Blog
Blog
Christmas presents? Yes and sustainable too!
Christmas is almost here….and along with that beautiful atmosphere of love and peace comes a frantic flood of consumerism! I don’t love spending time in the shops, except those run by friends who make truly special things, and so I’ve come up with another way of giving gifts. So let me give you some advice on reducing your impact on the Planet this holiday season, without needing to leave your loved ones gift-less. I’ve recently returned from a trip in central Italy, where I realized the importance of pop-up shops and small markets in finding special holiday gifts. Here you can find all sorts of wonderful things made by artisans and artists, handmade foods sourced from local producers who don’t need to package their products in a dozen layers of plastic. Before Christmas comes, visit a market or two, even a farmers market: what better gift could one give than food made with love, from primary materials of the highest quality, and guaranteed by someone you trust? Have you ever thought of making your own personalized Christmas baskets with handpicked products, turning the things you have at home into something special? It’s easy and unique! You can also decorate it […]
Working Bee Days and Casa Netural
The second working bee day has been managed thanks to Casa netural: hands, minds and tools at work for the garden at L’Albero. Do you know Casa netural? Casa netural was born as a co-working space and I saw it growing exponentially, becoming a business incubator, co-living space and in general a landmark for those who arrive in town and for the locals. The community meetings are designed both to let people get together and be inspired by interesting projects, and to promote activities for children. In its seven years, the association organized also community walks to discover the territory, built the first urban garden in Matera and led so many projects that it would be impossible to mention all of them. I believed in Casa netural from the very first meeting with Mariella and Andrea, the co-founders. I soon found my place coordinating RI-netural, a cycle of events about sustainable life-styles, but I’ve also been part of the team of Agri-netural, the urban garden, and now I deal with “sustainable shopping”, organizing swap parties with some other “Netural team” members, with the aim to sensitise people about conscious consumption. The team of Casa Netural is composed by many members […]
Reducing the waste is…sexy!
I watched this video during the Waste Reduction Day of the last 9th of april. I love it so much and now I want to say something about that, because I really care about this issue. Recycling is something that we all should do everyday – and not only during this particular celebration – with small actions that will become increasingly natural and easy to reduce our impact on the environment. Where to start? From the shopping! First rule: avoid disposable things. Second rule: avoid sigle-use things. If you already have plastic bags, use them several times before throwing away. Use scrap fabric to create funny and colourful bags. Purchase from markets, farmer markets, responsible shopping groups and direct selling points. In this way, you will reduce packaging and transportation costs. If you have to go to the supermarket choose between different products, opt for the one with the less polluting and harmful for environment package. Always choose eco-friendly and recyclable materials. Avoid plastic and opt for paper and glass, they are also healthier for you. Try to find the closest shop that sells unpackaged products. Just think about all the bottles, jars and packages of soap, milk, pasta, detergent […]
Responsible travel: Monia in Matera
Today I feel inspired and I’d like to talk to you about Monia. I had the pleasure to host her here at L’Albero at the end of July, in occasion of her birthday. She decided to celebrate treating herself with a weekend in Matera, isn’t it a great idea? Monia worked in a bank for seven years, and it was an interesting job, in her words, but she got to a point when she coundn’t hold it anymore and thus decided to change life. She succeeded in conjugating two big passions of her, photography and Africa (http://www.moniaantonioli.com/), and now she splits her time between the collaboration with NGOs and humanitarian associations in Africa, and language teaching in London. Monia looks really happy and I’m happy too when I meet people that succeeded in improving their life by letting something, no longer useful, go. Since the very first moment I have been enchanted by her enthusiasm, by her joy of living and the wish to share her experience. Monia has been for me the better example of what we all call “responsible tourism”: she opened herself so much to knowing and following our tips, that after three days she was part of […]
Reuse and furniture: working bees days!
Matera is a city rich of valuable artisans and innovative activities about the environment. I’ve noticed this beautiful energy right away and I couldn’t resist to the temptation of embody it in purpose-made events. So it was born the Working Bee Days at L’Albero di Eliana. What is it about? You just have to put together local artisans, innovative associations and recycling lovers, add some friends from other cities with whom you want to share your project and you’ll obtain an ideal mix of creativity. And, as I said, the Working Bee Days. Until now I’ve organized two Working Bee Days at L’Albero: I asked Casa Netural and Officine Frida to direct two workshops. The aim? Creating something new and useful using recycled materials. Today I want to tell you the first of these Days, of which Officine Frida has been the protagonist. When L’Albero was born this association was composed by an atelier of painting, a workshop of eco-building and one of creative dressmaker. If you come to Matera it does worth visiting Mariella’s place which is a creative recycling dressmaker that promotes the sharing of knowledge and memories. At L’Albero, Paolo, who was at that time part of […]
A project of a thousand hands
I always define L’Albero like this: a project of a thousand hands. Here at L’Albero there’s always been participation, since the structural works when it was nice to work together with the builders and learn from them among laughs and misunderstandings. Once we closed the building site, all friends, the near and the far ones, lent their hands to this project: in the choices to be made, answering very patiently to the questionnaire about L’Albero (I didn’t even think about the mosquito streams!), in the invention of the name during a very interesting brainstorming dinner, in the cleaning, creative projects and often in the hospitality itself. It still happens that friends have breakfast with my guests during the “breakfasts with locals” and that’s a very special moment. And so here we are, with a tribute dedicated to everyone who has done something big or small for L’Albero and its truly thanks to this that the environment is so warm, welcoming and enriched by a good energy. The energy comes from the people, from those who have donated objects lived by them, from those who have believed in my project and have contributed to make it special. In the end L’Albero […]
First step for an eco-friendly b&b in the Sassi
What brought me to L’Albero? Everything started in Rome, where after a few years of office work I understood that the Big City life was really not for me! That set, I moved to Australia, where my passions could finally find fertile ground, and where I learned much on sustainable and slow living. After two years I decided to move back to Matera, where my roots are, bringing home a bag full of energy and inspirations. In my hometown I found the perfect environment where to live the kind of life I wanted, on a human scale, together with many interesting communities with which to collaborate. A few years before, my parents purchased a dusty and semi-abandoned building in the Sassi, the oldest part of town. From Rome to Australia I was never able to make up my mind on what to use it for. Once in Matera, I finally realised that I was ready to start my project, and that building was the how perfect home for that. Who could ever imagine what a great transformation where about to have those dusty cracked rooms!? I was actually driven by the idea, that I shared with some other like-minded people, […]
From L’Albero to Human Destination: Eliana’s diary!
Spontaneous. Yeah, that’s it! Spontaneous! No stunning expressions, no suggestive quotes, no touching tales. Probably the best way to give birth to this new section is the same way of the other experiences of this great adventure we are living: spontaneously. That’s how started ViviSostenibile. That’s how the “tree within stones” began to arise. And that’s how is spreading all around the country a new idea of journey, discovering faces, stories, tastes, meeting people before visiting places, searching for the Human Destination. And that’s how the first words of this section came out: Eliana’s Tree, free thoughts of a person who made out of hospitality, relationships and exchange her bread and butter. Eliana live from the Sassi: who’s today’s guest and how did he arrive here? Which are the next ideas that she will figure out and realize? How can we be more eco-friendly? But don’t expect punctuality from her: she’s a real host, she’s got to look after the Tree, to welcome guests, to organize events. Rather, think about this section like a diary where our lady of the house, at the end of the day, write to me and to you. Let’s feel like we were her guests, […]
Who is Eliana?
I was one of those many young people who left to fill up a big luggage with experience to bring it back to its own town.
After few years in Rome where I worked in the events’ field, I left the big city for a long trip overseas, discovering sustainable lifestyles. I left everything: my routine that was making me tired, my job that was taking up too much of my time and all of those certainties that keep you there even though you don’t feel good anymore.
In Australia I kept in touch with what I really wanted and when I came back I found my balance here at L’Albero, an inspirational place for me, for everyone who surrounds me and for travelers coming from far away.
For seven years I had the pleasure to meet travelers from all over the world in my B&b, listening to their stories and sharing mine.
A new change, brought by the pandemic, got transformed into a long journey of regenerative agriculture in a beloved place in Abruzzo. Thanks to this special time I could come back once again to my roots, to take care of L’Albero again and of projects in the countryside right out of Matera, where I live part of my life.