Bioagritourism Dulcamara

Who we are and where we’re going

We are a small cooperative wishing to live with what the Earth gives us, create autonomously our work, eat healthy food, seek satisfaction in what we do as individuals and as a group, choose and experiment sustainable life-styles respectful of the environment and of people. We decided not to stay “on top of a mountain” but to be near to a city and to bet also on the economic sustainability of the project. We believe in diversity, biological and cultural, as a value that guarantees our future. We exclude meat from our menus for a healthier diet and to safeguard the environment. We try to educate for sentiments respectful of the Earth and it’s inhabitants. We offer a hospitality that is not only consumerism, but is also reciprocity and participation. With sobriety and our contradictions we are trying to realize a more human economy.

On the basis of the above philosophy we run an organic agritourism, integrating agriculture with other complementary activities such as gardening and landscape recovery, biodiversity  conservation, local commercialization of our farm products, social and cultural activities, environmental education, bio-vegetarian restaurant, holidays and visits on the farm.

Our farm has a dimension of 43 hectares, 13 of which are cultivated organically and certified by ICEA. We apply a mixed cultivation method favouring biodiversity and producing "a bit of everything". Our products are used on the farm, either cooked at the restaurant or transformed in our laboratory and then sold at our farm shop or directly to consumers at local farmer’s markets.
The crops we cultivate are cereals (grain, barley, and spelt), vegetables, fruit trees (apricots, cherries, and old varieties of apples and pears). We practice crop rotation and ploughing in, while the defence against diseases is based mainly on prevention, increasing biodiversity, soil fertility, and seeking crop resistance.

Biogardening and landscape recovery

Integrated with farming activities, we offer our expertise in organic farming and environmental management applied to gardening, for the private and public sector. Our major client is the Regional Park Gessi Bolognesi and Calanchi dell'Abbadessa for which we maintain some footpaths and rest areas. We also have skills and know-how in landscape recovery, landslide consolidation and maintenance of woods. All interventions in urban parks are made according to ecological principles, using only local species of plants and using a more “natural approach” to ornamental green areas.

We are convinced that there cannot be a sustainable way of producing food without implementing and protecting biodiversity. Today we are facing one of the worst losses in history of agricultural diversity. From the beginning of the nineteenth century 85% of crop varieties and many animal races have disappeared.  To contrast this biological erosion we have decided to actively inform, educate and create awareness on the risks of loosing this immense evolutionary heritage.  Furthermore, we are reproducing some local animal races at risk of extinction and have created a footpath along which almost 80 different varieties of fruit trees have been planted.

Local commercialization of our organic products

Inside our farm we have a shop in which a wide assortment of organic products can be bought, all coming from our garden or from other local producers: seasonal vegetables and fruits, marmalades, vegetable sauces, cheese, wine, cereals, bread, fruit juices, olive oil, and some fair trade products. We are trying to create a close relationship between producers and consumers, guaranteeing freshness, quality and an equal price.

For those who cannot reach our shop by car there are two other possibilities: i)    going to the farmer’s market, every Tuesday from 6 to 9 p.m., hosted by the social-cultural centre VAG61 in Via Paolo Fabbri 110, Bologna;
ii)    ordering every week a box of fresh products and collecting it in two specific points in Bologna, from 6 to 6.40 p.m. in Largo Lercaro and from 7 to 7.40 p.m. in Via Vezza.

Social activities

The social sector is a small but important activity for all of us. Working and relating with disabled persons is a great opportunity to enrich our daily experience. We offer a friendly working environment to people with physical or mental disabilities or simply with communication problems. Having to do with crops, animals, nature and manual activities is good for the mind and is potentially therapeutic for anyone. It loosens stress and improves health. We are available to discuss solutions and activities especially for persons with mental or relational problems.

School farm

The farm becomes a green laboratory for schools to comprehend nature, principles of ecology, organic farming and the connection between production and consumption of food. Learning by doing is the method applied. Running on grass bare foot, dirtying your hands with the earth, exploring woods, feeding animals, smelling flowers, listening to silence. These are emotions which a child should not miss and an organic farm is a great opportunity where to experience them. We encourage sensorial, emotional, manual and playing activities, individually or in groups, at close contact with nature and animals. We have many proposals for schools and classes of all ages which may include introductive activities in class, followed by one or more days of experiences on the farm. Furthermore, it is possible to sleep on the farm practicing a more deep approach with country-life.
Our educational activities are programmed with and sponsored by the regional Park Gessi Bolognesi and Calanchi dell’Abbadessa and we are part of the regional network of School Farms.

Bio-vegetarian restaurant

The restaurant activity has more than 10 years experience in vegetarian cuisine and uses 100% organic products, paying great attention to freshness, seasons and specializing in recipes with wild and cultivated herbs. Our menu offers vegetarian dishes coming from the local tradition and in general from the Mediterranean area.
The restaurant is open from march to november (Friday to Sunday), from December to February (only Sundays) and on new year’s eve.

Holidays and visits on the farm

Hospitality on our farm is informal and simple, favouring a more direct and open relation, however always respectful with visitors. We are part of a bio-ecological agritorurism network certified by ICEA and A.I.T.R. (the Italian Association for a Responsible Tourism), whose main principles are to foster a sustainable fruition of local social, cultural and natural resources.
The main building, where our guests are accommodated, has been restructured using natural materials. We have also adopted ecological solutions for furniture, energy and recycling.
The farm house has 7 bedrooms (2-4 beds each) and 2 halls for working groups. Close to the house and under the shade of the trees there is a small camping site for 4-5 tents.  Being inside a Regional Park we are surrounded by woods and cultivated fields and it is possible to visit the surroundings walking along footpaths, cycling, or horse-riding. For those who want to idle there are beautiful rest areas in the shade or in a panoramic viewpoint.