Several months ago, I wrote about the potential for eco-agri-culinary tourism in India, as a way to create greater economic opportunities for small scale agricultural communities by creating travel experiences rooted in local food cultures while also replenishing and protecting the natural environment. The agriturismo model of Italy, a law since 1985, was one of the references behind my recommendations for India. I’d had the opportunity to visit several Italian agriturismos however, I wanted to see one from behind the scenes, to understand how it really worked, whether it worked. To understand if it was truly sustainable not just in its farming and production methods but, also economically sustainable. I also thought that it was necessary for me, with my own ambition to make a difference to the future of food systems, to know more about what it takes to grow good food. Good food can be interpreted in many different ways; I use the definition of Slow Food which defines good food as good, clean and fair i.e. – food which is tasty, grown in a way that does not harm the natural environment and fetches a fair price to the grower or producer. I decided to educate myself in a ‘live’ setting and I became an intern…again.
After many months of texting with Andrea, waiting out the winter and a last minute cancellation in spring, it was autumn when I finally arrived in L’Orto Del Pian Bosco, a large organic farm and agriturismo in Fossano, northwest Italy. Fossano is a small town with a population of approximately 25,000 people, quiet and relatively unexplored in comparison to its neighbouring towns of Bra, home to the Slow Food movement and Alba, home to the world famous Barolo wines. Large parts of Fossano are agricultural and one can see tall, dense, golden maize or corn fields for miles on end. The exponential growth in corn farming in many parts of the world is a topic for another day but, just briefly for the purposes of this post, a majority of this corn is grown using inorganic methods and it serves as fodder for animals, bred in larger numbers to meet the growing demand for dairy and meat. For an area which receives little rain, a crop like corn which requires a lot of water significantly depletes groundwater reserves. In this land of corn, L’Orto Del Pian Bosco, owned and run by Andrea Giaccardi is a lush, colourful jewel. 16 acres of vegetable, fruit, hazelnut fields, 100% organic for more than 20 years, a 60 seater restaurant which serves homestyle, delicious Italian food, a store which sells fresh farm produce and a range of homemade compotes, creams, sauces and chutneys made in the food transformation laboratory.
It all sounds charming and warm and fuzzy, doesn’t it? Even as I am writing this, I am reminded of the delicious plum cake made from the Susina Clara plums, deep purple skin with a ruby red pulp. Charming indeed but, there is nothing fuzzy about building and running a place like this. My time as an intern with Andrea and his family and was deeply insightful. The days were long and full to the brim, spent in the fields doing whatever needed to be done for the day – harvesting, planting, sorting; sometimes on the road delivering farm produce to regular customers and occasionally in the farm store, preparing and labelling bottles of freshly made compotes and sauces. In less than a week, I sorted through more than 100 kilos of onions, planted 400 strawberry saplings for the winter, picked hazelnuts off the ground for 7-8 hours and was an assistant to Andrea while he supervised the crushing of more than 300 kilos of hazelnuts. The work is physically demanding but, what truly matters is Andrea’s tremendous knowledge of soil, biodiversity, climate and the skills to create the conditions in which good food can be grown. He has the reputation of being a pioneer in many ways. More than 15 years ago, he was the first in Fossano to plant hazelnut trees, recognising that the conditions were good for hazelnut farming. Following in his footsteps, several hazelnut farms have mushroomed in the area and have been contracted by companies which produce chocol
The farm restaurant serves a fresh, seasonal menu using whatever is grown on the farm. Other essentials like wine, cheese, meat, honey which are not produced on the farm are sourced from producers in the vicinity who also practise sustainable methods. It means that quality and traceability are guaranteed in nearly everything that is served in the restaurant. Andrea’s farm is increasingly modern, with machines which simplify or automate heavy manual work without damaging the soil or the produce. While Andrea is the visionary and the ‘chief farmer, naturalist and technical officer’, his wife Emanuela looks after the sales and commercial side of the business and his sister Irene, who retired after a long career as an architect is in charge of the laboratory. They are accompanied by a small team of warm and energetic people, who made me feel very welcome. I thought to myself that they must really enjoy what they do; they never stopped working and yet, they never stopped smiling.
Every now and then, groups of students, from agricultural and food sciences universities come to the farm on study trips and I accompanied one such group as they walked around the farm, fascinated by seeing in practice what they had only read in theory. And that brings me to my own reflection that the agriturismo model, underpinned by sustainable methods does work and it is economically viable.
I saw 5 principles in action which make L’Orto Del Pian Bosco a role model :
- Andrea has a clear vision, intrinsically aligned with his values and propelled by capabilities which are constantly evolving. He believes deeply that the only way to produce good food is by practising natural methods and even after 25 years in agriculture, he is continuously building new knowledge and skills about soil, climate, crops, farming methods and use of modern technology
- The farm has developed the financial capacity to invest in growth. It was only a few acres and inorganic when Andrea was handed the reins by his father. It is now sixteen acres of cultivated land with numerous varieties of vegetables, fruit, herbs and thousands of hazelnut trees. There is a growing market for organic produce and in most years, the laboratory produces at least 50,000 bottles of jams and sauces. Growth in financial terms is not just about earning revenue but, it enables ongoing investment in good methods, technology and people
- The farm restaurant, which is the agriturismo, enables circularity. In some sense, it marks the closure of a loop. Organic food is grown on the farm, sold in the farm store and can be tasted in the restaurant in the form of a freshly cooked meal. A visitor to the farm has the opportunity to learn a lot about what a good food system can be by spending just a few hours
- The circular nature of L’Orto Del Pian Bosco and its collaborations with other producers, restaurants and stores contribute in a significant way to the community and beyond. When restaurants in Cuneo, about 25 kms away, use the produce from Andrea’s farm, they are reinforcing sustainable practices and serving good quality food to their customers. The ripple effect of a good food system benefits the entire community which includes the people living in it, other businesses and the surrounding environment
Finally, it is simply the right thing to do. It isn’t always easy or even comprehensible to imagine something at a global scale. But, it is always possible to take meaningful action at the individual level and within a community. It is possible to grow, produce, procure and consume good food in ways that are beneficial to all stakeholders, if we treat growers and producers as equal, if not even more important stakeholders than consumers. As is my wont to say, there is no food without the people who grow it.
I am grateful to Andrea and his family for hosting me; in his gentle way, he taught me a great deal in a short period of time. I believe it has become important for everyone to receive some education in food – where it comes from, what it takes to grow and produce, why it means so much to our own lives and to the planet. It does not need to be an internship for everyone. It can be revived in our homes, provided in schools or community gardens, through visits to small farms and through urban food experiences which go beyond consumption and shine a light on provenance. We need to reimagine contemporary education to enable all people to feel a sense of clarity and connection to the things that help us lead healthy and happy lives. Food is undoubtedly one of those things.