Palmoli, the 7th Dicember 2012
When I look around my place, now that the year's almost finished I feel an immense gratitude towards all the people who came through all the past months to stay and help with the ongoing works.
I write here in English to thank especially all the volonteers who came from outside Italy, even though more Italian girls and boys than usual joined me this year.
Last spring we finished building the two ferrocement water storages that I'll hope to photograph soon with their fully filled up with
water (it has not been so rainy until now).
Many people worked on it as the whole work, I must say, began even two years ago when N from UK and A from Montana began to dig in the place where we will have built the first water storage.
On February 2011 A from France with his strong enthusiasm for outdoor life finished under a snowing weather the digging, unearthing a huge pile of stones some of which had to be broken before being dug up. He gave me many advices about travelling equipment and this morning I heated my tea with the light aluminium can cooker he taught me to build out from a bier can.
This spring finally I started the building of the water storages with the help of R from Israel. It was a short but very hard work having to carry all the cement, sand and gravel and many people popped up to offer a couple of hands when I mostly needed it.
The last and huge contribution for this building was by R from Island whose chat during the hard work was of the most interesting.
When I finished the construction of the water storages May was arrived and with a gourp of 10 volonteers mainly from Italy we started the building of the earthen round house, a project I called Archintreccio, a word composed by architecture and intreccio (Italian for weaving referred to baskets). You can see more detailed informations and the updated photo gallery about it on the page Archintreccio 2012.
As the worked continued till few days ago all the volonteers who came these summer and fall put an hand in the mud and left some traces on the earthen walls. So a deep thank to M and A from Australia, Y from Iowa, A from Colorado, J from Germany, M and W from Polonia and the last gone S from Belgium.
I haven't mentioned many other people who helped in the last five years, but who also offered some precious contributions and left a great souvenir in my heart. I'm still wondering who learned more: me from you all or you from me!!
A warm hug to all of you and a hope to receive news from wherever you are in this beautiful green planet.
Francesco