paying particular attention to permaculture. Our effort is to offer a new model that can also inspire and encourage those who are willing to experience new ways of living and working. The Self-Sufficient Farm project started to take shapes in 2011 with the creation of the first vegetable gardens and temporary buildings (yurts, small wood houses, etc.). Then we brought the first barnyard animals, planted fruit trees and started harvesting firewood. We invite Farm experts who give courses on permaculture, synergistic and organic agriculture and wild harvesting. The main goal is to create a place that is as self-sufficient as possible, a place where we can eat what nature has to offer and produce our own energy. While we continue along the path of self-sufficiency, we try to share whatever we learn as much as possible. The Farm, previously used for intensive farming, then abandoned, represents the change that we want to see in the world. Once we’ve reached this target, we’ll put our effort into sharing this experience with all those who are interested.
THE 4 PILLARS OF THE PROJECT

1. Food Self-Sufficiency We self-produce most of food necessary to run the holiday farm and reduced the use of fossil fuels to a minimum. We do not use chemical fertilizers, pesticides or any other product that cannot be produced naturally on the Farm.
2. Energy self-sufficiency and green building Our goal is to go completely off-grid by using solar, water, wind and biomass energy. We've built in a smart and ecological way, in order to reduce energy consumption to a minimum, decrease our environmental impact and host people in healthy and comfortable buildings.
3. Ecological and Holistic education We want to offer a suitable place for giving high visibility to major national and international experts who teach how to build sustainable human settlements - from a small house to an entire city - through permaculture, transition towns, happy degrowth, organic agriculture, synergistic agriculture, green building, energy self-sufficiency, holistic techniques and organic food.
4. Ecotourism and health We would like people to experience sleeping in a healthy and natural place, breathing fresh air, drinking spring water, eating organic food, walking through the enchanting woods of Foreste Casentinesi National Park, resting in a hammock beneath a big tree, having a massage at the Bagno di Romagna spa, harmonizing body, mind and spirit through holistic techniques.

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