One of the mottos we are most fond of is: “Copying is compulsory”. Yet at school they always told us the opposite, namely that “copying is forbidden”.
This principle doesn’t stop at school desks: many companies jealously guard their own strategies, just as restaurants keep their recipes secret. It has become a widely accepted cultural dogma.
Why on earth do we say the opposite?
Why “forbidden not to copy”
Because we believe that everything already exists in nature. At most, someone may have the merit of being the first to make a discovery.
But why should this discovery remain confined to a few?
Sharing knowledge, experiences, even recipes, means offering them to the world so they can be improved.
If a discovery remains locked in a drawer, how can it evolve thanks to new ideas and innovations?
When it is shared instead, a virtuous circle is activated: someone else can take it, experiment with it, enrich it. And perhaps, one day, return it improved to those who devised it. This is the extraordinary potential of sharing.
However, it is not just about this.
There is also an underlying ethical reason: why hinder the spread of something that can do good? If we stopped competing and started collaborating, putting the common good at the centre, perhaps the world would truly be a better place.
How we apply “forbidden not to copy” at Autosufficienza
Here at Autosufficienza, sharing is an integral part of our philosophy.
In the early years of the project, Francesco Rosso – the founder – invested time and resources, making costly mistakes. If at the time there had been someone willing to share their experiences, he could have avoided many of those errors, with an obvious benefit for everyone.
For this reason, a few years ago we organised the “From Zero to Self-Sufficiency” retreat: a complete course for those wishing to create a project similar to ours. On that occasion we shared without reservation all our best practices, developed over the years.
Or just think of the social value that Autosufficienza has today: thousands of people every year come to draw inspiration from it, change their lives, give impulse to new economies, new projects are born… and new families.
It all came about also thanks to the inspiration that Francesco was able to draw from other similar projects (in previous years, in fact, Francesco had already written an article entitled “Forbidden not to copy”). In the same way, many people who have passed through here tell how this experience has influenced their life choices.
In our courses and retreats focused on health, we don’t just offer an experience. Our vision of self-sufficient health involves the transmission of practical tools, so that participants can continue independently.
After all, the entire history of humanity is built on sharing. Peoples and individuals have always inspired one another, improving upon what they have learnt from others.
Other virtuous examples from Romagna
And we are not alone in thinking this way.
Remedia Erbe, for example – a company in Quarto di Sarsina that since 1992 has been producing herbal and cosmetic preparations in the service of nature – despite creating products of the highest quality, publishes recipes on its blog to make them at home, using simple tools accessible to everyone.
Or Nel Nome del Pane, Fabio Cappelletti’s bakery in Dovadola, awarded three loaves by Gambero Rosso. Fabio has always been willing to welcome people into his workshop to share the art of bread-making with them, without demanding royalties or starting franchises. He does this because he believes that spreading the good he has created is more important than protecting it.
Transforming the world into a better place
Slogans like “Forbidden not to copy” have the power to change mindsets, overturn paradigms and challenge deep-rooted beliefs.
And if many people carry forward an alternative approach like this, in the end this approach becomes the norm.
And when an approach becomes the norm, the entire society changes.
