Ethical enterprise

Enterprise means ‘undertaking’, having initiative. In Tertulia we want to be active as people, starting with the regeneration and recovery of this hamlet that was abandoned for 30 years before we came here. But it is even more important for us to do ‘ethical’ business, that is, always asking ourselves whether or not what we are doing is in line with ethical principles and what we can do to improve on them. This means that our choices are not guided by the sole idea of maximising economic profit, but we care about more than one aspect at the same time and we want all of them to be enhanced by our ‘doing business’.

We recommend reading the text by Ethan Roland and Gregory Landua called ‘Regenerative Enterprise‘. It invites us to design our enterprises to regenerate 8 forms of capital at the same time, and not to continuously extract from one or more forms to accumulate only material and financial capital (e.g. you can accumulate a lot of money by extracting all the biological capital of a field, but if you don’t take care to regenerate it soon you won’t be able to accumulate financial capital either – and money can’t be eaten). The 8 forms of capital are: social, intellectual, biological, spiritual, experiential, financial, material and cultural

Definition of sustainability: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (Brundtland report 1987 UN)

For us, sustainability has many faces: environmental, economic (supporting virtuous lifestyles, not indefinite growth…), social, of the person. Today, perhaps it is no longer enough to be sustainable but to have a positive impact (regenerate). These are the ethics of permaculture, which give us a clear direction of what to do.

earth care

We believe that caring for our planet and its living inhabitants is one of the values that should guide our choices and actions, even in simple things, in everyday actions when we can take care and adopt sustainable behaviour.

people care

Caring for oneself and for others is a priority for us, that essential ingredient for the harmony we so enjoy at Tertulia. Personal care is also solidarity and hospitality, but not only that…

future care

We cannot help but seek social justice, equity, cooperation. A little for everyone, always, is a slogan we like. We want to be part of an ecosystem, a living system, made of encounters, networks, exchange.

Some choices and measures adopted

  • electricity power is supplied entirely from renewable sources (we are members of the Ènostra cooperative). We try to consume during the hours of light when it is produced by the 5 kWh photovoltaic system that is installed on the roof of the farmhouse;
  • heating and hot water are produced in winter with a high-efficiency wood boiler where we burn wood from our forest and in summer with efficient systems such as solar thermal panels and heat pumps;
  • the gray water (kitchen, showers, sinks) is purified by the phytodepuration system to then be reused in the flushing thanks to the dual network we have created (and finally purified with phytoremediation);
  • the raw materials of the structures and furnishings are as natural as possible: we have chosen stones, wood, bamboo, cotton, iron;
  • the detergents and soaps we use have a very low environmental impact: bought from small / medium-sized producers in Tuscany that use selected raw materials mainly from plants not of synthetic and animal origin and not tested on animals;
  • the products we use in the kitchen are mostly harvested in the garden (grown with regenerative agriculture and carbon farming), or grow spontaneously in the fields or on trees, or purchased with the G.A.S. (Solidarity Purchase Group) according to its principles or in any case biological and respectful of men and nature;
  • all resources are used wisely, giving priority to reuse, efficient use, offering a second life and (ultimately) recycling. Most of the objects not made of natural materials, such as the plastic chairs, present in Tertulia are the result of the recovery of objects thrown away although almost new. We make them longer-lasting by spreading the polluting effects of their production over time. Towards Zero Waste …

To strive for serenity I need to see harmony to find harmony I need to see peaceful faces
when I encounter troubled eyes I wonder what I can do.

Sharing bits of life is a good way to find solutions where someone feels lacks. It is necessary to make some space. It is necessary to be strong when in this space you have the sensation of trampling, keeping this presence while listening opens up possibilities where at times you saw just a few.

Taking care is first of all offering active listening and constancy; to cure is subsequently to trust and, by having concrete experiences, to build together new images for the future; maintaining a caring relationship is believing in the gestures and dreams of those who take their path, without losing contact with them.

The intensity of this exchange moves us and makes us new every today and every tomorrow.

Giorgia