Written By OEs, Adam & Megan
The Carpe Terra program began their journey in the stunning region of Umbria, the green heart of Italy. This could not have been a more perfect beginning to the environmental focus of our semester, staying at the impressive family-run farm of Adolfo and Darcy, who have tenderly loved and cultivated this land for over 20 years.
Students were welcomed with a traditional Italian meal of homemade polenta and garden-fresh tomato sauce accompanied with farm-to-table cheese from Annika the cow. They awoke to a misty morning, where early risers had a chance to harvest wine grapes, and the morning sun broke through the clouds to a wonderful first day of learning, topped off by a double rainbow!
Each consecutive day has been full of an abundance of knowledge, organic fruits and veggies, authentic regional dishes, and stimulating learning experiences. Combined with Carpe’s orientation focused on travel tidbits, policies, expectations, and team-building activities, additional topics of the week have focused on composting, agroforestry, biodiversity, and foraging through the family’s dozens of acres.
It’s been a week full of unforgettable moments of hiking to a 13th century Catholic church to view ancient frescoes, grape harvesting and crushing, milking Annika the cow for making mozzarella pizza, and baking with Adolfo’s 82-year old Italian mother! She taught students the traditional way of rolling out dough for an authentically Umbrian fogliata. Our students have indulged in a wealth of knowledge and sunk their teeth into the juiciest figs they’ve ever tasted, while scratching the surface of just the beginning of what’s to come for our culinary and environmental adventure through Italy and Greece!
We are incredibly grateful to Adolfo’s and Darcy’s lovely family and furry friends for sharing their wealth of knowledge and giving us a truly authentic Italian experience! Onwards to Rome!
