Having just planned my exit from leisurely several days in Luzern, Switzerland, I found myself contemplating the 26-hour travel journey which awaited me:
Luzern -> Milan via train
Milan -> Istanbul via air
Istanbul -> Incheon via air
Incheon -> Seoul via train
But what also awaited me — in Milan — were two young budding Italian natural farmers; a happily unscheduled stop on my trip.
Marco Antonio contacted me via the Final Straw website just days before I left Europe, telling me of his plan to build a natural farm and accompanying restaurant in a small city in Northern Italy. Being that I was on my way through the ‘neighborhood,’ we were able to connect in Milan during the few hours before my flight. The coincidence was rather amazing as Marco and his project partner Renzo were both set to fly out of Milan (to Japan) the day after me.
Although such things have seemed to occur almost as if on-cue in the past several months in relation to The Final Straw documentary, it still never ceases to amaze me how ‘coincidence’ finds its way into the path of this project.
The two will be traveling in Japan — and possibly Korea — over the next few weeks, in order to make connections with farmers and chefs who might be interested to make the move to picturesque Northern Italy. Who wouldn’t want that gig?
The movement for both natural farming and locally-focused economy is getting larger every day as young folks with motivation and means are taking themselves out of the standard equation that modern capitalist/consumerist culture has built for them, and moving back to a slightly simpler, locally-focused version of this equation; local community focus with an international awareness and connection.