WHAT IS THE INSIEME ASSOCIATION?
WELL, IT TELLS THE STORY OF THE ALTA LANGA AREA
OF LONG DISTANCE ADOPTION OF COWS
MANURE THAT IS NEEDED TO REINVIGORATE VINES
AND ARTISTS WHO ARE ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH.
The Insieme group has come up with yet another
initiative which is noteworthy to add to those deriving
from wine sales.
In these creative but stormy financial times they have decided to
keep their feet well on the ground and
invest in cows which will pay "dividends" in manure. It
sounds surreal but it is a dream come true. It is a
first instance of "sponsoring" Piedmontese breed cattle.
Not far away, just about ten kilometres or so but
the scenario changes. From the rich Barolo hills to the harsh and
solitary Alta Langa where some days
the «'l marin» wind blows from the Riviera.
It all happened at "Sale San Giovanni", a handful of houses
at an altitude of 700 metres with 190
residents. The Germone family has lived here since the 1400s and
they will never leave. They didn't even
give up when dad Armando, a proud member of the alpine corps, passed
away at the age of 68 leaving
his meadows. It was 1998. He left his widow, Giuseppina, Aunt Rosa
and his boys, Enrico and
Costantino. There was a new home and the newly built stable which
soon became empty.
The cattle raising crisis also meant this. After leaving school
many young people don't want a life without a single day's vacation,
it's too tough, and then if a head of cattle gets sick and those "cattlemen",
who are always right, bring down prices. It's better to go and work
elsewhere. That's what happened. Costantino found a job at Nucetto,
Enrico got a position as an accountant in a department store in
Ceva where he met Gian Piero Avagnina. Both are of country stock
and wanted to escape hard work and financial uncertainty. They had
worked together for 15 years when they became acquainted with the
Insieme group. Some time ago they met Elio Altare and other producers
of Insieme. Farmers who do not have any stables but badly need manure
to give their vineyards vigour. They don't want contamination from
antibiotics which is found in manure from industrial stables. Thus
the group which was already well into active aid started up a new
project, that is to help Enrico and Gianpiero raise Piedmontese
cattle again. A number of people worked on the idea. The Slow Food
association assured links with prime quality butcheries. So the
farm «Anastasia» was set up, taking its name from the beautiful
14th century church with precious frescoes which dominates the area.
The wine producers decided to contribute to buying livestock about
thirty head between bulls and calves. There are 30 hectares of pasture
where the cattle can graze in spring.
Sponsorship is open to everyone (a calf costs around € 1,500) and
anyone who wants to play a part in re-establishing this virtuous
circle between farming in the Alta Langa and wine production. The
stable reopened in 2006 and can house up to 100 head of cattle.
The farm will also produce cheese and meat ready for sale in family-size
packs. The first two calves, which are mother and grandmother to
all the rest, have been called «Onesta» (honest) e «Speranza» (hope).
Insieme has organized meetings and events to promote the project.
Thousands of spectators gathered in Alba one evening last summer
to attend the Cochi and Renato charity show, a duo well-known for
their biting and surreal humour and the "Tre Lilu" who
represent the best of Piedmontese irony in music. Renato Pozzetto
is one of the personalities who has "adopted a cow" in
that very special stable. The project is growing in that quiet area
of the Langa region and once again cattle raised on hay can be heard
bellowing in the meadows. Another small but real miracle performed
by Insieme.
