Bologna to Venice

We had been intending to reach Bologna on Thursday for the special market that takes place at the squat we’d be staying at but we had changed our plans and arrived on Friday instead. As luck would have it, there was another of these special martkets taking place elsewhere in Bologna and we mananged to get a couple of people to come over to tell us all about it. Basically these markets bring together consumers and local non certified but nether-the-less organic small farmers. They mostly make use of squatted spaces for the markets and are part of a growing…

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Another week full of warm hospitality while cycling in italy…

monday 3 september, we planned to leave early and got up on time, but the rain (that had been falling already for 3 days) was strong. We decided to delay our departure and got invited to join the lunch with the Valli Unite family :D. After lunch, with a grey, but dry, sky, everyone on the farm warmly waved us goodbye and we had a fresh afternoon cycling to Castel San Giovanni where we camped on a field with a small shed that ended up being our kitchen and dinner room when the rain started again. tuesday 4 september, after…

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Looking Back: From Catalunya to France

I had an amazing time on the bike tour, cycling and living with so many lovely people in this community on wheels was a great experience, and the projects I saw have inspired me. Visiting permaculture projects in Catalunya and France, our hosts gave us tours and talks about their farming techniques, as well as getting a chance to try the organic produce. These imags show the beautiful organic vineyard at Can Torres, the impressive permaculture project in Sigean, where food is grown for local families, and the Cravirola Le Maquis in Minerve, where they make delicious bread in their…

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Asti To Bologna

From Asti we had an easy but dull ride on the flat. The roads were poorly maintained and full of long crack, sometimes wider than my tires. In the distance we could see the mountain and that were we were heading. Inevitably our final destination required us to scale a massive hill. For ages we climbed and climbed, it seemed to never end. I stopped to eat figs off a tree overhanging the road, and stopped again to admire the view. Eventually we were there, the Valli Unite organic argicultural co-operative. We stayed for the entire weekend as volunters for…

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