It is not just a farmhouse, it is not a simple accommodation facility inspired by the principles of sustainability. Monestevole is a much broader and more complex project of ecology applied first of all to everyday life. The goal of the two founders, Alessio Giottoli and Valeria Cancian was clear right from the start: to create a sustainable community in the green heart of Italy, a few kilometers from Perugia, near the town of Umbertide.
Monestevole was born as in the fifteenth century as a lookout tower, developing over the centuries to become a peasant manor complex, inhabited until the 50s. Only about half a century later, the rebirth of Monestevole begins, thanks to the restructuring carried out by the current owners who transformed it into a farmhouse.
The radical vocation to green themes, however, leads Alessio and Valeria to want to create something more than an ecological accommodation facility. From here begins the collaboration with Tribewanted, an extremely innovative project that aims to create sustainable communities in the world, to demonstrate that a new lifestyle is possible and that with the contribution of everyone, we can change the fate of our planet. It is March 21, 2013 and the Monestevole farmhouse officially becomes one of two Tribewanted villages in the world (the other is located in Sierra Leone). A community focused onuse of renewable energy only, with water and waste recycling, phytoremediation, compost, permaculture, green building and entirely organic agriculture. Everything that takes place inside is programmed to have no harmful impacts on the environment, but above all to respect the 3 forms of sustainability: environmental, social, economic. Hence the strong respect for local traditions, such as cooking and crafts, for which training workshops for guests are organized throughout the year, held by local experts.
Monestevole intends to teach Italy that entirely sustainable communities they are also achievable in already "developed" countries, where the territory seems almost completely consumed. One goes to Monestevole, not only to spend an “out of this world” holiday, in the pure Umbrian countryside, but to live experiences, work together with the local community, discover and learn everything that is not known about sustainable lifestyle. A complete 360 ​​° experience that welcomes guests in the splendid rooms, with wooden beams and rough stones, in the typical Umbrian rural style.
The stay includes practically everything: accommodation, meals and house wine, experiences of daily work with the community and participation in projects. A place where you "live well", where the days are marked by the rhythm of nature, where the food respects the succession of the seasons and where we meet every evening, to eat together around the big table, telling stories, discovering that a sustainable future for our country exists.
