The Farm School Arrives at Spannocchia
6 February 2007
The 2007 farm season has kicked into high gear at Spannocchia! A group of 8 apprentices and their leader Patrick arrived yesterday from The Farm School (Practical Farm Training) in Athol, Massachusetts. The apprentices have been very busy learning the ins and outs of farming since beginning their year long apprenticeship in October 2006. Now, four months into their program, they will spend the next three weeks at Spannocchia experiencing the Tuscan countryside, learning about the different things we produce here such as olive oil, wine and salumi. We are putting them right to work, doing tasks such as feeding and caring for our rare-breed heritage farm animals and building fences to keep the animals in and the wild boar out! They will also be helping us butcher pigs and make salumi and fresh meats, prune the olive trees, prepare beds in the garden, and make Vin Santo (a traditional sweet wine from this region). We have planned several fieldtrips to nearby farms and cities and apprentices will also have a chance to travel on their own on weekends. We are very happy to have 9 extra sets of hands to help us get ready for the quickly approaching spring. A presto!