I am an agroecologist, market gardener, and educator
I work at the intersection of ecosystem dynamics, soil microbiology, and pragmatic, human-scale farming. I explore ways to manage thriving, productive landscapes by mindfully engaging with natural processes—translating complex ecological observation into the daily reality of feeding a community.
My vision is to transition agriculture away from fragile, extractive models and build a future rooted in human-scale resilience, where our needs are aligned with our role in the ecosystem.
By farming, we are actively shaping the world we want to see. For me, that world is a decentralised one. I envision a future where food systems are hyper-local, where self-governing communities reclaim their sovereignty, and where we no longer require vast amounts of extractive, centralised infrastructure to live a deeply connected life.
Food is not a mere commodity, nor is farming a process that culminates in a simple transaction between producer and consumer. As a primary need, food is a powerful connector of many aspects of life. In this vision, farming becomes a practice that nearly everybody in the community is involved in, in one way or another. This vision guides my action and my teaching.
Today, too many regenerative farms are forced to chase the illusions of standardisation and mechanisation. They often end up as poor imitations of conventional systems, making only marginal improvements without challenging the dysfunctional structures they operate within.
I believe in a different measure of success: maximising the long-term health of the land and the well-being of the community by implementing closed-loop processes inspired by nature.
My work is dedicated to catalysing profound systemic change. Whether I am helping a self-reliant community reclaim absolute ownership over their food production, or guiding a commercial market garden to achieve true economic viability by cutting its dependence on fragile external inputs, my mission is the same. I aim to design systems that return sovereignty to the people, exploring techniques that bring together the efficiency of modern science with the deep connection between human hands and the landscape.
Ultimately, my work is driven by a deeper inquiry: What does it mean for a human being to fulfil its ecological role, to integrate seamlessly into the fabric of nature—to be truly wild?
A farm is not mainly about production; it is first and foremost a highly complex, living system where humans interact with the landscape to sustain themselves and the processes they depend on.
Managing farms successfully requires more than just hard work and agronomic knowledge—it requires passionate and thorough observation.
Drawing from my past as a research scientist, I use the hard science of ecosystem dynamics, plant physiology, and soil microbiology to solve practical farming problems from a holistic perspective.
However, this scientific rigor is always accompanied by the joy of experimenting with creative solutions, in the field and beyond.
For the projects I consult on and the students I teach, this blend of analytical and creative approaches means starting from a solid, deep understanding of how to build resilient, highly productive systems, then implementing effective, pragmatic solutions —while acknowledging, enjoying, and exploring the mysterious side of nature.
I started my journey in agriculture out of sheer passion, coming from a background in Science. Here are some of the milestones of my professional path:
2023 | OrtoForesta: Relocated to Florence, Italy, to co-found a regenerative syntropic market garden, integrating successional agroforestry with high-yield vegetable production.
2022 | Pionieri: Started the podcast with the goal of sharing the stories and technical innovations of small-scale farmers across Italy
2020 | Living Soil Garden: Co-founded a biointensive, no-dig market garden in Exeter, UK. We ran a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and taught courses on regenerative horticulture and soil fertility.
2017 | Education: Worked as a researcher and educator in Exeter, collaborating on projects that connected children to outdoor woodland education.
2014 -2017 | Horticulture & Volunteering: Studied Horticulture at the Royal Horticultural Society in Bristol, while completing my PhD in Biophysics, wwoofing and volunteering on organic farms in the UK.
2013 | Research: Travelled between Italy, France, the USA and the UK while doing research in biophysics.