Congratulations to my friends at la Commune di Bagnaia, winner of the 2008 Award for European Ecovillage Excellence
In 2004, I was lucky to have briefly visited this wonderful community. It was originally not included in my itinerary, as my extremely tight budget did not allow me to move about Italy too much. Beside, I was happy enough to just stay at Torri, which is by far still my favorite among all the ecovillages that I have been to.
It was towards the end of my stay in Italy that I finally made a side trip to Toscana at the invitation of two German friends who had cycled all the way from Torri to Villa Pignano in Volterra. It happened that when I was about to leave Villa Pignano, two of the residents there were invited to dinner by their friends at la Commune di Bagnaia, which was not too far away from Villa Pignano. Knowing that I was eager to visit Bagnaia, they gladly took me along. Despite the short notice and their lack of vacancy for wwoofers or guests at the moment, the people of Bagnaia was most kind to have received me. They offered me a camper van in which I stayed two nights.
Bagnaia's success was amazing! It has not only survived but managed very well over the past twenty odd years since its establishment. Their place was neat and tidy, quite a contrast with other overtly hippie-looking communities:) The people were extremely nice, too. What impressed me most was the high degree (over 80%) of self-sufficiency they had achieved, producing their own olive oil, wine, honey, cheese, cereals and vegetables... I had a few most nourishing and delicious meals at their place.
During the day, I worked with an English wwoofer in the vegetable garden and an Argentinean Italian young man (who was a prospective new member on probation) in the olive grove.
Early next morning, they gave me a lift to Siena where I took the train back to Ventimiglia.
In 2004, I was lucky to have briefly visited this wonderful community. It was originally not included in my itinerary, as my extremely tight budget did not allow me to move about Italy too much. Beside, I was happy enough to just stay at Torri, which is by far still my favorite among all the ecovillages that I have been to.
It was towards the end of my stay in Italy that I finally made a side trip to Toscana at the invitation of two German friends who had cycled all the way from Torri to Villa Pignano in Volterra. It happened that when I was about to leave Villa Pignano, two of the residents there were invited to dinner by their friends at la Commune di Bagnaia, which was not too far away from Villa Pignano. Knowing that I was eager to visit Bagnaia, they gladly took me along. Despite the short notice and their lack of vacancy for wwoofers or guests at the moment, the people of Bagnaia was most kind to have received me. They offered me a camper van in which I stayed two nights.
Bagnaia's success was amazing! It has not only survived but managed very well over the past twenty odd years since its establishment. Their place was neat and tidy, quite a contrast with other overtly hippie-looking communities:) The people were extremely nice, too. What impressed me most was the high degree (over 80%) of self-sufficiency they had achieved, producing their own olive oil, wine, honey, cheese, cereals and vegetables... I had a few most nourishing and delicious meals at their place.
During the day, I worked with an English wwoofer in the vegetable garden and an Argentinean Italian young man (who was a prospective new member on probation) in the olive grove.
Early next morning, they gave me a lift to Siena where I took the train back to Ventimiglia.
