The day was organised by the not-for-profit foundation 'Seminare il futuro' (sew the seeds of the future) and was supported by organic supermarket group, Naturasi, and Cuore Bio, the organisation for independent organic shops.  The aim of 'Seminare il futuro' is that seeds should remain free of GM, free to be re-used by farmers and free of financial speculation.  It is very important for organic farming that these type of seeds should be freely available and the foundation works on research into ancient grains and seeds suitable for organic and biodynamic agriculture.  Before the days of intensive monoculture farming in Italy, there used to be 200 different varieties of rice.  Now there are only 4.

In 1971 Gino Girolomoni became mayor of Isola del Piano and started his life's work to promote the benefits of ancient and organic farming methods.  He attracted interest from all over Italy and set up an agricultural co-op in 1977.  He provided much-needed work for the local farmers and many came back to their abandoned homes to take up farming again.  Younger people also became involved, helping to revive the local economy.  Today the Gino Girolomini Co-op has 70 employees and although Gino himself died in 2012, his two sons and their wives are still involved. Gino is remembered as one of Italy's organic pioneers and the success of the Girolomoni and Montebello brands are proof of this today.

After we had sown our seeds for the future, we were taken on a tour of the pasta making factory.  Even though these are organic pastas with many made from ancient grains, the sophistication and technical capabilities of the factory are certainly cutting edge.  A staggering 80% of their pastas are exported with the number one country being France due to the significant rise in organic demand as well as the US.  They even export to Japan!

The factory has its own wind turbine and runs entirely on renewable energy with a modern wood-chip boiler which provides all the hot water for manufacturing the pasta.

At the heart of the Girolomoni estate is an ancient monastery from the 11th century which has been lovingly restored by the family and now houses an agricultural museum with farming implements and information about traditional farming methods.  We were also allowed to see the one room where Gino lived with his family when they first started out and today hosts various meetings and workshops.  Lastly, we were taken to the very old church, which was built by the order of monks who first set up the monastery.

Further down the hills you will find the charming 'La Locanda' which is run by one of Gino's daughter-in-laws and offers delicious organic cuisine.  Unfortunately, we tried to book too late so we had to eat our humble picnic in the garden with mouth-watering aromas emanating from the kitchens!

This was a special day for us - being part of the organic movement here in Italy.  This is a country known for its agriculture and world-renowned food and Le Marche is still a very agricultural area with many farmers choosing to follow traditional, organic methods.  Where we live, we see the farmers around us every day and the hard work they put into the small fields which are still abundant in this part of Le Marche.