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Contributing € 5
MAXIMUM THANK YOU
For your collaboration we send you a virtual hug to your home.
If you come to visit the olive grove, the hug becomes physical:)
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About this project
Support us to recover an olive groove in terraces
Show list of needs
Material
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Minimum | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
|
PRUNING EQUIPMENT
For pruning the smallest and highest branches we need handsaws, scissors, ladders and a telescopic saw.
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€ 520 | |
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FOREST BRUSH CUTTER
To recover and maintain brambles and invaders in the olive grove.
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€ 850 | |
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CHAINSAW AND PROTECTION MATERIAL
To prun the largest branches you need a large chainsaw and protective material
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€ 650 | |
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HERBIVOROUS ANIMALS
Acquisition and veterinary visit of 2 goats/sheep.
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€ 500 | |
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YOUNG OLIVES TREES
Purchase and planting to replace diseased specimens.
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€ 600 |
Infrastructure
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Minimum | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
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SAFETY INSURENCE
RC accidents and third parties
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€ 260 | |
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BANK COMISSION
Commissions for the minimum.
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€ 190 | |
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WATER DEPOSIT
To new trees plantations
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€ 350 | |
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REWARDS
Production of labels, seals, expedition packages
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€ 200 | |
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COMUNICATION AND DIFFUSION
Study to improve the communication campaign of the activities.
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€ 800 | |
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INFORMATION PANNEL
Realization of the plan of the farm and layout of a poster.
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€ 600 | |
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BANK COMISSIONS
Commissions for the optimum.
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€ 750 |
Task
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Minimum | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
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CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT OF INVASIVE PLANTS
control and management of invasive plants
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€ 350 | |
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PLANT HEALTH STATUS ASSESSMENT
Assessment of the state of health of the olive trees to optimize the actions of pruning and recovery of the olive grove.
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€ 450 | |
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PRUNING OF 30 OLIVES TREES
Pruning scald recovery of 30 olive trees, respecting the architecture of the plant.
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€ 600 | |
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FENCES
Study and carry out the fencing for the management of animals on the farm
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€ 500 | |
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CHICKEN HOUSE
Construction of a chicken coop and rearing of about 4/6 hens to increase soil fertility.
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€ 350 | |
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TREES INVENTORY
Necessary tool for the optimization of farm management
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€ 100 | |
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PRUNING 100 OLIVES TREES
Blanched pruning in 4 years to recover all the olive trees on the farm. Those that are pruned the first year, have to be reviewed the second and so on in order to do a respectful and progressive pruning.
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€ 1.800 | |
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EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Professional training in olive pruning to learn and improve knowledge of healthy pruning in the olive tree without compromising its architecture and health.
|
€ 580 | |
| Total | € 3.220 | € 11.000 |
Necessary
Supplemental
General information
We want to recover the rural landscape of the hills of Lucca with an agro-ecological vision.
Our goal is to recover an abandoned terraced olive grove . In addition we want to preserving some species of animals, plants and mushrooms that have spontaneously colonized this place. Our idea is to create a olive grove garden that is a complex and rich habitat without the use of pesticides, herbicides or synthetic fertilizers.
In this ecosystem is developed the Semi in Mente lab, which is interested in the themes of the rural landscape care and the phycological well-being .
Main features and goals of the crowdfunding campaign
The farm is characterized by a land with a steep slope cultivated on terraces by the peasants of yesteryear to vineyard and olive trees and surrounded by young forests of oaks, acacias and chestnut trees. From the moment of our installation, in November 2021, around 100 olive trees are kept here and berries, flowers, leaves and fruits of spontaneous plants are collected.
In the first year, we have begun to observe and understand the existing synergies between the beings that inhabit the olive grove. We have observed many falcons, owls, saithe birds and other small birds that nest inside the tops of olive trees. We have also explored the cycles of wild Mediterranean maquis plants with medicinal and edible use and their interactions with pollinating insects.
From the existing one, we want to study that it can be introduced to recreate beauty without making too much noise. The gardener-landscaper, as Paolo Pejrone says in the face of climate change, "has many doubts and few certainties: save water, save energy, observe and move slowly." In fact, the landscape exists when the variable time is included in the perception of a space itself, and if you move quickly, everything becomes blurred.
At this moment the recovery of the olive grove is in process. In the last six months, some 40 olive plants covered in brambles, ivy and acacia trees have been released into the most accessible and easy terraces. There are still 60 olive trees on the uphill terraces covered with invaders. In addition, we have to carry out a pruning of sanitation and reduction of all the olive trees of the farm so that the fruiting and the state of health of the same is improved.
With your help
Short-term actions:
- Control and manage invasive plants (brambles, lianas, acacias, etc.)
- Make an inventory of all olive trees
- Check the health status of each olive tree
- Study and practice a recovery pruning consistent with the plant architecture of the olive tree to heal, rejuvenate and improve fruiting (about 30 olive trees)
- Study the synergies between olive trees and wild plants
- Study synergies between olive groves and animals
- introduce some hens / geese to improve soil fertility
Medium-term actions (three/four years) :
- Study and practice a pruning of recovery of the olive tree (30 olive trees / year).
- Replace some olive trees at the end of their life with young native olive trees
- Strengthen ecological corridors through the creation of buffer strips and hedgerows
- Introduce herbivores (dwarf goats or sheep) to manage the nearby understory and mowing
- Practice an extensive pasture with rotating spaces to reduce the management of climbers, pruning residues and mowings without exceeding the load of animals in the same plot
In addition to recovering olive trees we want to preserve the maximum possible biodiversity on the farm to:
- Valorize the local territory
- Improve soil fertility
- Mitigate the increase in temperatures by practicing rotational mowing, minimum pruning and plantations
- Improve people's psychophysical well-being
- Control soil erosion and consequently reduce the impacts of extreme weather events
- Valorize the products of the land
- Limit plant diseases
- Valuing eco-sustainable tourism
Why this is important
Since the 1300s, the hills of Lucca has been caracteristed by terraced olive groove on steep terrain. This has been creating a unique landscape. However, in recent decades, there has been a progressive abandonment of fields due to the complexity of management and costs. Infact the fields have been colonized by forests and invasive species.
This summer in the nearby municipality there has been a terrible fire that, due to the particularly high temperatures and strong winds, has spread over more than 10,000 hectares reaching 50 meters from the farm. We have been about to lose the olive trees, the house and all our illusions. We have been evacuated for a week. Unfortunately, many plants planted or planted the previous fall have not survived due to the heat bubble of the fire. A nightmare!
So managing more carefully the forest, its limits, abandoned agricultural farms becomes an increasingly great need to be able to live in rural territories, (our heritage) and guard forests (our green lungs).
What is the added value of the recovery of a terraced groove?
- The use of fossil fuels is reduced or eliminated
- Rhythms are slower and conducive to listening and observation
- The work has to be preferably in a team and you have to cooperate
- You have to find synergies between the existing elements to create a healthy system and reuse as much as possible (any contribution of external material is an effort!)
Why do we want to dedicate ourselves to the custody of an olive grove?
Our initiative contributes to boosting the rural economy and helps to preserve the cultural heritage of a rainfed agricultural landscape.
For these reasons, the choice to settle in an old farmhouse from 1700 due to the development of the project has been crucial. In these buildings in the hills of Lucca, many peasant families from the village of Piazzano have cultivated grapes and olive trees. In the oven the bread was cooked for the week, in the cellar the wine was aged and in the corral the accordion was played on holidays. What we want to recover are these moments of peasant life and sense of community in the middle term together with the custody of the olive grove.
How do we plan to share this process with others?
The olive grove is the ecosystem where the Semi in Mente laboratory is developed. Through the recovery of the olive grove we want to create an outdoor meeting space around the themes of the custody of the landscape and the psychological wellbeing. This is to achieve a stronger connection between man and the natural environment, so that people can feel a higher personal well-being and can generate a more intense emotional bond with the landscape around them.
Specifically, we propose tours of discovering the local landscape, edible wild plants and, tastings of wild products and km0. In addition, to strengthen biophilia (the link between humans and nature) we offer outdoor menthal coaching sessions and eco-therapy stays.
Who do we adress?
- People interested in the topics of psychophysical well-being in nature
- Neighbors to promote networked sustainable development practices and to encourage replicable practices in other abandoned environments
- Tourists to promote an eco-tourism that gives value to elements of rural heritage and small producers
*Travelers to create a link between local inhabitants and people from other environments, creating a paralinguistic space open to people from various backgrounds.
Margherita: Landscape Architect, Environmental Educator and Permaculture Designer. She studied Landscape Architecture in Barcelona, Rome and edinburgh. She has studied between Barcelona, Rome, Edinburgh. From 2012 to 2017, She has been interested in participatory urbanism to improve the quality of green spaces in the city and promote urban agriculture with several groups in Barcelona. Then for four years he has dedicated herself to the management of green spaces in the City Council of Tarrasa. Since 2020 she has given a direction to her life with Pierfrancesco back to Italy to get down to work with the olive trees and create Semi in Mente!
Pierfrancesco: graduated in Clinical Psychology at the University of Lille in France and (specialized in Psychopathology and Health Psychology), he is also trained in Eriksonian hypnosis. Since 2015 he has been working in France with people who want to do a psychotherapy tour. In Italy it offers training on positive psychology, empathic communication, green mindfulness, ecopsychology and individual psychotherapy sessions. He is a gardener and is interested in the impact of nature on psychic well-being.
Semi in Mente is connected to the Seed Vicious association for the conservation and independent exchange of seeds and to the Wwoof network for the promotion of organic farms.
On the farm, located on Via Francigena, you will find a Menthal coaching studio, a four-seater gite for hospitality and our house. For the courses we have outdoor space for about 10-12 people and we plan to rehabilitate a covered space for residential courses and rainy days in the main house. Over time there will be other spaces to recover to dedicate to the healing of animals, the transformation of food, the community kitchen, the stocking of firewood and materials.
Social commitment
Agrorural development
Semi in Mente is a project that promotes a stronger connection between man and the natural environment. So that people can feel a higher personal well-being and can create an emotional bond with the landscape around them.
- Good health and well being
- Responsabile production and consumtion
- Climate action. An olive tree can absorb 20 kg of CO2 daily. Think how good to have 100 rather leafy olive trees!
- Life on Land
Sustainable Development Goals
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Good Health and Well-Being
Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development.
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Sustainable Cities and Communities
There needs to be a future in which cities provide opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more.
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Responsible Production and Consumption
Responsible Production and Consumption
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Climate Action
Climate change is a global challenge that affects everyone, everywhere.
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Life On Land
Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss