Bioapicoltura

I do the beekeeper and my time is dedicated to the care and the welfare of the bees, without being affected from the decisions of others.

“Agriculture is the only form of slavery that I accept”

Alessandro Pastorino is 52 years old, born in Genova, but he always lived in the Monferrato, he has a commercial and industrial extraction, he started working when he was really young, and in the past he had a successful company that brought him to travel all around the world to sell his product, and enlarge his experience. Raised in the countryside, he has chosen to give up on his activity to chase his biggest passion, the countryside. Only being outdoors gave him a feeling of liberty. His dream? Produce in a biological environment and of the best quality, all the products that result from the bees, but first thing first respecting the welfare of the bees.


Today he is taking care of his land, Castelletto Monferrato, in the province of Alessandria, and he’s building an apiculture company named Bioapicoltura.

Since he was young, Alessandro felt the desire of being a farmer and dedicate himself completely to the countryside, in the past he inherited a Farm of Horses from the German grandfather, but the work, the commitments and the never stopping and required travels, distracted him only momentarily from his passion… the earth. “Only one day passed outdoors could bring him joy and energy” even during the business trips, he always tried to dedicate himself some hours to the countryside.

Alessandro then stopped, he quitted his job and started living in the countryside, in a house of his family, in the nearby of Alessandria, to take care of his garden, keep some chickens, and starting to appreciate the hard work that the bees do for their colony. “At the start it was all theory, then the first awareness came, a lot of fatigue, and the first satisfactions”. But the sense of liberty that his work gives him, has no price.

I luckily feel free to mistake consciously, many friends waited for him to return.” Grudges? Never. I haven’t been dependent form the decision of other – he explains- and luckily, I feel free to mistake consciously” Many, when they can, come to visit him, “But they don’t understand completely my decision. They see it like a too extreme decision”.

The day is super full: “I Wake up very early, I feed the dogs, the chickens and the I go to work”. In the evening when Alessandro comes back home, he commits himself to write projects, answer bands, and make a way through the documents: “The bureaucracy in agriculture is a problem, and most of all we are in Italy – He smiles. – The state never helped me and in general helps nobody who wants to go back to earth. There is some funding for the newcomers for who is less than 40 years old, and opens an agriculture agency, it’s true: but it’s difficult to obtain it. It’s better to make your way by yourself, roll up your sleeves, and get enough”.

Work the earth for Alessandro means to listen it. “If you stay a year in the countryside, you notice the shades of the changes from winter to summer and from summer to winter. The mid-seasons still exist”, he explains us.

My first objective is producing by taking care of the welfare of the bees, and to gain something.

The future? Alessandro worked hard to open his little company: “My first objective is to produce by taking care of the welfare of the bees and to gain something.”, he tells us. He dreams to work in the world, and making the product of his bees known. And “I would like to help other people that dice to return to the countryside by making their transaction the less traumatic possible”. Advices? First thing first don’t act alone, find some masters that know how to ease your difficulties and give you courage. “I owe a lot to my Master and I want to thank him publicly, for sharing with me his 40 years old experience, thank you Giuseppe”.

“Then you need to find a cheap place and debt yourself with the banks the less possible, because in agriculture the gain is little, even more in the start”. And making a network: “Mutual help is difficult, but it exists even in the countryside and give warmth and colors to the days”.

One of the most beautiful memories of Alessandro has been the satisfaction during the second summer of honey production: “The plants that produce the nectar from witch the honey is obtained don’t bloom all together, I never noticed that – he tells us -. It’s a mix of colors and smells that I know only thanks to the bees that taught me it”. For now, Alessandro lives in the house of his Family, he dreams to have 500 bee’s houses, produce biological honey, Queen bees and all the resultants. Gaining? “The agriculture, even in deserted areas like the one where I live in, I think it can create gain. But for now -he concludes- the gains are absorbed by many costs”.

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