Umbria self guided biking vacation, Italy

Planet

1) We carefully select local producers for our itineraries or for tastings, prioritizing small farms linked to regional agricultural networks like Campagna Amica. We introduce our guests to these producers through guided farm visits and wine tastings. By taking our guests directly to the source, we support the local rural economy and promote short supply chains, which minimizes transport-related environmental impacts while offering an authentic taste of the region.
2) We support a local NGO, TAMAT, that is working on a project to develop sustainable mobility (H2power project) and we buy their gadgets to fund their activities. They are working, with other partners, on developing a demonstrator vehicle that is using as fuel a variable mixture of methane and hydrogen, that can be produced from renewable energy sources. They also organize awareness raising events for citizens and students about sustainable development and mobility and about the solution to preserve our environment.

People

1) We give information to our guests to visit some local art and crafts workshops that maintains alive old techniques. In 2010 an association of craftsmen “Associazione botteghe artigiane del centro storico” was set up in Perugia to promote the historic, artistic and cultural heritage of the city and make people aware about Umbria cultural heritage. The association promotes the project “ArtiCity” to support the local handicraft, among them : the Studio Moretti Caselli that still uses a characteristic ancient technique to produce stained glasses, the Giuditta Brozzetti Atelier, that produces woven fabrics with ancient techniques, and Anna Barola’s workshop “Art and craftsmanship” that produces handmade traditional embroidery
2) We give information to our guests to visit and buy souvenirs and presents from a social cooperative, RELEGART, that employ people with physical and psychological disabilities to support their social inclusion and to give them the chance of a real job. They work leather and paper to bind books, and to produce home accessories and notebooks. Most of the products are handmade. The cooperative is not only a place where people with disabilities can work but it’s also a place where they can use their competences and skills in producing artistic objects in a friendly environment.