{"id":26675,"date":"2023-10-02T09:40:53","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T07:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosufficienza.dartmoon.dev\/recycling-and-anti%e2%80%91waste-strategies-at-the-autosufficienza-centre\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T16:42:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:42:24","slug":"recycling-and-anti%e2%80%91waste-strategies-at-the-autosufficienza-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autosufficienza.it\/en\/recycling-and-anti%e2%80%91waste-strategies-at-the-autosufficienza-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"Recycling and anti\u2011waste strategies at the Autosufficienza Centre."},"content":{"rendered":"
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How We Create Beauty, Quality Objects, and Useful Processes from Materials Considered Waste<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Tommaso Carmenati | caretaker at the Applied Ecology Centre Autosufficienza<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The core theme is always the same: imagination. As long as we believe only a limited range of options is possible, we will never be able to consider alternative paths beyond those already taken.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At the Applied Ecology Centre Autosufficienza we strive to make manifest the change we would like to see in the world through concrete, replicable examples so that anyone who chooses to visit us\u2014whether for a course or a vacation\u2014can draw inspiration from virtuous models and expand their own imagination.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That is our main contribution to the common good: when you see tangible examples of communities trying to live in a healthier, more ethical, and environmentally respectful way, you\u2019ll know that path is achievable. This dramatically broadens your personal freedom of choice. Day by day, this is how we commit ourselves to building a better present and future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Focusing primarily on ecology and sustainable lifestyles, one of the topics we give particular attention to is waste management. In this article we will share some \u201canti\u2011waste\u201d strategies that, besides being highly useful, demonstrate that beauty can be created from what is constantly present in nature yet often overlooked. Technology and nature can be perfectly integrated; all it takes is a pinch of creativity and imagination.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a9_ANGELO_TRANI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Don\u2019t tell me you\u2019re wasting the wood<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The interior furnishing of the Autosufficienza agriturismo is largely made of wood. Ivano, our carpenter and neighbor, delights in creating all kinds of forms from what the forest provides: from the projector holder to the door for the agriturismo\u2019s electric meter; from the toilet\u2011paper holder and the half\u2011moon supports that hold the white quartz stones to the lamps and handles of the octagonal hall doors; from the faucet brackets to the mushroom\u2011shaped lights of the agro\u2011camping. If you wander through the spaces of Autosufficienza, perhaps during a guided tour, you\u2019ll discover numerous creations born from local wood. We also frequently collaborate with Alessandro of Eco\u2011Spazi Design, who makes furniture from reclaimed wood such as pallets and driftwood. Another interesting example is the agro\u2011camping stairs: usually chestnut trunks<\/strong> are turned into planks, panels, or other cuts. The stump, the portion near the root, is wider in diameter and is discarded. Francesco, inspired by a trip to Patagonia, decided to build the agro\u2011camping staircases precisely with this waste piece. Beautiful and at the same time indestructible. Sawdust, the by\u2011product of the carpentry shop, and wood chips<\/strong>, obtained from pruning, are used as mulch in the garden to retain moisture and limit weed growth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Examples of virtuous horticulture<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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In addition to wood chips and sawdust, we use freshly mown grass and aromatic herbs\u2014the waste from distillation\u2014as mulch in the garden. Our innovative recycling systems in the garden don\u2019t stop there. With some of our neighbours we have a barter agreement: they graze their cattle on our extensive fields, and in return they give us manure<\/strong> that we use to fertilise the soil. Since these cows are fed entirely naturally, we are sure that our land is nourished only by what is good for it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Another manure we use in the garden comes from our happy chickens: food scraps produced in the organic agriturismo<\/strong> end up in a designated area of the henhouse that they can access. The chickens eat these scraps, and the manure they produce is used to fertilise the garden soil. Those same garden vegetables then reach the plates of our guests\u2014closing an entire cycle. Not to mention the delicious eggs from our chickens.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Grain: an Endless Wealth<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Have you ever heard of the Autosufficienza’s pizza? It\u2019s one of the aspects we\u2019re most proud of here, mainly for three reasons:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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