What do we leave our children?
We hear much lately that our children’s generation will be
the first whose quality of life will be lower than the previous. This is increasingly the case in the US and with
the struggles now in Italy, that is the trajectory that is underway.
In relative terms, life expectancy in the US is headed
down(we sit at 26th overall worldwide), yet we spend more on
healthcare than the rest of the world combined.
Unemployment amongst the Italian youth is roughly 40%. The recent study on education showed that we
lag behind much of the world. So, as a
man of certain age, I begin to think about what we have done.
We have borrowed and consumed our way to something that is
really not that attractive. And now, we
read about our Millennial generation are the most depressed generation
ever. Our kids have little coping skills
to deal with the complexity that we find ourselves in.
So what does that have to do with our village? Some may think we are only restoring Veglio
so we can wander in the vineyard in our later years like some Corleone on the
hideout. But that is not the case. We believe there are lessons to be taught,
that must be taught if we are to do our job as the generation that is now
looking over the horizon.
Our “curriculum” will take many forms but here are the thoughts
that guide us…
Family, community and
the table must be at the center of society. We have found ourselves dispersed away from
our traditional communities and families.
We were taught that success meant following your job no matter the cost. And the fabric that held together families
together unraveled especially in the face of divorce and aging parents.
And while we grasp at online communities and work as
replacements, there is no substitute for families around the table sharing
stories, challenges and hopes.
We dream of our village as a place where family can always
gather. To spend time working together,
telling stories, sharing sadness and joy but also coming together. We also home that this “family” extends to
our friends who share the appreciation for the simple joy of a good meal, hard
work and good conversation.
The connection to the
earth is essential to grounding us. I
read once somewhere that you are supposed to stand in bare feet in the dirt at
least 12 minutes per day. Somehow that
is somehow reconnecting us to mother earth.
Well, I am not sure about that but I do know that surrounding yourself
with trees and rocks and gardens with rich, clean soil is soul and body
enriching experience.
We are now acutely aware of the benefits of local
agriculture, clean and slow food and its preparation. We have expanded our original land in Veglio to
include new areas of farmland and also forest.
With the help of willing college students, we hope to begin the process
of reclaiming the fields that have been overgrown over the past 50 years.
 |
| Yes, those are cows on the bridge |
The forest will give us the wood that will be used to fuel
all of the heat for our home including hot water. We will have some emergency electric heat and
propane, but as designed there are two large fireplaces, three wood stoves, the
cooking stove that also provides hot water and then a wood fired hot water heater.
And we hope that time in the Village learning to garden and
respect the land will translate back home.
More food on your own patch of land, maybe a few chickens and resisting
the urge for the overprocessed.
Our ancestors are with
us to teach us. We don’t like to
talk about death in our modern culture.
We worship new, young and fast.
But that completely ignores all of the love, hard work and learnings
that have come before us. In Veglio, we
have likely 30 generations of our family history. Our hope is that we can celebrate and learn
from them but also reconsider how we are able to learn from the cultures of all
parts of our family tree. The Yupik
Eskimo, the Portuguese, the Irish, the
Arabic.
We will surround ourselves with pictures and furniture and
recipes and crafts of our extended family and the ancestors that are
somewhere. And we hope that the stories
and lessons will somehow be preserved.
 |
| Chouinard at Work |
Learning to work with
our hands in resourceful ways gives creative problem solving. We
have forgotten how to think about the practical, physical parts of our
lives. How to measure, fit, draw, lift,
twist and cut. We have deferred much of
those things in search for “real work”.
With the loss of those skills inside and outside our houses, we have
lost some of our imagination.
One of the most widely recognized business leader is the CEO
of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard. He
started his company with his hands in the blacksmith shop and today it is a
$600 million firm. He insists on each of
his managers spending time in the shop to think about the physical
process. How to design and improve and
not just how to find cheaper, faster ways.
The remoteness of our village and the ancient approach to
the construction gives us an incredible opportunity to relearn practical
skills. We envision a summer school
where these crafts can be taught, both for people interested in making a career
of them but also for our family and other people who may want to incorporate
them into everyday life.s
 |
| Finally, after 700 years...A SEPTIC TANK |
Live simply to thrive
in a complex world. We do live in
very difficult, complex times. The
predictable corporate path is no longer predictable and our children’s
generation is struggling to make sense of a world where the old rules are
broken. I don’t know the answers but I do
know saddling yourself with debt, divorce and jobs that choke the creativity
and flexibility set you up for the trap.
Complex times require agility and the ability to adapt. Packing a huge burden, both financially and
relationally is very difficult. So
once again, we hope that a life of growing some of your own food, building with your own hands and putting
family and friends at the middle not the edge will be our most important
inheritance to leave.
