Heartland – A new model for rural development from the Heart of Italy
At the heart of the Apennine mountain range of Italy is the province of Abruzzo, known as the Green Heart of Europe. At the heart of Abruzzo is the Majella mountain (pronounced ‘My-Ella’), that traditionally was called the Mother Mountain or Sacred Mountain. In the heart of this Mother is Heartland: a campground/Cooperative for the wild at heart.
The land around Heartland is a true marriage of the European North and South, with trees of oak, apple and ash together with olive and cane. There is much much fruit around: apples, pears, mulberries, figs, cherries, persimmons and, as legend has it, a peach tree but we have yet to find this. And wild flowers of rose, poppy, orchids, chicory, many others we have yet to name…
If you are silent enough, within and without, deer are almost a daily sight, and the grunts of the deer rut, in the autumn, can be heard across the valley. Stampedes of wild boar at night are a regular sound. There is also the Marsican brown bear, of which there are only 30 40 in existence who populate the Abruzzo National Park further North, but one particular one, nicknamed Juan Carrito, has been seen in some of the villages and one even stole honey! from some beehives in a village overlooking Heartland. And what are those tracks…..could it really be wolves….
Heartland was born as a non profit association to deal with rural development in marginal areas, now it is an Italian Cooperative that brings integrated rural design systems together, a unique approach we developed, where regenerative agricultural around old local varieties and heritage wheats meet, sustainable tourism in our “Silent Engine”, we have helped engineer the Valley of Biodiversity as one of Europe’s largest thematic territorial project for rural reinvigoration, based on the unique natural and agricultural biodiversity, this is an ongoing project.
There are many ways to share in the story that is Heartland: come and stay at the campground, come and be part of one of the magical events we host, come to work with us or come for more and be here. ❤️ We have also developed a network of like minded projects, people who pioneer a rural come back, projects of aromatic herbs and heritage wheats, we work with fruit trees growers, and the world leaders in ecological tourism, now slowly also moving into local politics and territorial rural planing.
❤️ Check out the Heartland Website at www.spiritsheartlandofintent.com and Contact us, if this is the calling of your heart, because the HEART is calling you, calling you to come home to the Heartlands, and to cross that threshold into the Living Myth, into a future that is not the past, but is a continuation, where sustainable is simply a way of life of a people in a territory over longer lengths of time, Heartland ultimate goal is this, creating places where Landrace people live, where they take nature into more than it could be by itself, it is not Rewilding or peasant farming but it is a marriage of both under what we call – The Process. If this is also your calling, and by all means to us this is the only calling worthwhile, talk to us and join the network.
From the Gallery…
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