A landless farmer, passionate about sustainability issues, I met Wwoof in 1996 thanks to Elisa Grandis who managed the first small informal Wwoof Italy list at Casolare Acqua Chiara.
Since then I have accompanied the association and have guided it until the end of 2018.
Nowadays I am occupied with the handover and the development of project networks in the territories.
Coouncilor/Vicepresident
I was born and raised in Rome, in an urban context far from the countryside. In 2010 I embarked on my first Wwoof experience, which gave me an insight into the world and, progressively, a change of perspective in my life choices. Over the years, travelling the length and breadth of the peninsula, I have had the opportunity to get to know the Italian agricultural context at close quarters, thus increasing my wealth of knowledge and important human relations.
Today I work in a young farmers’ cooperative just outside Rome, which gives me the opportunity to discover the political and community dimension of agriculture every day.
I have been an active member of the Wwoof association for many years in the role of coordinator covering part of Lazio, as I consider the commitment to caring for the territory and local networks essential.
I place great trust in the associative aspect of the Wwoof, because it can be a fertile place to imagine a common horizon to face this delicate moment.
Councilor
WWOOFer since 2012. Then coordinator, then host. Originally a city dweller, by doing Wwoofing in Italy I discovered that it is possible to integrate real nature into people’s daily lives, just a stone’s throw from the cities. I now live on a small farm in Ficulle and contribute together with other farmers and inhabitants of this vast area to animate, cultivate and protect the land that hosts us. The WWOOF network continues to contribute a great deal, offering tools and contexts to capture the opportunities of a local network!
When I have time, I go exploring, try out recipes or invent games.
Councilor
Gabriele, born in 1986. I was born and grew up in the country, always amongst animals and nature, which keep me tied in a close knot, and of which I have made my raison d’être; in search of essentiality. I am about to start a small project of rural life and work in the mountains, in Piemonte, and I am also working as a dry stone craftsman.
A member of Wwoof Italia since 2014, I became acquainted with this movement because I was looking for someone who could show me that it was possible to concretise, even more radically than I already did, an essential lifestyle that respects my needs, others and the nature that surrounds us. I actively participated in the VieWwoof project and closely followed other projects of the association. I help in the coordination of some provinces in Piedmont. I like to take care of what I feel involved in and bring people and ideas together, with the aim of initiating truly participatory processes and the development of good practices. For the past few years I have been training in the field of Facilitation, particularly with regard to groups for social change.
Councilor
My name is Fabrizio Romagnoli, I am 47 years old and I am from Bologna. I have been in the WWOOF world since 2005, for more than ten years we have hosted wwoofers on our farm in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, in the province of Bologna. We have participated in various projects (in particular Viewwoof and LLOOF, an international project of which we hosted the final meeting). Currently, for family and work reasons, we have left the farm and moved to Sassoleone, a small town not far away, which has freed up my time to gain some experience as a wwoofer and to dedicate part of it to the WWOOF Italia board. After flanking my wife for years in the co-ordination of the provinces of Bologna and Modena, I have now been coordinating western Romagna for a couple of years.
Consigliere / Presidente Sono cresciuto in una piccola azienda agricola nel centro Italia dove ho imparato molto sull’allevamento e sulla coltivazione.Ho ospitato WWOOOFer per molti anni nella nostra azienda agricola di famiglia ed io stesso ho viaggiato a lungo come WWOOOFer.Ho partecipato alla formazione di FoWO nel 2012 e da allora ho lavorato come coordinatore della rete WWOOOF Independents. Dal 2018 lavoro anche come coordinatore delle attività di FoWO.I am also actively involved in the coordination of our local national organisation – WWOOF Italia.In my spare time I enjoy alpinism and exploring wild places.
A landless farmer, passionate about sustainability issues, I met Wwoof in 1996 thanks to Elisa Grandis who managed the first small informal Wwoof Italy list at Casolare Acqua Chiara.
Since then I have accompanied the association and have guided it until the end of 2018.
Nowadays I am occupied with the handover and the development of project networks in the territories.
I got to know WWOOF many years ago thanks to Bridget and Alan, and that is how I discovered this wonderful world of people who care for nature and human relationships. Thank you, Bridget!
I have been helping with the WWOOF bookkeeping since 2011 and one day I would like to cultivate medicinal herbs.
I was born and raised in Hungary, but have lived in Italy since the early 1990s.
After obtaining a degree in Foreign Languages and Literature in Bologna, I moved to the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines where I still live with my family. In 2005, we joined WWOOF Italia as hosts and have been hosting volunteers on our family farm for more than ten years. For several years now I have been active in the associative life as coordinator for the provinces of Bologna and Modena. I am also part of the association’s staff as a representative for foreign relations and am on the board of the Federation of WWOO Organisations (FoWO) as a representative of WWOOF Italia.In my spare time I enjoy handicrafts and collaborate with a non-profit association that produces handmade objects involving people with social disadvantages.
I am both lawyer and legal advisor to WWOOF Italy.
I provide legal advice and litigation to Italian and foreign entrepreneurs, cooperatives, not-for-profit entities and corporate groups and am a member of the international Jurisglobal network.
For Wwoof Italia, I oversee various projects and initiatives including the proposed law for peasant agriculture and the campaign against GMOs.
Working with WWOOF has allowed me to get to know a world and people from which I have always gained valuable professional and personal stimulation and enrichment.
It was April 2014 when I was invited to Panta Rei to join the Probi Viri that the assembly had appointed. I already had some information about WWOOF Italia from the descriptions that Giancarlo, whom I have known for a long time, used to give me.From that day on, I began to deepen my understanding of certain topics that I consider to be of great importance, both for the intentions they can express and the potential they have.I am mainly referring to the three projects I know a little about: “Le Vie WWOOF”, the discussion and proposals on the ‘Legge Contadina’ and the ‘RETI D’IMPRESA’. I feel I can say that in these three years, the Association has consolidated and structured itself, managing to help many individual members grow with and in the activities it offers. For these results, thanks are due to the Board, which has been able to manage and organise with commitment, but equal thanks are due to all members who have contributed to this growth in various ways.The Probi Viri’s duties also include ‘monitoring the work of the Board and the Association to verify its compliance with its social aims and objectives, as well as providing guidance and recommendations’.I observe the work of the Council, mainly through the Minutes and, as far as I can see, I do not feel I have to ‘give directions and recommendations’.The topics discussed and the Council’s proposals do not always meet with unanimity, as is normal; in my opinion, there are often limits to understanding and to proper communication, I would think, which are intrinsic to the manner of the media.Extremely useful, and yet sometimes limiting. The few times I felt I might add my own opinion on certainissues, I have done so, to bring my point of view into the discussion as well.Finally, I am pleased to say that I have not had to ‘give final judgment on any appeals by members’, nor have I had to ‘amicably settle’ any disputes within the Association.If what little I have done is enough, in the absence of a better candidacy, I will make myself freely available to the Association for the next term.
