Frank’s dream of restoring an Italian farmhouse became a reality in October 2019. A little plot, located in the green heart of Italy, Umbria, needed some love and would become our next project…or so we thought.
The property is 5,000m2 with derelict farmhouse, outbuildings and a garden of fruit and nut trees in need of care. Our goal is to; rejuvenate the old farmhouse to a modern, low-energy home; grow fruit and nuts to share with the local people; and of course, build biodiversity and soil health.
Latitude: 43 degrees north
Elevation: 340m above sea level
Climate: warm temperate
Rainfall: ~900mm
Soils: clay
After a hectic 3 weeks of cleaning up the property, enjoying the neighbors hospitality and meeting surveyors and engineers, we flew home with much excitement for our return 5 months later. A small amount of work had been contracted to a local firm which would be completed in the interim.
Fast forward one month, and the word “Coronavirus” was starting to appear in the press. After 3 months, the borders were closed across the globe, Italy was in a fight to control the pandemic, and lockdowns were the order of the day. Our flights, and our big dreams, were on hold for the foreseeable future.
Surprisingly, through all the COVID19 mayhem, the structural renovations commenced.
April 2022: After a two and half year absence from the project due to COVID19 restrictions, Fringe Farms returned to discover a farmhouse without windows, flooring, bathroom, kitchen and heating, as well as being covered in dust. The gardens are overgrown but the apple trees are blossoming and the apricots and plums are growing fruit in abundance.
