Netzkraft Movement

Pratale

Vallingegno
06020 Scritto,Pg
Italy

Contact person: Lanz, Martin



Topics

  • Commune, community project
  • Overnight facilities

About us

Pratale is an open house in the foothills of the Appenines between Perugia and Gubbio. The farm consists of 50 acres of woods and hilly pasture in a beautiful green valley. We keep horses, donkeys, milk sheep and poultry.

We have been here since 1975. The old farmhouse was damaged by a major earthquake in 1984, and is now rebuilt for stables, storerooms, workshop, dairy and breadoven. A new wood and stone house was built around a shady courtyard with the help of many friends over the years `85-88.

There a two vegetable gardens, and many fruit trees; also about 100 olive trees and a new vineyard. There are several acres of woods and we try to take care of them. We have a woodstove which heats the house in winter and we try to get as far as we can on prunings/dead trees.

We do without some things: car, phone, TV, freezer, electrical gadges. It is more long-winded to walk, write, wash by hand, make our own entertainments but easier on the mind and conscience and a good meditative way of life. This comes from passionate conviction but we try not to be a bunch of fanatics!

We enjoy having visitors and we no longer frog-march people out to dig. Those who enjoy doing the four-hour stint of farmwork pay L. 12.000/day for food (like us! We do outside work because we`re not completely self-sufficient) and those who want to relax, sleep, think, paint, etc. pay L.20.000/day for food. We all join in with the cooking/cleaning.

Sometimes we are just the family (Etain, Martin, Ben, Camilla and Melissa if she`s over from London University); sometimes there are other people staying for a few days, weeks or months.

You can just turn up with a sleeping bag: we`ll be pleased to see you.