L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE PAULA REYNOLDS O nce upon a time, about 600 years ago, the deep southern reaches of Calabr ia cradled the heart of Europe's silk indus- try. Nestled in the Catanzaro hills, mulberry trees flourished in the mild Mediterranean cli- mate, their leafy branches offer- ing food for legions of silk-spin- ning worms. In turn, the busy worms provided their precious thread to be spun into textile gold called silk. But as with many stories of riches and glory, things changed. Silkworm dis- ease and industrialization lead to the demise of this once vital crop, leaving it nothing more than a memory. In the late 1990s, an attempt was made to revitalize Calabrian silk production. The then-mayor of San Floro, a small village just s teps aw ay from Catanzaro, undertook a project to plant 3.000-plus mulberry trees, the one and only food of silkworms. H is hope w as to bring new opportunity to an area where silk thread production once flour- ished. Despite his forward think- ing, changes in administration and other bureaucratic issues got in the way, and the groves were eventually neglected and aban- doned. Things started looking up in 2013 when three young Cal- abrese returned to the land of their origin, diplomas in hand, in s e a r c h o f w o r k . H o w e v e r , Domenico, Miriam, and Giovan- na, like so many other young professionals, found no opportu- nity awaiting them. But rather than seek work outside of Cal- abria or even Italy, they chose to create a new paradigm. As Miri- am puts it, "We thought why abandon our land to emigrate to who knows where? Calabria is full of many resources waiting to be discovered, so we started to look at the territory with differ- ent eyes." With varied backgrounds in languages, tourism, art, sociolo- gy, and agriculture, the three combined their passions and the idea for Nido di Seta (The Silk Nest) was born. They took their c o n c e p t f o r r e v i t a l i z i n g t h e abandoned mulberry orchard, and subsequently the silkworm industry, to the municipality of San Floro. One year and a lot of r e d t a p e l a t e r , N i d o d i S e t a became a reality. The passion Domenico, Miri- am, and Giovanna hold for the land and their vision is tangible. The entire process, from main- taining the trees to production and spinning of the silk, is done completely in tune with nature. T h e y p r a c t i c e o n l y o r g a n i c methods and employ traditional hands-on techniques for silk production. Sustainability of local resources is paramount to t h e i r v i s i o n o f c r e a t i n g n e w compatible work opportunities for generations to come. Miriam shared a bit more information with L'Italo Ameri- cano: The production of silk must be very complex. How did you learn about it, especially the old, traditional methods? Gelsibachiculture (the culti- vation of mulberries, breeding of silkworms, and processing of silk) is a very complex world that requires so much wisdom, experience and determination. We had our first lessons from the local people, from the old men who once did this job. We have also traveled to Southeast Asia to enrich our skills. Once the farm became sus- tainable, Nido di Seta expand- ed to offer more, correct? Our company is based on gel- sibachiculture. However, we decided to take the path of mul- tifunctional agriculture. Our farming methods are all organic and sustainable, and we now offer didactic tourism which includes hands-on educational experiences for adults and chil- dren, all linked to the silk world. We also produce products from our organic fields that can be tasted in our restaurant, all in the form of traditional Calabrian dishes. In line with your philosophy of sustainability and reinvigo- rating traditional job opportu- nities, Nido di Seta also offers handicrafts? Yes, all of which are born thanks to traditional and meticu- lous manual work. Along with our mulberry jams and liqueurs, we also produce items including scarves, ties, tablecloths, fabrics, and even jewelry created from combining traditional Squillace ceramic with spun silk. Each item we produce is unique and preserves our fingerprints and embodies tradition and innova- tion. Our fabric dyes are made exclusively with natural ele- ments of our territory such as Tropea onion, mulberries, wal- nut husks, broom flowers. In the last few years, we have also developed an eco-printing tech- nique. If you had to sum up the philosophy of Nido di Seta, the heart of what you are doing, what would you say? We are a creating our future with one of the most fascinating stories of our country. We are resuming traditional gelsibachi- culture and its art to create 100% made in Italy products from Cal- a b r i a . W e s e e k t o m e d i a t e between the crisis of values, both social and economic, and the new needs of consumers. We also strive to create a network of young people who want to stay in their homeland and who value protection of the environment and landscape, along with local growth and sustainable develop- ment. As a part of their educational focus, Nido di Seta also hosts a small silk museum. Located on a rise overlooking the scenic San Floro hills, the museum show- cases exhibits on the life cycle of the silkworm, the history of the silk industry in Calabria, and features various garments of locally spun silk. The garments highlight the old ways of spin- ning and weaving, skills that were practically a lost art. There were only a few elderly women left who knew the secrets – and are now sharing them with eager students. Thanks to educational cooperatives such as this at Nido di Seta, old traditions are finding renewal through young hands. Ongoing plans for this vision- ary project include the construc- tion of a mechanized spinning mill. Currently, all silk produc- tion is painstakingly handspun on antique looms. The laborious process cannot keep up with the d e m a n d ; t h u s , N i d o d i S e t a hopes to build a zero-environ- mental impact mill based on those once found throughout Europe. The three entrepreneurs see the mill not only as a way to maintain their high standards of ethical production and quality, but also offer job opportunities for their fellow Calabresi. Miri- am noted that a line of wedding dresses will become an off-shoot of the mill once production can be increased. Five years from its concep- tion, Nido di Seta is the realiza- tion of a scheme that surely fits t h e s a y i n g " N e c e s s i t y i s t h e mother of invention." Its vibrant growth continues without subsi- dies, but with a wealth of pas- s i o n a t e d e t e r m i n a t i o n , h a r d p h y s i c a l l a b o r , l e a r n i n g - b y - doing and, above all, deep love by three young visionaries for their land, culture, and heritage. "We do not want to live in places where you no longer see the sky." ~ Miriam Thanks to the work and inventive of three young Calabrese, gelsibachiculture came back to Calabria. Credit: Nido di Seta Nido di Seta: a new spin on reviving Italy's ancient silk industry

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