Welcome to our message, welcome to Il Giardino della Gioia!

We are a sort of eco-village with the strong aim of reconnecting with nature and promoting a willingness to work on one's own development and awakening of consciousness. We made all possible efforts in our community so that this process is supported by an atmosphere of genuine community and meeting. A atmosphere which fosters the manifestation, expression and growth of peace, joy and trust in a completely natural way.

We cultivate a lifestyle that respects nature, natural life cycles and all forms of human and non-human beings. It is part of a larger vision of inner growth and spiritual fulfilment achieved through a path of meditation and self-reflection, in an atmosphere of light and joy, in the simplicity of daily actions. At the heart of our project is the exploration and practice of inner work towards realisation and union with one's higher self. Liberation from the many forms of attachments, dependencies and conditioning imposed on human beings by society are also fundamental goals.

At the moment we are still keeping an eye open for like-minded people who want to fulfil a dream that could become part of and fit into our common dream. The eco-village wants to be filled with life. Everything is actually already there and is just waiting for you and your energy to dance along.

A short story…

The first founding stone of the eco-village Il Giardino della Gioia (Eng: The Garden of Joy) was lay down in March 2011. It was the result of a dream of Radice (now Padma), who felt the presence of a community spirit in these lands, indeed soon enough other people started feeling called upon this beautiful place surrounded by ancient olive trees in the beautiful landscape of the Gargano in Puglia. The dream of Padma consisted in the desire to return to nature, to live a flowing natural life in a genuine community and to have a place and a energy-setting that would resonate and facilitate the search, for and within, a deeper inner dimension. In this way she kindled the fire for the neighbourhood people to try out a new way of life characterised by unconditional respect for the environment and all living beings.

The project was initially founded by Diego, Emanuele and Padma's cousin, Loredana. Later, other people joined, including Antonio, Anna Vittorio, Silvia, Blu, Nuvola, Drago, Regina and many others.

In the first year, the synergetic gardens were created, mainly thanks to the help and advice of Antonio De Falco. Moreover the main structures were built: Kitchen, bathrooms, showers, compost toilets, laundry, circus and yurts for accommodation.

Our initial set-up was mainly inspired by the values of the Rainbow Family and other examples of ecological, communal and spiritual experiences in which Radice and Diego themselves have participated.

In November 2012, a inner working process called “Crisalide” was initiated, the scope of it being to delve into the soul of the group, to illuminate its darker sides and to put down on paper the shared principles, goals and ambitions in an atmosphere of deep meditation and sharing.

After an exciting and immature beginning with no clearly defined principles or direction, it was time to relaunch the project. This time, however, enriched with the acquired knowledge and wisdom, defined common principles and more tools for building and creative activities. In fact, the new group has created an association for volunteering, new contacts as well as collaborations with different Apulian realities and local institutions. It has also organised various events and is always open to free discussions.

Thanks to our experience with the so-called "Community Building", we have deeply realised the very concrete importance of the need to clearly express all our emotions in order to understand each other underneath to surface of what seems and our blockages to flow with what we really sense in ourselves. After this the work with the so called "Empathic Communication" has led to a better and clearer communication of the needs and wishes of each individual and how to meet them in a pleasant and respectful way.

Each year the community takes some time and space exclusively to continue working on weaving the inner yet unmanifested matrix of our original vision and how it evolved time after time.

Other paths which are regularly practised in our community and which helped and help us in many ways are: meditation, self-healing techniques, the search for a healthy and conscious diet and the study of permaculture. We feel we are really chiselling out the material shape of our inner project, exploring new ways to self-care and living truly together and for one another.

From Permaculture & Love of Nature

From the very beginning on, we have tried to follow the principles of permaculture. These include for us carefully observing the environment before we intervene in it, creating an integrated design with a minimum of energy input, and the overall goal of enriching the ecosystem.

Among other things, we have designed and built two synergistic vegetable gardens, two composting toilets, a constructed wetland and a rainwater harvesting system on the roofs of existing buildings. In all these projects, we have used local natural materials as much as possible. We have also planted around 200 fruit trees to transform the olive monoculture into a rich and diverse edible garden.

Composting toilets are the kind of toilets we have introduced in our eco-village to avoid polluting the environment and water. They are a valuable technology to collect human faeces and convert them into useful compost, which can then be used as fertiliser through a process of aerobic digestion.

The last house unit we realised was built entirely with recycled materials and at no cost. We used straw bundles and bales, which were then plastered with unburnt clay. Inside the house is a rocket mass cooker whose hot vapours are directed into tubes that heat the bottom of the bed.

This is the third rocket mass cooker we have been able to realise in our community. For us, it means another step forward on the road to real (and not just advertising-) sustainability. It uses about 90 % less wood than a conventional stove and at the same time produces 40 % less CO2 emissions. Since there are no forests in the area, we believe this is the ideal answer to our needs.

The TartaBagno (engl. turtle bath) was our first building in which the combination of art and permaculture manifested itself. Thanks to the support of L.A.N. (Natural Architecture Laboratory) we were able to build the entire structure with local natural materials: Arundo donax reeds, straw, lime and clay. Inside, the walls of the showers are made of tedalact, while a rocket stove heats the water and also heats the rest of the room through a system of pipes installed on the floor.

We regularly organise gatherings to clean the neighbouring beaches, trying to involve the local population as well, and celebrate afterwards with music and food.

About twice a week we bake with mother dough and ancient grains. Our clay oven was built with the precious help of Ferdinando Renzetti and Pino Massaru. It provides us with many delicacies such as taralli, frise, pizza, bread and cakes (also gluten-free).

Our cuisine is completely vegetarian/vegan and conscious, influenced by years of research in the world of macrobiotics.

And if you wondering now, yes, we gladly accept financial or other kind of gifts! Like for instance:

Organic food (whole grains, pulses, ancient flour, quality vegetables and fruits) as well as seeds, fruit trees, etc. are always welcome.

If you are travelling from northern Italy and have the opportunity to stop near Moscufo, please feel free to drop by and pick up some of our much needed products - just let us know!

Here a list of materials we tend to be in need of in the last time:

• Cisterns and containers to collect rainwater and other water.
• Methane cars and vans/jeeps.
• Cheap or alternative stoves.
• Laptop computers, portable Bluetooth speakers.
• Presses for pressing food, cooking pots (10/50 l and others), ceramic knives, kitchen utensils.
• Tools and equipment for olive harvesting (nets, ladders, rakes, etc.), especially electric harvesters.
• Battery-powered chain saws and hand tools for pruning.
• 12 V car batteries, 12 V and 120 amp batteries or higher.
• Photovoltaic panels, torches, 12 V LED strips, anything powered by renewable energy.
• Beeswax.
• Bow saw blades, cordless screwdrivers, wheelbarrows, shovels and digging tools. And other ecological inventions and sustainable tools

Are you interested in an alternative and freer life outside the mainstream capitalist and hedonistic system or are you tired of it? Are you interested in this and/or similar communities? Do you want to join them? Then please support our network activity with a donation of your choice and sign up for the more active group on Telegram and you will get all the details you need to get started and more: https://t.me/albo_ie