Rambling oven “Forno Vagabondo”

by Claudio Pozzi | Feb 23, 2022 | Projects

an initiative that WWOOF Italy has had the pleasure of supporting

It was early March 2020. We were in a strange atmosphere: we had just launched the new internet platform which, despite some setbacks, saw us finally united with the other WWOOF organisations in the world, thanks to the Federation of WWOOF Organisations (FoWO) which started through the project of the common platform an activity of concrete coordination. In the same days, however, the nightmare of the first lockdown was approaching.

At that time we were a bit stuck with the projects and the request from Flora, Matteo and the organisations supporting the idea came at the right time! A fresh project, full of social and cultural tension in its innovative simplicity:

“The Forno Vagabondo is an itinerant social bakery that travels through the villages of Alta Vallagarina (TN) on an electric cargo bike and is the scene of practical and creative activities on the components of the “bread system” (ingredients, elements of nature, environment, community, transport…).

The activities of the bakery are an opportunity to meet, exchange and experiment, with the aim of creating a community network that brings people closer to issues such as sustainability, biodiversity and care for the territory, through the practice of convivial bread-making. The passion for bread, curiosity and the desire to discover and share, animate our path and guide us in kneading desirable futures”.

An easy decision

A nice chat online, followed by the answers to the questions on the appropriate form, and the decision was made: a contribution of € 1000 to help to get an already solid project off the ground, with numerous local organisations committed to supporting it. The reciprocal commitment to keep each other informed about the activities on a regular basis, in order to organise something jointly, proved to be anything but easy.

A successful formula despite unforeseen complications

The complications related to the lockdown and subsequent further issues have delayed and diverted the development of the project, but have not prevented Flora and Matteo, thanks to the support of the dense network of relationships of la Foresta, to start wandering with the oven, anticipating and enriching the program of meetings with digital formats – #racconti vagabondi (rambling tales) and #storie lievitanti (rising stories) – that allow more people to benefit from the proposed content.

one of the first milestones of the Forno Vagabondo – the sharing

Two years have now passed, and the project has found a way to evolve and build a history consolidated also by the resonance it has found in the media. Here we share the presentation article in franzmagazine and a more recent one in Repubblica, which fully confirms the presence of the Forno Vagabondo in the network of collective ovens.

We will enrich this testimony with a summary of an interview with the protagonists of the project. In the meantime, Flora and Matteo have made a radical choice: having entrusted the bakery to the Forest community, they have joined WWOOF Italy and have taken a break from work: from next April we will see them wandering, this time in a camper van, among the Hosts of the Alps and beyond. One of the guiding threads of their research will undoubtedly remain bread-making, but they will also develop a curiosity for other aspects of rural life. We are counting on their willingness to recount the experiences. In the meantime, we wish them a safe journey and all the best to the Forno Vagabondo and those who look after it!