Farm to table and social impact: a farm sandbox
L’Orto Felice ( “ The Happy Garden”) is my organic family farm. Since 1988 we have been providing our local community with fresh, nutritious organic vegetables grown on eight hectares of land in the outskirts of Udine, Italy.
In 2018, I decided to take over L’Orto Felice, to make it a business and impact case study for small scale farms and the creation of local sustainable food systems.
Our mission is to grow food in a sustainable way:
For Nature, by respecting seasonality, avoiding synthetic chemicals and pesticides, regenerating soil fertility and respect the life of the animals that live on our land
For People, by providing fresh, healthy and nutrient food to our customers and enabling the people who work on the farm to earn a decent salary
For the Community: by educating people and school children on sustainable farming and eating and by empowering disadvantaged people, refugees and disable people through farming
Agriculture sits at the heart of our present and future challenges…and we can do a lot better !
Take our responsibility to farm in the best way possible, protecting soil and ecosystems
Work to restore the relationship between local communities and the produce grown close by, finding better ways to sell and distribute, making buying local and organic the new norm
Educate a new generation of eaters on the wonderful and myriad ways to make vegetables a larger part of our diet
Find and test new models of making small scale organic farms financially sustainable, and beyond
Mobilise organic farmers around the world to share best practices, lobby together and become a stronger voice in the debate and our societies
