Farm - Agricola Caprera

We are a farm. First and foremost.

At Caprera we make wine, olive oil and pasta.
Above all, we are all about farming.

To cultivate: in Latin language it literally means "caring for". 
The idea of caring for something is today almost detached from the process of producing the food we eat. And humans are increasingly more distant from the origin of life.

Farming in firstly about soil, hence bacteria, earthworms, clay, seeds, roots, green and animal manure, humus. And leaves, gems, branches. And manual work
Scissors and hoes. Tractors and tools.

Farming means acknowledging complexity, operating for balance, learning patience, accepting the limits of human action on nature, observing, letting go, doing and not doing.

The farm as an organism

Caprera is 22 hectares farmed organically on two different pieces of land, quite close to each other, yet profoundly diverse in their nature.
Just a small part of these are vineyards.
There is much wood, about 500 olive trees, arable land where we grow local varieties of wheat, beehives and a small lake being home to a very diverse wildlife.

For us, diversity is richness. The farm is an organism whose every part lives in harmony and in connection with the others.
Only in complexity there can be balance. Only in balance there can be a healthy environment for the well-being of plants, animals and humans.

Vision and method

Farming is a privilege because we are confronted daily with the complexity and the deep mystery of life.
In the shapes of plants, in the colours of insects, in every little detail revealed to our senses, lies a fragment of the living we all belong to.

The vegetal, animal and mineral reigns are all so fascinating and still largely unknown.  They do communicate, but it's not easy to understand their language.
Believing that we can master natural processes is an act of arrogance.
The human being can't control nor change the immanent laws of the world.

In front of a manly world governed by material laws, nature is the incarnation of the spirit.
The invisibile can be perceived; individuality becomes universal. Every element resonates together.
Technical and scientific knowledge are very important, but it is essential to admit their limits. Focusing on the detail is not of great use, if we lose sight of the broader picture.

With all this in mind, the only possible approach is to rely on the self-regenerating and healing capacity of nature, and its balancing potential.
In this regard, our task is to refrain as much as possible from doing. Observing, studying, preserving, doing only what is strictly essential.

The farming practice

Organic farming is the obvious choice, but it is just a first step.
It can simply be about replacing pesticides with organically certified products, but true organic farming forces the farmer to a radical shift in the approach.
For example, a vineyard is not a production facility, it is rather a complex ecosystem in a wider context.

Human action in time has brought abrupt changes and imbalances in the ecosystems.
Moving from here, we study and observe, and then take action with the primary goal of helping life grow in the small piece of land that we take care of.

What we try to do: enriching soil's vitality; favouring the settlement of insects and microorganisms; increasing the ecological diversity of our environment; maintaining as much as possible the energy of the place within the place itself.

How we try to do it: re-using the farm's organic waste; distributing biodynamic formulations, microorganisms, and other self-made preparations on the soil; planting officinal plants and hedges; limiting interventions on the soil; sowing green manure mixes; treating every parcel specifically basing on its characteristics and status.

The final goal is that of growing healthy plants that live in balance with their surroundings, and that can best express the most intimate nature of the place through their fruits.