These days aren’t easy. For anyone. That’s why I decided to write down some of my thoughts and express myself in this article. It is not the usual article that you can find here. I will not speak about events, workshops or dinners that we planned for the next weeks. Like many other people we had to postpone our activities until we will understand better where the crisis triggered by the Corona Virus will lead us. We are going to face difficult times, but there is also something that counts more than ever before: being connected and staying resilient.
You are not alone.
I am living in Berlin for more than seven years, but my heart still belongs to my hometown Bergamo. A town that is suffering like never before at this moment. Hospitals, doctors and nurses are breaking down, hundreds of people died day after day in the past two weeks, the city’s cemeteries are overloaded and every single family has lost someone dear. Fortunately, my family is doing well and healthy, despite the catastrophic situation and my thoughts are most of the time with them these days.
The current situation requests a lot of sensibilities, patience and last but not least a decisive but well-thought point-of-view. In the beginning, also for me, it wasn’t easy to live every day with many worries about my family, accept all the restrictions of personal freedom with the highest sense of responsibility and notice at the same time the chances that this situation could make us aware.
No one in Bergamo is singing at the balcony. The heart of the people in Northern Italy is filled with fear and I have also friends in the age of 30 and 40 years that are undergoing intensive therapy. So this disease is not only about life or death, old or young, but also about medical treatments, health care, and solidarity. The only thing we can do, in Italy, Germany and more and more countries in this world, is to STAY AT HOME and wait until the growth curve of infections is flatten down.
Time to change gear.
How I mentioned before, despite the desperation that a lot of people feel at the moment, there is also hope and the opportunity to finally change gear. The pandemic crisis not only makes us aware of our personal limits but also the limits of our society and the capitalistic system. Now it’s our turn to create sustainable, green and social businesses that focus on local cooperations and ecological matters. Now it’s time to overcome fears and prejudices and demonstrate how resilient we can be. This crisis is not only about “lockdown” but also about the ability to adapt and to accept transformations.
It was only a few weeks ago that the first countries were forced to lock down their economy, mobility, and industrial productions, but just in these few weeks the sky over Shanghai has been blue again, in the canals of Venice has been flowing clear water and the nature around us is deep breathing again. Is it only an instant that the world stands still or will this dramatic situation introduce a transformation of our point-of-view and the crowd’s mentality? Will we restructure priorities? Will economical growth and money countless? And will sustainability and community win new value? I can’t give an answer to that, maybe no one can. But there is this seed of hope that keeps my brain and heart alive these days and I would love to pass you some of it!
My home, my farm.
Being able to work from home is a gift these days and I am more than ever happy to be able to grow my insects in my flat. My little insect farm has momentarily crickets, flour worms, super worms, wax moths and both Madagascar hissing and porcelain cockroaches. All these species are not too difficult to grow in an apartment and delicious to eat. Somehow I feel, I won‘t miss some good proteins 😉
To those of you who still can acquire all necessary materials to farm insects, I advise starting with the flour worms. They are easy to order, not require too much work and supply our body with great nutrients.
If you need any further information about insect farming at home or more advice about the basic instruments please contact me anytime!
I hope that we all will be able to find our creative ways to take the best advantage out of those weeks in quarantine. Let‘s keep in touch and exchange opinions, ideas and experiences, about the future of insect business and all the other topics you feel to speak about.
Stay home, stay strong, stay healthy, …. but above all let’s stay together despite any geographical or physical distance!
Cover Picture by Roland Pippes