@Serendipity-gj2me It's so sad to see animals like that. They had shade and water, but they didn't enjoy it. Maybe one day we could get some of them and provide better life 🙏
@@SomethingLikeThis1 Thank you my heart breaks for all the animals who depend entirely on us for survival and I pray that the rains come asap, because you are honest hard working people who have put everything into your land.
I live in Malta, which is hot here like Sicily and here we don't have rivers or lakes but we have riversosmosis system to convert sea water to potable water. All Sicilians should unite and push the Italian government to make some kind of riversosmosis systems. This is a problem which Sicily has been going through for years because the Italian government doesn't invest enough in the South, when the South has so much to offer, especially for agricultural reasons. Sicily is surrounded by seawater like Malta so if it works here, it should work there. I know what you are passing through because we were there two months ago and in the centre of Sicily in Mid May the heat was unbearable and in Agrigento they had no water already. Keep strong guys and keep following your dreams. You have come such a long way so far.
Thank you for these beautiful encouragement words ❤️ It is rather sad to see Sicily being abandoned by the government. They are talking about building bridges (which won't happen anyway) while people are left without water. We want to make a difference and keep agriculture going. We might stop for next year or two, but it doesn't mean we will stop experimenting. It is too large of the project to do a desalination plant for an abandoned island that nobody cares. I think Sicilian people need to wake up and start doing something about it! We hope to visit Malta one day! Best wishes from Sicily ❤️
@@SomethingLikeThis1 Malta is an environmental disaster...crazy building boom everywhere... They sure love the concrete...removing old tree's in Mosta's square. Constant apartment building while the beautiful old buildings fall into direpair...manipulating the property market...yes reverse osmosis but malta is a country destroying itself with greed.
❤ You are not delusional! You are an example to many. As our planet heats-up it is critical that we all consider ways to support our small farmers. Pirmyn!
I am located in Colorado, USA, and watched your channel for the first time yesterday. Many climate based challenges around the world! The past few years have brought more and more wild fires to western USA both in the mountains but also on the plains. In my opinion, you both seem to have good personalities and communicate well, and provide an interesting TH-cam channel. I would encourage you to continue to explore developing your channel into becoming an extra income stream for your homestead farm. I would highly recommend that in addition to your showing the work on your farm that you tour and video other small farms in your region interviewing the proprietors letting them show and explain the farming or gardening techniques that have been successful for them. You might also spend the summer months touring small farms in other regions or countries for additional TH-cam channel content. The benefits might include developing a TH-cam income stream, exposure to ideas to enhance your own farm as well as developing a network of friends who are like-minded. Good luck, and keep thinking "out of the box"
Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate a good analysis of our channel. We want to do so many things, and we are exploding with ideas. But obviously, at this moment, we are just trying to keep afloat, and that's a bit limiting. But if our channel grows, we definitely want to diversify and explore so many different things. And we love meeting like-minded people and learning from them. It's still minority, those people who are trying to do something different. But we need to find them. And we will. Thank you for being here and giving good advice!
I live in Mallorca, Spain. With more and more experience I realized that I should focus my plantings during September October and November (not March April and May) because the summers are just too brutal, dry and hot, i.e. it's not the way things are in continental Europe. Of course that means one should focus on different plants to grow like all of the brassicas, onions, garlic, celery, lettuce, beets etc. If you really want to take on the summer planting, you may want to try on sunken beds or level beds (raised beds dry out quickly) and you should make sure that you capture every single drop of rain that falls on your roof and patio (which can be a hell of a lot and all of the sudden) and direct it into a large and deep hole, which you may already have or you may need to raise funds to create, on order to stop it all from flowing to sea. Pretty much all plants respond much better to rainwater and bore wells tend to be highly mineralized water, salty, which plants and trees are not as tolerant of. I'm not sure about your rain water catchment situation, but I can tell you that it's not a gamble to maximize rain water catchment.
I am so impressed by your knowledge and ideas about increasing diversity and productivity of your land. Worst case scenario you travel with your TH-cam channel in the hot summers of Sicily. Costa Rica is in rainy season when you are in summer, which means turtles at our beaches. My husband being 100% Italian, 50% Sicilian and 50% Romano would love you to visit our property here in paradise. F#$% the haters, ignore the comments that are not positive. The work you have done is unbelievable on that property. Keep it up, one day I will come buy some fresh organic produce. Stay strong, you have a huge community that just needs to find you...we are coming.
@@kimberlypuravida5690 Thank you! We are full of ideas! We hope one day you can come and visit us 😊 We hear so many beautiful things about Costa Rica and it's change to more sustainable life. We would love to visit it one day! It's really wonderful to have supporters like you ❤️
I’m originally from Croatia, but become a nomad citizen in search of better quality of life after the Cold War and civil war in former Yugoslavia. I’m very nostalgic and homesick. Same as you two, my husband and I were always planning to go back home and do organic farming. We are simply discouraged due to the same plaque you spoke about- CORRUPTION 😢 It’s a cancer of society! I feel your frustration and I know your struggles. Commenting here just to contribute in whatever small way I can towards your TH-cam success 🙏❤️
I have to say that you two are the most positive and passionate which comes through very strongly. Keep up with what your heart tells you even through the toughest times. ❤
@binhngo4964 Our hearts are still full of belief and heads of ideas. We just want to make change, and we believe we can. And now we have this wonderful community that supports us ❤️ What can we ask for more. We are blessed 🙌
❤ „The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.“ - Sarah Ban Breathnach ❤ Keep your head up, guys! Sending you much love and hope from Germany.
I remember telling you, way back in spring, how envious I was of your beautiful vegetable garden. So sorry about the drought you are suffering, but I am glad that you decided to stay and work your magic. I am sure you will come up with solutions that will work for you and in the end you will be able to enjoy your little paradise.
We are not even too bad because we can buy water. But some people are even more limited with their daily needs. We have seen that some people get their water opened each 16 days. Think about it. It might change in a few years, but so far, it's a rather scary situation here.
Maybe, if you have enough land you could sell timeshares to a camping spot on your land for your fans on TH-cam. This on the condition that it only for if and when the draught ends. This could help raise money. Hope you can stay, and the draught breaks. 🙏
@maxnemo1643 To start camping place, you need to be rich and insane patience. Here, simple things like this are so complicated to do. But we are thinking of some experiences we could offer. We will try to resist as much as possible. Thank you for sharing some ideas !
To me you seem like very smart people who are learning about your land and the environmental impact. I'm not surprised that you are facing challenges, but I'm sure that you will find solutions. It is wonderful seeing people doing something for their community and for the planet! ❤
@NyreeAlana So kind of you ❤️ Thank you for this heart-warming message! That's true. We are still learning, and we want to find solutions. Hopefully we will have enough strength for it 💪
Unfortunately, even olives are getting some fungal diseases and olives don't look like there be much oil in them. Everything is affected big time by this drought.
@@SomethingLikeThis1 so sorry to hear that... check your options. I mean it would be wonderful if you could find a way to stay there and make it work. But of course your energy, time and money is limited. I just hope that it all will work out for you in the end and you both will be happy!
@samposampo9432 Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. We ate trying to refocus on autumn now and see what it brings to us. Let's hope we will get some rain 🌧 🙏
We too are dreamers from Denmark. We grow so much but the problem her is not so much access to water. Our problem is people do not value Our work/products, so it is very hard to sell. People are complesant with going to supermarkets where you can buy all what you need. But we, like you, dont give up. We believe soon what we are doing is going to be value. Untill the we just enjoy growing stuff and eating good nutrious food.
Hello, dreamers! We understand your situation better than you think. It's taken us so much time to get credibility, and even now, there are many people who don't understand who we are and our ethics. We have our Facebook page where we educate and talk about our produce, show garden. Social media presence is very important. Then we started to work with agricultural school to teach the younger generation about different ways of farming. So, you have to find ways to gain credibility. I would focus on mothers with young children and try to educate them about why your food is superior when it comes to children. Organise a few workshops for a small charge or even free. And of course, just keep dreaming and keep pushing, and the right people slowly will start coming ❤️
Hello from Ireland - just found your channel - I really admire the life you have made and your perseverance - I’m sending you my prayers and hopefully some of our excessive rainfall ! ❤
Hi, I'm not a regular viewer. I found your video from last week and it was my first time seeing you, it was by accident but I really felt for your troubles. So I'm glad you did a follow-up video. This all looks so hard, and it's sad to see all the work you've done be made difficult by nature. I wish you success, no matter what direction you go. You choose to share your lives, and dreams with the world; beautiful. I hope you can find a path forward that is beneficial to yourselves and your lives. In many ways it seems a youtube audience is like a garden; you grow and cultivate and sometimes get results you didn't expect.
What a wonderful message. We really appreciate your kind words! It's been very rewarding to see that one video could change our lives and bring such a wonderful community of people ❤️ We really love people taking their time to send us messages of hope and encouragement. Thank you for being here!
Recently discovered you channel, and you are really doing a great, and important job! ❤even if difficult! Going to Sicily for the first time this winter myself to look for property, and grateful to find a channel like yours that actually provide honest, and useful information about life there.❤
Thankyou for your report and sharing . Its tuf times i am in utah usa the hottest summer ive experienced . The whole western usa is dry and lotts of forest and grass fires . Take care and be safe .
You both are a great inspiration. You are so dedicated to nourishing the earth. You have chosen a hard road but so wonderful. You are agents of change. i will be sharing your link with many friends. You must keep going. Wishing you the best of luck. We need you and your quest. ❤
Thank you so much! It's so wonderful to see so many supportive people here! We feel blessed 🙌 We want to be change to this world even if we are very little. Thank you for sharing this video with your friends as well! We are so grateful for supporters like you. ❤️
Thank you for your drive and inspiration. My girlfriend and I travelled through Italy earlier this year to search for a plot of land. We visited many places, but we were especially drawn to Sicily. I'm gonna go again in 2 weeks, and will also visit Sicily. To search for land again, and to be honest: to experience how it would be to live in that weather ;-) Thank you for emphasizing the importance of having your own water source. It was high on my wishlist, but you made it even more important. Thanks a lot, stay strong; and who knows, we might be neighbours someday! ;-)
Hi there. We are happy we could help you prioritise water supply for your future home. Check our other video called : Authentic Sicily. We drive through beautiful area which was so much greener than this side. Check Nebrodi area. The climate was different and the views were spectacular and you can find rather cheap places there. We fell in love with that area! You might like it too! Or maybe you will be happier on our side of the land close to Palermo. Good luck with your house hunting! And thank you for support words❤️
@@SomethingLikeThis1 Thanks so much for your reply. I'm a millennial, but I just learned how to look up reactions on comments in youtube haha. So funny that you mentioned that area. While reading your comment too late, I just came back from Sicily this week, and I actually put down an offer for a house in that region (Rocca di Capri Leone) so fingers crossed! You are right, I was very surprised how green that area is even in this time of year... I went down all the way to the south as well, and I was pretty much driving through a desert on my way there compared to the north.. In one of the last videos, I shared a link of some dutch guys who found a durable way of turning seawater into drinking water. I couldn't find that comment now, so I'm just gonna share it here again just in case. As most of these systems use loads of energy and often even chemicals, as said, these guys found a much better way that does the same but only on solar energy. As you have salt water and sun in abundance, maybe this could be something to look into with other farmers, the water company you're working with, and/or the municipality? drinkseawater.com/projects/ Wishing you all the best! Lourens
I'm so glad you're inspired to keep going! Working with the university sounds like a fantastic idea. Your other plans sound great as well. I will be here to follow along and hopefully visit some day. Stay strong!
Thank you so much!! We have so many different ideas! And we just keep coming up with more 😆 and people giving us advice are so helpful too. We really hope to make it work and then welcome people here 🙏 Thank you for being a great supporter. We might not be able to answer all the messages but we read all of them ❤️
You are both very genuine people, which comes across in the videos and I think it will lead to some success on TH-cam. I will continue to watch and wish you the best
Your program is very educational for everyone who has a home and a hard, will appreciate to learn about agriculture for self growth home vegetable gardens and utube should be a success for everyone…. We will pray for your success and hopefully people take advantage of learning how to grow crops instead of just buying them.
Stay on course and follow you hearts! Don't resort to chemicals and keep your lovely farm organic. The right answer is out there for you. I admire your efforts and dedication. Take care.
Thank you so much dor your wordw of encouragement!💓 We will never put any chemicals into our plants. We love our piece of land too much to polute it. Let's hope autumn will be a bit more generous with rain 🌧 😊
I ❤ you guys… I just started watching your channel. Stay strong, you both are soooo inspirational to everyone… never give up.. you are on your way God Bless
I am not a farmer, just a little home grown produce for my own use. In South Australia we know how precious water is. I wish you both good health and continued passion for what you do.
@@roddehoedt8254 Thank you so much ❤️ It seems that so many places in the world are starting to realise how precious our water is becoming. Warm wishes from Sicily!
Your garden looks so organized and green. Of course, I believe you when you say your garden is suffering from a drought. I think you are very sincere and straight forward people with an honesty which makes you very attractive to me. Your mission of bringing fresh food to Sicily is commendable. I believe olive trees are drought resistant. Still, your heart is in good, organic food. Bless you. Hope your you tube channel grows. I'm sure it will. I followed one channel that started out with only a couple of hundred followers and now is 5,000. I feel this will be the same with you. Hang in there.
Hey guys, first and foremost thank you for the awesome video's, inspiring....è il mio sogno vivere in Italia un giorno...so that makes it even more inspiring. I recently went through all your video's and I would say just watch your own video on "authentic sicily: what tourists don't see" this warmth of community and just in my opinion Italians being very very friendly...(I only have experience with small cities/communities, not the big cities) is somehting you won't find anywhere else in Europe. Don't give up...non mollare! In bocca al lupo 🐺 Grtz from Belgium, Steven
Hi, Steve! We are happy you are enjoying our videos and especially of our visit to the other side of the island. We would love to do more similar video. People in smaller towns are wonderful for sure! We hope one day your dream will come true and you will find your perfect location in Italy. And maybe even visit us! Warm wishes from Sicily!
Feel sorry for you but I’m glad your staying. Have you considered getting large water storage tanks , they fill up with rain in the cooler months .also use your washing water ,using safe detergents . Mulch around your plants and add shade cloths. Im sure you’ve thought of all that ! Good luck xx
You are fortunate to have roads either side of your property. You can with minimal work and expense create spoon drains to funnel water off the road and on to your property to be held in ponds or below ground tanks. I have a massive dam on my property, which always fills rapidly using a spoon drain. Every drop of rain that falls you want to keep on your property to soak in and not allow it to run off taking your property's soil fertility with it.
That sounds interesting! We will do more investigation on it. We definitely need to do something with that area as it is losing its fertility just like that. Thank you for this interesting advice 👍
I follow all your videos and what you are doing is wonderful, I just hope you won't give up. I read the comment from Malta and that is what I was also thinking about, water desalination powered by the sun. You have lots of sea water and lots of sun and I know that the project doesn't have to be so huge and expensive, there are all kinds of possibilities like a desalination station in a container. May be it would be possible to unite farmers together to have something like that you could all use together? Or ask for help and finance from the authorities? May be an investor? Farmers in Sicily should be heard and not only farmers, all the residents of the island suffer from lack of water. Today here are solutions and you don't have to depend on the rain or the lake.
You will always get negative people. Keep doing your best and ignore negative comments. I'm sure things will get better for you. One day at a time. Don't give up. Sending prayers and support 🙏 ❤️ 😊
I appreciate the journey your on and to share the ups and downs ….. I feel your pain …. We drilled a 300’ in sandy soil and found barley any water. $10000 cdn dollars wasted. ,,….Second well was a little different i decided to pray to the Lord and was shown in a dream where to drill on the land. We down 120’ or 36’meters and found great quality sweet water. At 2 gallons per minute not great but its Fabulous tasting and fills our 8000 litre cistern have installed a drip irrigation system saving gallon of precious water time and money and time irrigat to preserve the water. The drip saves a lot of water volume
First thing I ask is, Do Not Give Up!. Second thing, if you're interested, we would love to have a chat with you online. We would like to raise awareness of your project, your needs etc and hopefully this will attract more support for what you're doing. Don't give up.😊
I visited quite a few reservoirs last winter and they were already mostly empty. That's what happens when it barely rains at all during the wet season (winter), besides the unseasonably high temperatures (20+ in February) meant little to no snow in the mountains outside of Etna, and more evaporation. This is exceptional tho. Yes summer will always be extremely dry, but the reservoirs have more than enough water to get us through and ensure farmers with all the water they need, this is about as bad as it's ever gotten. You're very likely to do much better next summer. What area are you in?
As far as the plan with eggs I think it has good potential, I have a dozen chickens and even at a small scale it offers me the opportunity to sell excess volumes. When I met with ASL they told me that free ranging, non GMO fed chicken eggs should be sold for no less than 50c a piece. I have built two types of mobile chicken coops and I'd be happy to share my experiences if you were thinking of mobile coops. I was also able to significantly reduce the cost of acquiring chickens that I'd be happy to share.
Please do share your experience. We have some chickens, but during this heat, they are just trying to survive like us. They have nice shady areas, but the amount of eggs is reduced to a couple a day. We are thinking of building mobile chicken coops. We need them to be quite light as well. The cost of chickens is a big one. As prices went up significantly. We would be really happy to hear your advice! Thank you so much
@@SomethingLikeThis1 i went with justin rhodes designs, one on wheels and one traditional coop you drag (salatin style). It has worked wonderfully so far with no predator losses. I purchased 1 year old hens from the market. They took a minute to get back into laying but have performed well for very low cost (3.5 euro each).
Allan savory Ted talk and Joel salatin regenerative farming seems interesting to improve soil quality and retaining water when it falls uis essential, manure from animals, goats or sheep and making goat cheese and milk to provide you good source of protein. Yr experience can then help others. You have a lot of people who would love to come visit you, with tent or trailer or caravan . Could help you with ideas and help with tasks .❤
Brigitta and Nino your video, before this one, popped up yesterday and after watching it I subscribed immediatley. I felt so sad for you and what you are facing but now after this video I have cheered up and feel positive that you will get through this. I have just now watched your very first video and, no matter how long it takes, I will watch every single one in your playlist - your journey is inspiring and so interesting. You are a beautiful couple. Send you loads of good wishes from New Zealand. 😊
Hello New Zealand 👋 It's overwhelming to read all these beautiful messages of support from all over the world ❤️ It means a lot to know that people care. We hope we still can make it work and be able to live our simple lives. Please continue to watch our videos, and we will try to make them a bit more positive. Warm wishes from Sicily ❤️
My 2nd year living in Sicily and my property does have a well. This years it dropped to 1.5 meters from 7 meters. I had to buy water for the first time. I will capture rain water this winter and fill several IBC water tanks with the rain water. I do not farm but have several Olive, fruit trees and palms so watering is a must. Best of luck and never give up.
We live in Southern Spain and are going through drought and shortage of water also. Due to lack of sufficient rain, we are restricted to irrigating our garden only once a day for a maximum of one hour. Because of this, our garden has gone completely brown and yellow. There is only enough water for people to use inside their homes. Hopefully, governments in Southern Europe will come up with quick solutions to the water shortage. Otherwise, all of us living in the south will be in trouble.
We are sorry to hear you are affected by this, too. And so sorry for your garden. So many people from different parts of the world are affected by it while others are suffering from floods. It is rather scary to hear all these stories. However, the Italian government doesn't care about Sicily. So, most likely, nothing will change. We hope that at least some other countries will try to do something. Let's hope we will all get some needed rain.
I noticed the banks of the river have no vegetation. This signifies a sick river. Probably due to over grazing and removal by humans. Soil erosion is also a consequence of the lack of vegetation around the river. Once erosion begins, when the rain falls it does not soak into the land, it runs off over a wide area and much of it is lost to evaporation. There are things you can do to help the water situation. Certain types of earthworks could help you. Bare patches on your land should be covered with mulch. In the last 6 month, scientists have discovered the light even without heat causes evaporation, so its even more important that you keep the ground covered with vegetation. A well is only a solutiion until that water runs dry. Then what? Good water management on your land is key. The entire community needs to buy into water management practices.
Guys this is definitely your path and your ideas are great. And as you say if you can do what you love and earn extra cash from TH-cam why not! Ciao ragazzi
Ciao! We will try this autumn season and will see where it takes us ❤️ We really don't want to give up! We are trying every possibility! We hope you had a wonderful birthday celebration , Mia 🎂 🎈
All the empty/unused land in Sicily should be planted trees..the soil gets now dry too fast. Forests create rain, you can see it checking out the map that shows which part of Sicily get's most of rain annually- it's Etna area and northern side of Etna, parco dei Nebrodi. Sadly, most of the Sicily forests have been destroyed because of agriculture. We are paying a high price now, but it can still be fixed.
Great to see you in a better frame of mind, you both smart and I am sure through research, suggestions, tips from people who follow you, you will find ways to improve things, For sure people now ,every where are paying more attention to eat better, healthier and are willing to pay extra money for that, I live in the countryside, 25 miles from New York city , in my county they have farmer's market ,many, stores selling organic products. In your video you mention having chickens, that's a great idea, eggs here are sold by the dozen at the supermarket, going from 2 dollars, regulars , 3 to 4 cage free, around 5-6 dollars organic and the most expensive, pasture free organic 6 to 9 dollars. I enjoy seein in your channel different place, Sicily is a beautiful place to visit, I know it well, I was born there and lived there for 23 years , few miles from Taormina , I am sure many viewers would love to see places like Noto , Piazza Armerina , Siracusa, Ortigia, Cefalu' etc. Enjoyed a lot the video with you and your mother in law making tomato sauce, show us some great sicilian dishes, curious to see your caponata and parmigiana di melanzane ...tanti saluti e buona fortuna , new subscriber here
Thanks to all the people supporting us, we feel inspired again! People are so kind and helpful! Places like usa understand what organic food means. Here people used to good quality food and don't understand how bad it is getting at worrying rate. We do have chickens, but not enough as people want to buy more and more eggs. We hope it will be a great addition to our farm. We will hope to travel more. But now we are unable to do it because of how often we need to water our garden. When it gets quieter, we will be doing it for sure! And of course there will be some cooking but we are leaving it for winter months mostly as we have more time for cooking. And will definitely involve my mother in law and even more relatives! Thank you for such a wonderful message! 💗
How much to drill a well?? Dont give up!! Start a crowdfunding! I was in Sicilia some 6-7 years ago on holiday. I travelling by train from Catania to Palermo and the land then was already verry dry (yellow)
Hello Brigitte,Nino - i found by chance your channel. Very exciting!!! We came to Sicily two times and stayed near Palermo, near Carini - we loved it!!! We stayed in the countryside surrounded by hills and natural beauty. We visited all over from Segesta to Trapani to Messina...loved it all. I admire you both and can only say keep working.I am old now....we work on an allotment in rainy cold Stockport....but we love the earth and the beauty of growing things - we have our allotment for 14 years and my wife works it like a full time job (I still work at my full time job in an office) - WE KNOW HOW HARD WORK GROWING things are - in UK we have pests, slugs galore, birds, badgers foxes etc....but still we just adapt. We also love the sky - in our allotment it hasever changing cloud formations - even with the often grey skies of UK...I have built fruit cages, we used pallettes for borders - reclaimed wood...moving paving slabs etc. and lots of sweat and back ache.I really identify with your work and effort! I have dreamed of living in an environment like Sicily - those cicades...so familiar (I used to live in Taiwan - so I do know heat as well!). I would say more but now I also have to do things....I wish you success on your farm. Since we try to grow fruit and vegetables - we understand and apprecate what farming is ! We use no chemicals by the way - eggshells, banana skins to bay leaves concoctions....Alisentirci ragazzi!
@mauroaurelio6534 Thank you for taking the time to write this beautiful message. Sicily is a beautiful place, and it seems you enjoyed it. We miss rainy England! My husband just adores rainy days. It's wonderful that you and your wife love gardening. It's wonderful to eat what you produce and keep you healthy all that workout. If you are able, you should try getting a couple of ducks. They are the best to protect your garden for slugs! We want to get some, too! We wish you another year of successful gardening. Warm regards to you and your wife! Keep yourselves healthy ❤️
I love your passion! Keep that passion and perseverance. This is global warming. I wish lots of water for the people of Sicily. I hope that there’s a resolution very soon for you guys 🙏🏽. Thank you for explaining things so eloquently and providing historical details. It’s very interesting. Btw love those donkeys ❤️ and what a nice father in law to give them some food.
Great video. On some gardeners videos they claim they save water with the dripping system to create good roots not leaves and save water. Last week you mentioned having purchased so I suggest you to try maybe on a section. Good luck & take care😊
Are you going to run for office you are very knowledgeable ? What are the farmers getting together to make change? It’s true just planting trees builds ecosystem and ultimately draws rain. I watch a conservation farmer in Sicily. I really enjoy. We are moving there.
Hot summers are nothing out of ordinary in the Mediterranian, even more so on the islands, where every drop of water is a commodity. Dry scenery is what you see in every part of this beautiful maritime area during summer months. Don't let this harsh island dwelling reality scare you away. People have endured it for millenia, but I believe it takes some time to accept it and adapt to it. Stay strong.
@ursa4212 Mediterranea countries have always been hot and humid. But so many people wrote to us that this summer is so much worse. Unfortunately, I didn't film a conversation with my in-laws but they said that the last 5 years have been without summer rains and it wasn't like this before. It used to rain during winters, but this year was no rain either. Of course, it could be loads of rain this winter, and all would be different next year. We talked to farmers around us, who did it for much longer, and they said its the worst summer yet. Some have problems with lenons, some with tomatoes and so on. It's just scary how the food supply chain is just galling apart 😔 We are small, and we don't have much to lose. So we will keep working on it until we run out of options. Thank you for your support ❤️
Ignore the negative comments, some peoples brains are just built that way. Sometimes the universe gives challenges so you can see other opportunities. Keep going!
Hello guys, everyone goes and buys a house in Italy and makes people dream about everything. You are very honest and speak about the real life in south of Italy. I personally think without life problems, inventions would not exist. There is nothing better than dreaming, withouth dreaming great things would not happen in life. I am sure that you will sort this problem. One thing I can only suggest, maybe it would be worth it to work for a few months in a northern country to collect the money to dig a well. I wish you all the best and please just listen to your gut feeling!
Challenges like those you are facing, only help you to become more knowledgable and resilient. I live in Western Australia, where we have the problem of rain falling only, in winter so 40 years ago I planted a drylands food forest garden based on Permaculture principles. I watered for the first 3 years only. The food forest became self sustaining after that, requiring no watering or fertilising only chop and drop pruning and harvesting the crop and planting annual summer crops under the canopy, My deciduous fruit, nut, timber and animal fodder trees and shrubs, some native and some exotic species used as pioneers to help protect those trees that you want to succeed, but also create soil fertility and recharge underground aquifers. You can do surface capture of water at low cost. See Africa, India, Jordan etc using swales and low stone or check dams which slows water and spreads it to where you want it. If you become an expert in low tech amelioration of drylands you potentially have a demonstration site and can earn a good income from teaching groups.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! It's all so interesting. We have been watching so many permaculture videos but it's difficult because of the way our land is and as we have loads of olive trees already. My husband has been thinking of how to implement swales but it seems rather tricky but we are still trying to work out something. But we are continuing doing our research and hopefully we will come with a few new solutions. I love hearing people building their food forests! That's so wonderful! Yours sounds like you did a wonderful job! We want to implement some exotic fruit trees that people are starting to cultivate here too. Keep following us and see what we are doing and maybe you can keep providing us with more useful advice! Thank you so much!
@@SomethingLikeThis1 Let me assure you, that it doesn't matter what your land looks like, it can be remediated. Just look at what is happening with the Re-greening the Deserts projects around the world. If water can be brought back to the Sahara, Gobi and other deserts, it can be brought back to your property too. People cannot feel but inspired by the villagers in India and Africa, who have changed their desert landscapes, thus taking themselves out of poverty. I just thank God there are young people like you and Nino who are willing to throw themselves into solving these problems. More young people need to get involved, if they want to have a future at all. Half moon dams are a wonderful tool for greening the deserts. They are a simple, low tech system of water harvesting. Key words for your research "land rehydration"
You might try planting fast growing trees such as Acacia pycnantha as a shade species for your fruit trees. When your fruit trees are established you can cut down the Acacias for winter fuel or timber.
Thank you, that's a nice idea. We have planted one, and it's growing rather well. So we might plant a few more to give a bit of shade as they grow really fast.
Rain catchment, cooperative farmers share water supplement costs, drought resistant crops? Figure out the mulch yes but water from underneath plant earlier spring fall winter crops I don’t know anything but California no one is supposed to water the grass but my landlady does at 5 am sprinklers go off almost every day. Europe € grant for the well chip in with neighbors. Wish we could help big fire in Northern California right now.
We feel blessed already to have all these people subscribing and commenting. We don't really want to ask for too much! But if you want you can become our Patreon ❤️
Would it be possible to "Crowd Fund" you both a deep water well? Are there Geo-studies of the water aquifers in your area of your beautiful farm? Also is there a rainy season in the Fall or Spring where you could Crowd Fund Large Plastic blister systems that catch rain when it comes and falls on. your rooftops and you catch the water and build drip irrigation watering systems with Crowd Funded money's ???
Bless your father in law for feeding those poor animals. My heart breaks for them.
@Serendipity-gj2me It's so sad to see animals like that. They had shade and water, but they didn't enjoy it. Maybe one day we could get some of them and provide better life 🙏
@@SomethingLikeThis1 Thank you my heart breaks for all the animals who depend entirely on us for survival and I pray that the rains come asap, because you are honest hard working people who have put everything into your land.
Your father in law feeding the donkeys was so good-hearted.
I live in Malta, which is hot here like Sicily and here we don't have rivers or lakes but we have riversosmosis system to convert sea water to potable water. All Sicilians should unite and push the Italian government to make some kind of riversosmosis systems. This is a problem which Sicily has been going through for years because the Italian government doesn't invest enough in the South, when the South has so much to offer, especially for agricultural reasons. Sicily is surrounded by seawater like Malta so if it works here, it should work there. I know what you are passing through because we were there two months ago and in the centre of Sicily in Mid May the heat was unbearable and in Agrigento they had no water already. Keep strong guys and keep following your dreams. You have come such a long way so far.
That’s fab that Malta uses reverse osmosis to make use of the sea water!
Thank you for these beautiful encouragement words ❤️ It is rather sad to see Sicily being abandoned by the government. They are talking about building bridges (which won't happen anyway) while people are left without water. We want to make a difference and keep agriculture going. We might stop for next year or two, but it doesn't mean we will stop experimenting. It is too large of the project to do a desalination plant for an abandoned island that nobody cares. I think Sicilian people need to wake up and start doing something about it!
We hope to visit Malta one day! Best wishes from Sicily ❤️
@@SomethingLikeThis1 let me know if you visit Malta. Will gladly show you around or give you some tips. Best of luck for your enterprise.
Love and greetings from a german biologist and gardener.
@@SomethingLikeThis1 Malta is an environmental disaster...crazy building boom everywhere... They sure love the concrete...removing old tree's in Mosta's square. Constant apartment building while the beautiful old buildings fall into direpair...manipulating the property market...yes reverse osmosis but malta is a country destroying itself with greed.
❤ You are not delusional! You are an example to many. As our planet heats-up it is critical that we all consider ways to support our small farmers. Pirmyn!
Ačiū! We will keep going 💪 And hopefully one day it will get better 🙏
I am located in Colorado, USA, and watched your channel for the first time yesterday. Many climate based challenges around the world! The past few years have brought more and more wild fires to western USA both in the mountains but also on the plains. In my opinion, you both seem to have good personalities and communicate well, and provide an interesting TH-cam channel. I would encourage you to continue to explore developing your channel into becoming an extra income stream for your homestead farm. I would highly recommend that in addition to your showing the work on your farm that you tour and video other small farms in your region interviewing the proprietors letting them show and explain the farming or gardening techniques that have been successful for them. You might also spend the summer months touring small farms in other regions or countries for additional TH-cam channel content. The benefits might include developing a TH-cam income stream, exposure to ideas to enhance your own farm as well as developing a network of friends who are like-minded.
Good luck, and keep thinking "out of the box"
Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate a good analysis of our channel. We want to do so many things, and we are exploding with ideas. But obviously, at this moment, we are just trying to keep afloat, and that's a bit limiting. But if our channel grows, we definitely want to diversify and explore so many different things. And we love meeting like-minded people and learning from them. It's still minority, those people who are trying to do something different. But we need to find them. And we will.
Thank you for being here and giving good advice!
Great idea
Food forest is a great idea!
I live in Mallorca, Spain. With more and more experience I realized that I should focus my plantings during September October and November (not March April and May) because the summers are just too brutal, dry and hot, i.e. it's not the way things are in continental Europe. Of course that means one should focus on different plants to grow like all of the brassicas, onions, garlic, celery, lettuce, beets etc. If you really want to take on the summer planting, you may want to try on sunken beds or level beds (raised beds dry out quickly) and you should make sure that you capture every single drop of rain that falls on your roof and patio (which can be a hell of a lot and all of the sudden) and direct it into a large and deep hole, which you may already have or you may need to raise funds to create, on order to stop it all from flowing to sea. Pretty much all plants respond much better to rainwater and bore wells tend to be highly mineralized water, salty, which plants and trees are not as tolerant of. I'm not sure about your rain water catchment situation, but I can tell you that it's not a gamble to maximize rain water catchment.
Hang in there! Pray for a wet winter. I live in the Arizona desert and water is precious.
I am so impressed by your knowledge and ideas about increasing diversity and productivity of your land.
Worst case scenario you travel with your TH-cam channel in the hot summers of Sicily.
Costa Rica is in rainy season when you are in summer, which means turtles at our beaches.
My husband being 100% Italian, 50% Sicilian and 50% Romano would love you to visit our property here in paradise.
F#$% the haters, ignore the comments that are not positive. The work you have done is unbelievable on that property. Keep it up, one day I will come buy some fresh organic produce.
Stay strong, you have a huge community that just needs to find you...we are coming.
@@kimberlypuravida5690 Thank you! We are full of ideas! We hope one day you can come and visit us 😊
We hear so many beautiful things about Costa Rica and it's change to more sustainable life. We would love to visit it one day! It's really wonderful to have supporters like you ❤️
I’m originally from Croatia, but become a nomad citizen in search of better quality of life after the Cold War and civil war in former Yugoslavia.
I’m very nostalgic and homesick. Same as you two, my husband and I were always planning to go back home and do organic farming.
We are simply discouraged due to the same plaque you spoke about- CORRUPTION 😢
It’s a cancer of society!
I feel your frustration and I know your struggles.
Commenting here just to contribute in whatever small way I can towards your TH-cam success 🙏❤️
BRAVO, GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR WORK, STAY STRONG AND FREE
I have to say that you two are the most positive and passionate which comes through very strongly. Keep up with what your heart tells you even through the toughest times. ❤
@binhngo4964 Our hearts are still full of belief and heads of ideas. We just want to make change, and we believe we can. And now we have this wonderful community that supports us ❤️ What can we ask for more. We are blessed 🙌
'standing strong with our two feet on the soil'...love it
Thank you 😊
I'm 100% with you, with the tree garden, your philosophy, your lifestyle. I'm also with you on Patreon. Best wishes from East Tyrol
Thank you so much for all your support ❤️ We hope we can make it all work out! Warm wishes from Sicily 🌞
❤ „The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.“
- Sarah Ban Breathnach ❤ Keep your head up, guys! Sending you much love and hope from Germany.
I remember telling you, way back in spring, how envious I was of your beautiful vegetable garden.
So sorry about the drought you are suffering, but I am glad that you decided to stay and work your magic. I am sure you will come up with solutions that will work for you and in the end you will be able to enjoy your little paradise.
It was beautiful, but now our hearts are broken, just looking at it. But we are refocusing on our autumn season 💪 Thank you for supporting us ❤️
Don't give up! You have Passion and this is a massive driver! 💚
We will try our best! We have plenty of passion and belief in what we do! We hope it's enough 🙏
Go help
The world needs dreamers who care about sustainable growing of healthy food.
We agree on that 100% ❤️
Mulbery trees for silk production maybe?
Thanks for sharing your experience. I guess I won`t be moving to Sicily. Seems like a struggle to me
and too much uncertainty.
We are not even too bad because we can buy water. But some people are even more limited with their daily needs. We have seen that some people get their water opened each 16 days. Think about it. It might change in a few years, but so far, it's a rather scary situation here.
Hi guys, I’m discovering your channel. I just want to tell you that you have my support and I hope things will be better for you very soon ❤
Your both lovely and kind . Thank you for feeding the donkeys ❤
Awww... thank you for your kind words ❤️
The least we all can do is support both of you. You guys are amazing people
Maybe, if you have enough land you could sell timeshares to a camping spot on your land for your fans on TH-cam. This on the condition that it only for if and when the draught ends. This could help raise money. Hope you can stay, and the draught breaks. 🙏
@maxnemo1643 To start camping place, you need to be rich and insane patience. Here, simple things like this are so complicated to do. But we are thinking of some experiences we could offer. We will try to resist as much as possible. Thank you for sharing some ideas !
19:28 don’t lose hope!!! ❤
To me you seem like very smart people who are learning about your land and the environmental impact. I'm not surprised that you are facing challenges, but I'm sure that you will find solutions. It is wonderful seeing people doing something for their community and for the planet! ❤
@NyreeAlana So kind of you ❤️ Thank you for this heart-warming message! That's true. We are still learning, and we want to find solutions. Hopefully we will have enough strength for it 💪
I am happy to hear that you decided to continue with your project. Bravo!
Thank you! 😊 We will try for another season and see how it goes. We really don't want to give up!
You are such fine and humble people ! May God bless each and every of your initiatives and projects.
Thank you so much for your kind words ❤️
Bravi e coraggiosi! Forza, sono sicura che trovate le soluzioni giusti👍. Ma so bene che contro siccita' e duro combattere.
The olive trees seem to do great!
Unfortunately, even olives are getting some fungal diseases and olives don't look like there be much oil in them. Everything is affected big time by this drought.
@@SomethingLikeThis1 so sorry to hear that... check your options. I mean it would be wonderful if you could find a way to stay there and make it work. But of course your energy, time and money is limited. I just hope that it all will work out for you in the end and you both will be happy!
@samposampo9432 Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. We ate trying to refocus on autumn now and see what it brings to us. Let's hope we will get some rain 🌧 🙏
@@SomethingLikeThis1 I will send you some rain from Switzerland...😉💦
@samposampo9432 Yes, please!
We too are dreamers from Denmark. We grow so much but the problem her is not so much access to water. Our problem is people do not value Our work/products, so it is very hard to sell. People are complesant with going to supermarkets where you can buy all what you need. But we, like you, dont give up. We believe soon what we are doing is going to be value. Untill the we just enjoy growing stuff and eating good nutrious food.
Hello, dreamers! We understand your situation better than you think. It's taken us so much time to get credibility, and even now, there are many people who don't understand who we are and our ethics. We have our Facebook page where we educate and talk about our produce, show garden. Social media presence is very important. Then we started to work with agricultural school to teach the younger generation about different ways of farming. So, you have to find ways to gain credibility. I would focus on mothers with young children and try to educate them about why your food is superior when it comes to children. Organise a few workshops for a small charge or even free. And of course, just keep dreaming and keep pushing, and the right people slowly will start coming ❤️
You ideas are great and we always support you guys
Great explanation and description.
Never give up on a dream. There is always a solution.
Thank you! We will try to survive this summer and then refocus on autumn/winter months.
Hello from Ireland - just found your channel - I really admire the life you have made and your perseverance - I’m sending you my prayers and hopefully some of our excessive rainfall ! ❤
Thank you so much! We would love a few of your rainy days, we would send you some sunshine. We appreciate your prayers and kind words.
Hi, I'm not a regular viewer. I found your video from last week and it was my first time seeing you, it was by accident but I really felt for your troubles. So I'm glad you did a follow-up video.
This all looks so hard, and it's sad to see all the work you've done be made difficult by nature. I wish you success, no matter what direction you go. You choose to share your lives, and dreams with the world; beautiful. I hope you can find a path forward that is beneficial to yourselves and your lives.
In many ways it seems a youtube audience is like a garden; you grow and cultivate and sometimes get results you didn't expect.
What a wonderful message. We really appreciate your kind words! It's been very rewarding to see that one video could change our lives and bring such a wonderful community of people ❤️ We really love people taking their time to send us messages of hope and encouragement. Thank you for being here!
Subscribe to these beautiful people, honest and hardworking. You deserve success.
So kind of you ❤️ Thank you!
Recently discovered you channel, and you are really doing a great, and important job! ❤even if difficult! Going to Sicily for the first time this winter myself to look for property, and grateful to find a channel like yours that actually provide honest, and useful information about life there.❤
Thankyou for your report and sharing . Its tuf times i am in utah usa the hottest summer ive experienced . The whole western usa is dry and lotts of forest and grass fires .
Take care and be safe .
So sad to hear people sharing this kind of experience from all over the world. Let's hope some changes are coming soon! Stay safe ❤️
@@SomethingLikeThis1 thankyou take care .
You both are a great inspiration. You are so dedicated to nourishing the earth. You have chosen a hard road but so wonderful. You are agents of change. i will be sharing your link with many friends. You must keep going. Wishing you the best of luck. We need you and your quest. ❤
Thank you so much! It's so wonderful to see so many supportive people here! We feel blessed 🙌 We want to be change to this world even if we are very little. Thank you for sharing this video with your friends as well! We are so grateful for supporters like you. ❤️
Hope this video goes viral, you guys deserve it, best of luck always !
Thank you so much! We were so blessed with the response from people that we received! Getting so many views and subscribers already gave us hope!
Thank you for your drive and inspiration. My girlfriend and I travelled through Italy earlier this year to search for a plot of land. We visited many places, but we were especially drawn to Sicily. I'm gonna go again in 2 weeks, and will also visit Sicily. To search for land again, and to be honest: to experience how it would be to live in that weather ;-) Thank you for emphasizing the importance of having your own water source. It was high on my wishlist, but you made it even more important. Thanks a lot, stay strong; and who knows, we might be neighbours someday! ;-)
Hi there. We are happy we could help you prioritise water supply for your future home. Check our other video called : Authentic Sicily. We drive through beautiful area which was so much greener than this side. Check Nebrodi area. The climate was different and the views were spectacular and you can find rather cheap places there. We fell in love with that area! You might like it too! Or maybe you will be happier on our side of the land close to Palermo. Good luck with your house hunting! And thank you for support words❤️
@@SomethingLikeThis1 Thanks so much for your reply. I'm a millennial, but I just learned how to look up reactions on comments in youtube haha. So funny that you mentioned that area. While reading your comment too late, I just came back from Sicily this week, and I actually put down an offer for a house in that region (Rocca di Capri Leone) so fingers crossed! You are right, I was very surprised how green that area is even in this time of year... I went down all the way to the south as well, and I was pretty much driving through a desert on my way there compared to the north..
In one of the last videos, I shared a link of some dutch guys who found a durable way of turning seawater into drinking water. I couldn't find that comment now, so I'm just gonna share it here again just in case. As most of these systems use loads of energy and often even chemicals, as said, these guys found a much better way that does the same but only on solar energy. As you have salt water and sun in abundance, maybe this could be something to look into with other farmers, the water company you're working with, and/or the municipality?
drinkseawater.com/projects/
Wishing you all the best! Lourens
Set up a go fund me. Build your water well with the proceeds and repay the investors with your produce. I would buy your olive oil.
Please don’t listen to rude, negative comments.
I'm so glad you're inspired to keep going! Working with the university sounds like a fantastic idea. Your other plans sound great as well. I will be here to follow along and hopefully visit some day. Stay strong!
Thank you so much!! We have so many different ideas! And we just keep coming up with more 😆 and people giving us advice are so helpful too. We really hope to make it work and then welcome people here 🙏 Thank you for being a great supporter. We might not be able to answer all the messages but we read all of them ❤️
You are both very genuine people, which comes across in the videos and I think it will lead to some success on TH-cam. I will continue to watch and wish you the best
Your program is very educational for everyone who has a home and a hard, will appreciate to learn about agriculture for self growth home vegetable gardens and utube should be a success for everyone…. We will pray for your success and hopefully people take advantage of learning how to grow crops instead of just buying them.
Stay on course and follow you hearts! Don't resort to chemicals and keep your lovely farm organic. The right answer is out there for you. I admire your efforts and dedication. Take care.
Thank you so much dor your wordw of encouragement!💓 We will never put any chemicals into our plants. We love our piece of land too much to polute it. Let's hope autumn will be a bit more generous with rain 🌧 😊
You guys make impossible not to watch your channel…. You guys are great people and I hope someday we will meet
I ❤ you guys… I just started watching your channel. Stay strong, you both are soooo inspirational to everyone… never give up.. you are on your way
God Bless
That's so kind of you! We will try our best and will see where it takes us. But this TH-cam community is such a wonderful support for us ❤️ Thank you!
I am not a farmer, just a little home grown produce for my own use. In South Australia we know how precious water is. I wish you both good health and continued passion for what you do.
@@roddehoedt8254 Thank you so much ❤️ It seems that so many places in the world are starting to realise how precious our water is becoming. Warm wishes from Sicily!
Your garden looks so organized and green. Of course, I believe you when you say your garden is suffering from a drought. I think you are very sincere and straight forward people with an honesty which makes you very attractive to me. Your mission of bringing fresh food to Sicily is commendable. I believe olive trees are drought resistant. Still, your heart is in good, organic food. Bless you. Hope your you tube channel grows. I'm sure it will. I followed one channel that started out with only a couple of hundred followers and now is 5,000. I feel this will be the same with you. Hang in there.
Hey guys, first and foremost thank you for the awesome video's, inspiring....è il mio sogno vivere in Italia un giorno...so that makes it even more inspiring. I recently went through all your video's and I would say just watch your own video on "authentic sicily: what tourists don't see" this warmth of community and just in my opinion Italians being very very friendly...(I only have experience with small cities/communities, not the big cities) is somehting you won't find anywhere else in Europe. Don't give up...non mollare! In bocca al lupo 🐺 Grtz from Belgium, Steven
Hi, Steve! We are happy you are enjoying our videos and especially of our visit to the other side of the island. We would love to do more similar video. People in smaller towns are wonderful for sure!
We hope one day your dream will come true and you will find your perfect location in Italy. And maybe even visit us! Warm wishes from Sicily!
Feel sorry for you but I’m glad your staying.
Have you considered getting large water storage tanks , they fill up with rain in the cooler months .also use your washing water ,using safe detergents . Mulch around your plants and add shade cloths. Im sure you’ve thought of all that ! Good luck xx
That's very sad, and very strange how big are the changes from the north to the south of Italy.
It's unbelievable to see sounth so dry and north part of Italy experiencing all these floodings. Let's hope it will get better for all of us ❤️
@@SomethingLikeThis1 ❤️
Keep your dreams going, keep focusing your energy on what you want, it will eventually happen, just trust in the process.
Don’t listen to the haters. You are good people. Good luck with your plans
Thank you so much 💓 We will try not to 😊
You are fortunate to have roads either side of your property. You can with minimal work and expense create spoon drains to funnel water off the road and on to your property to be held in ponds or below ground tanks. I have a massive dam on my property, which always fills rapidly using a spoon drain. Every drop of rain that falls you want to keep on your property to soak in and not allow it to run off taking your property's soil fertility with it.
That sounds interesting! We will do more investigation on it. We definitely need to do something with that area as it is losing its fertility just like that. Thank you for this interesting advice 👍
I follow all your videos and what you are doing is wonderful, I just hope you won't give up. I read the comment from Malta and that is what I was also thinking about, water desalination powered by the sun. You have lots of sea water and lots of sun and I know that the project doesn't have to be so huge and expensive, there are all kinds of possibilities like a desalination station in a container. May be it would be possible to unite farmers together to have something like that you could all use together? Or ask for help and finance from the authorities? May be an investor? Farmers in Sicily should be heard and not only farmers, all the residents of the island suffer from lack of water. Today here are solutions and you don't have to depend on the rain or the lake.
So glad to hear you find a solution and can keep working towards your goals and dreams :)
You will always get negative people. Keep doing your best and ignore negative comments. I'm sure things will get better for you. One day at a time. Don't give up. Sending prayers and support 🙏 ❤️ 😊
We really appreciate your kind words and prayers ❤️ There are always more good than bad in the world 🌎 Let's spread it!
I appreciate the journey your on and to share the ups and downs ….. I feel your pain …. We drilled a 300’ in sandy soil and found barley any water. $10000 cdn dollars wasted. ,,….Second well was a little different i decided to pray to the Lord and was shown in a dream where to drill on the land. We down 120’ or 36’meters and found great quality sweet water. At 2 gallons per minute not great but its Fabulous tasting and fills our 8000 litre cistern have installed a drip irrigation system saving gallon of precious water time and money and time irrigat to preserve the water. The drip saves a lot of water volume
you are such a lovely couple
So kind of you! Thank you very much ❤️
First thing I ask is, Do Not Give Up!. Second thing, if you're interested, we would love to have a chat with you online. We would like to raise awareness of your project, your needs etc and hopefully this will attract more support for what you're doing. Don't give up.😊
Can you use some type of filter to drown out the backyard noise of the katydids?
How do they not drive you mad?
I visited quite a few reservoirs last winter and they were already mostly empty.
That's what happens when it barely rains at all during the wet season (winter), besides the unseasonably high temperatures (20+ in February) meant little to no snow in the mountains outside of Etna, and more evaporation.
This is exceptional tho.
Yes summer will always be extremely dry, but the reservoirs have more than enough water to get us through and ensure farmers with all the water they need, this is about as bad as it's ever gotten.
You're very likely to do much better next summer.
What area are you in?
As far as the plan with eggs I think it has good potential, I have a dozen chickens and even at a small scale it offers me the opportunity to sell excess volumes. When I met with ASL they told me that free ranging, non GMO fed chicken eggs should be sold for no less than 50c a piece.
I have built two types of mobile chicken coops and I'd be happy to share my experiences if you were thinking of mobile coops. I was also able to significantly reduce the cost of acquiring chickens that I'd be happy to share.
Please do share your experience. We have some chickens, but during this heat, they are just trying to survive like us. They have nice shady areas, but the amount of eggs is reduced to a couple a day.
We are thinking of building mobile chicken coops. We need them to be quite light as well.
The cost of chickens is a big one. As prices went up significantly. We would be really happy to hear your advice! Thank you so much
@@SomethingLikeThis1 i went with justin rhodes designs, one on wheels and one traditional coop you drag (salatin style). It has worked wonderfully so far with no predator losses. I purchased 1 year old hens from the market. They took a minute to get back into laying but have performed well for very low cost (3.5 euro each).
Allan savory Ted talk and Joel salatin regenerative farming seems interesting to improve soil quality and retaining water when it falls uis essential, manure from animals, goats or sheep and making goat cheese and milk to provide you good source of protein. Yr experience can then help others. You have a lot of people who would love to come visit you, with tent or trailer or caravan . Could help you with ideas and help with tasks .❤
Can you use perforated hose pipe for trickle irrigation to vegetables at night ?
Brigitta and Nino your video, before this one, popped up yesterday and after watching it I subscribed immediatley. I felt so sad for you and what you are facing but now after this video I have cheered up and feel positive that you will get through this. I have just now watched your very first video and, no matter how long it takes, I will watch every single one in your playlist - your journey is inspiring and so interesting. You are a beautiful couple. Send you loads of good wishes from New Zealand. 😊
Hello New Zealand 👋 It's overwhelming to read all these beautiful messages of support from all over the world ❤️ It means a lot to know that people care. We hope we still can make it work and be able to live our simple lives. Please continue to watch our videos, and we will try to make them a bit more positive. Warm wishes from Sicily ❤️
My 2nd year living in Sicily and my property does have a well. This years it dropped to 1.5 meters from 7 meters. I had to buy water for the first time. I will capture rain water this winter and fill several IBC water tanks with the rain water. I do not farm but have several Olive, fruit trees and palms so watering is a must. Best of luck and never give up.
Great future project, you have everything you need to overcome this situation.
I hope we can discuss it soon.
Take care
We live in Southern Spain and are going through drought and shortage of water also. Due to lack of sufficient rain, we are restricted to irrigating our garden only once a day for a maximum of one hour. Because of this, our garden has gone completely brown and yellow. There is only enough water for people to use inside their homes. Hopefully, governments in Southern Europe will come up with quick solutions to the water shortage. Otherwise, all of us living in the south will be in trouble.
We are sorry to hear you are affected by this, too. And so sorry for your garden. So many people from different parts of the world are affected by it while others are suffering from floods. It is rather scary to hear all these stories. However, the Italian government doesn't care about Sicily. So, most likely, nothing will change. We hope that at least some other countries will try to do something. Let's hope we will all get some needed rain.
I noticed the banks of the river have no vegetation. This signifies a sick river. Probably due to over grazing and removal by humans. Soil erosion is also a consequence of the lack of vegetation around the river. Once erosion begins, when the rain falls it does not soak into the land, it runs off over a wide area and much of it is lost to evaporation. There are things you can do to help the water situation. Certain types of earthworks could help you. Bare patches on your land should be covered with mulch. In the last 6 month, scientists have discovered the light even without heat causes evaporation, so its even more important that you keep the ground covered with vegetation. A well is only a solutiion until that water runs dry. Then what? Good water management on your land is key. The entire community needs to buy into water management practices.
Chickens can be sensitive to extreme temperatures. Look into it. Maybe rabbits could be an option too?
Guys this is definitely your path and your ideas are great. And as you say if you can do what you love and earn extra cash from TH-cam why not! Ciao ragazzi
Ciao! We will try this autumn season and will see where it takes us ❤️ We really don't want to give up! We are trying every possibility! We hope you had a wonderful birthday celebration , Mia 🎂 🎈
All the empty/unused land in Sicily should be planted trees..the soil gets now dry too fast. Forests create rain, you can see it checking out the map that shows which part of Sicily get's most of rain annually- it's Etna area and northern side of Etna, parco dei Nebrodi.
Sadly, most of the Sicily forests have been destroyed because of agriculture. We are paying a high price now, but it can still be fixed.
Great to see you in a better frame of mind, you both smart and I am sure through research, suggestions, tips from people who follow you, you will find ways to improve things, For sure people now ,every where are paying more attention to eat better, healthier and are willing to pay extra money for that, I live in the countryside, 25 miles from New York city , in my county they have farmer's market ,many, stores selling organic products. In your video you mention having chickens, that's a great idea, eggs here are sold by the dozen at the supermarket, going from 2 dollars, regulars , 3 to 4 cage free, around 5-6 dollars organic and the most expensive, pasture free organic 6 to 9 dollars.
I enjoy seein in your channel different place, Sicily is a beautiful place to visit, I know it well, I was born there and lived there for 23 years , few miles from Taormina , I am sure many viewers would love to see places like Noto , Piazza Armerina , Siracusa, Ortigia, Cefalu' etc. Enjoyed a lot the video with you and your mother in law making tomato sauce, show us some great sicilian dishes, curious to see your caponata and parmigiana di melanzane ...tanti saluti e buona fortuna , new subscriber here
Thanks to all the people supporting us, we feel inspired again! People are so kind and helpful! Places like usa understand what organic food means. Here people used to good quality food and don't understand how bad it is getting at worrying rate.
We do have chickens, but not enough as people want to buy more and more eggs. We hope it will be a great addition to our farm.
We will hope to travel more. But now we are unable to do it because of how often we need to water our garden. When it gets quieter, we will be doing it for sure! And of course there will be some cooking but we are leaving it for winter months mostly as we have more time for cooking. And will definitely involve my mother in law and even more relatives!
Thank you for such a wonderful message! 💗
You would make great tour guides in the summer time.
Keep on going ✊🏽🙏🏽
Thank you for encouragement, we are trying our best!
The Sulla plant, also known as the French honeysuckle, is a perennial plant that is highly drought tolerant and grows up to 3 feet tall.
Be carefull with chickens because if the "bird flu" comes along it could be that goverment will apply lots of measurements.
Have you considered shade cloth over your beds? Is overhead watering your best choices?
How much to drill a well??
Dont give up!!
Start a crowdfunding!
I was in Sicilia some 6-7 years ago on holiday. I travelling by train from Catania to Palermo and the land then was already verry dry (yellow)
Hello Brigitte,Nino - i found by chance your channel. Very exciting!!! We came to Sicily two times and stayed near Palermo, near Carini - we loved it!!! We stayed in the countryside surrounded by hills and natural beauty. We visited all over from Segesta to Trapani to Messina...loved it all. I admire you both and can only say keep working.I am old now....we work on an allotment in rainy cold Stockport....but we love the earth and the beauty of growing things - we have our allotment for 14 years and my wife works it like a full time job (I still work at my full time job in an office) - WE KNOW HOW HARD WORK GROWING things are - in UK we have pests, slugs galore, birds, badgers foxes etc....but still we just adapt. We also love the sky - in our allotment it hasever changing cloud formations - even with the often grey skies of UK...I have built fruit cages, we used pallettes for borders - reclaimed wood...moving paving slabs etc. and lots of sweat and back ache.I really identify with your work and effort! I have dreamed of living in an environment like Sicily - those cicades...so familiar (I used to live in Taiwan - so I do know heat as well!). I would say more but now I also have to do things....I wish you success on your farm. Since we try to grow fruit and vegetables - we understand and apprecate what farming is ! We use no chemicals by the way - eggshells, banana skins to bay leaves concoctions....Alisentirci ragazzi!
@mauroaurelio6534 Thank you for taking the time to write this beautiful message. Sicily is a beautiful place, and it seems you enjoyed it.
We miss rainy England! My husband just adores rainy days. It's wonderful that you and your wife love gardening. It's wonderful to eat what you produce and keep you healthy all that workout. If you are able, you should try getting a couple of ducks. They are the best to protect your garden for slugs! We want to get some, too!
We wish you another year of successful gardening. Warm regards to you and your wife! Keep yourselves healthy ❤️
I love your passion! Keep that passion and perseverance. This is global warming. I wish lots of water for the people of Sicily. I hope that there’s a resolution very soon for you guys 🙏🏽.
Thank you for explaining things so eloquently and providing historical details. It’s very interesting. Btw love those donkeys ❤️ and what a nice father in law to give them some food.
Great video. On some gardeners videos they claim they save water with the dripping system to create good roots not leaves and save water. Last week you mentioned having purchased so I suggest you to try maybe on a section. Good luck & take care😊
Are you going to run for office you are very knowledgeable ? What are the farmers getting together to make change?
It’s true just planting trees builds ecosystem and ultimately draws rain. I watch a conservation farmer in Sicily. I really enjoy. We are moving there.
Almeria not Algeria! I will be in Tarmina in November for a month. I am an Italo Amriican but I speak Italian well Spain is doing a magnificent job.
I subscribed to your channel. I hope it grows and you can earn the money for the well.
Hot summers are nothing out of ordinary in the Mediterranian, even more so on the islands, where every drop of water is a commodity. Dry scenery is what you see in every part of this beautiful maritime area during summer months. Don't let this harsh island dwelling reality scare you away. People have endured it for millenia, but I believe it takes some time to accept it and adapt to it. Stay strong.
@ursa4212 Mediterranea countries have always been hot and humid. But so many people wrote to us that this summer is so much worse. Unfortunately, I didn't film a conversation with my in-laws but they said that the last 5 years have been without summer rains and it wasn't like this before. It used to rain during winters, but this year was no rain either. Of course, it could be loads of rain this winter, and all would be different next year. We talked to farmers around us, who did it for much longer, and they said its the worst summer yet. Some have problems with lenons, some with tomatoes and so on. It's just scary how the food supply chain is just galling apart 😔 We are small, and we don't have much to lose. So we will keep working on it until we run out of options.
Thank you for your support ❤️
@@SomethingLikeThis1 its been 20 years like this ,i live near you
What is the outlook for the climate in the region?.. I think wherever you go next there must be a reliable water source. Water is life isn't it?..
Ignore the negative comments, some peoples brains are just built that way. Sometimes the universe gives challenges so you can see other opportunities. Keep going!
With watter everthing, without watter nothing
great couple
Very kind of you ❤️
Hello guys, everyone goes and buys a house in Italy and makes people dream about everything. You are very honest and speak about the real life in south of Italy. I personally think without life problems, inventions would not exist. There is nothing better than dreaming, withouth dreaming great things would not happen in life.
I am sure that you will sort this problem.
One thing I can only suggest, maybe it would be worth it to work for a few months in a northern country to collect the money to dig a well.
I wish you all the best and please just listen to your gut feeling!
Challenges like those you are facing, only help you to become more knowledgable and resilient. I live in Western Australia, where we have the problem of rain falling only, in winter so 40 years ago I planted a drylands food forest garden based on Permaculture principles. I watered for the first 3 years only. The food forest became self sustaining after that, requiring no watering or fertilising only chop and drop pruning and harvesting the crop and planting annual summer crops under the canopy, My deciduous fruit, nut, timber and animal fodder trees and shrubs, some native and some exotic species used as pioneers to help protect those trees that you want to succeed, but also create soil fertility and recharge underground aquifers. You can do surface capture of water at low cost. See Africa, India, Jordan etc using swales and low stone or check dams which slows water and spreads it to where you want it. If you become an expert in low tech amelioration of drylands you potentially have a demonstration site and can earn a good income from teaching groups.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! It's all so interesting. We have been watching so many permaculture videos but it's difficult because of the way our land is and as we have loads of olive trees already. My husband has been thinking of how to implement swales but it seems rather tricky but we are still trying to work out something. But we are continuing doing our research and hopefully we will come with a few new solutions.
I love hearing people building their food forests! That's so wonderful! Yours sounds like you did a wonderful job! We want to implement some exotic fruit trees that people are starting to cultivate here too. Keep following us and see what we are doing and maybe you can keep providing us with more useful advice! Thank you so much!
@@SomethingLikeThis1 Let me assure you, that it doesn't matter what your land looks like, it can be remediated. Just look at what is happening with the Re-greening the Deserts projects around the world. If water can be brought back to the Sahara, Gobi and other deserts, it can be brought back to your property too. People cannot feel but inspired by the villagers in India and Africa, who have changed their desert landscapes, thus taking themselves out of poverty. I just thank God there are young people like you and Nino who are willing to throw themselves into solving these problems. More young people need to get involved, if they want to have a future at all. Half moon dams are a wonderful tool for greening the deserts. They are a simple, low tech system of water harvesting. Key words for your research "land rehydration"
@@SomethingLikeThis1 Half Moon technology from Africa - th-cam.com/video/WKrANHuWM8E/w-d-xo.html
Wow!!!
❤❤❤
You might try planting fast growing trees such as Acacia pycnantha as a shade species for your fruit trees. When your fruit trees are established you can cut down the Acacias for winter fuel or timber.
Thank you, that's a nice idea. We have planted one, and it's growing rather well. So we might plant a few more to give a bit of shade as they grow really fast.
Rain catchment, cooperative farmers share water supplement costs, drought resistant crops? Figure out the mulch yes but water from underneath plant earlier spring fall winter crops I don’t know anything but California no one is supposed to water the grass but my landlady does at 5 am sprinklers go off almost every day. Europe € grant for the well chip in with neighbors. Wish we could help big fire in Northern California right now.
why don't you put a fundraising page here and we will donate
We feel blessed already to have all these people subscribing and commenting. We don't really want to ask for too much! But if you want you can become our Patreon ❤️
Would it be possible to "Crowd Fund" you both a deep water well? Are there Geo-studies of the water aquifers in your area of your beautiful farm? Also is there a rainy season in the Fall or Spring where you could Crowd Fund Large Plastic blister systems that catch rain when it comes and falls on. your rooftops and you catch the water and build drip irrigation watering systems with Crowd Funded money's ???