From the diary of the European Solidarity Corps volunteers of Seeds of Future project, which took place in Eboli (SA) from 20/04 to 20/05/2026

 

Our first week of the Seeds of Future project unfolded slowly and organically, just like the plants we were beginning to study. It started with getting to know the city of Eboli, not through rushed sightseeing, but through shared moments with local people, long walks, and small conversations that revealed the rhythm of everyday life here.

Guided by our dear Antonella, we stepped into the surrounding landscapes with a new kind of attention. What at first looked like “just greenery” gradually turned into a living archive of knowledge – wild herbs, edible plants, medicinal species, each with its own story and purpose. We learned how to properly identify them, how to harvest them responsibly without disturbing the ecosystem, and how to document them using standard herbarium techniques. Pressing flowers became a careful, quiet, and precise process, knowing they would later find a second life as part of the workshops we’re preparing for the upcoming event (you’ll hear more about it soon!).

 

 

Wanting to understand the deeper roots of this knowledge, we visited Giardino della Minerva and the Virtual Museum of the Medical School of Salerno, where we connected our fieldwork with the legacy of the Schola Medica Salernitana – the most important medical institution of medieval Western Europe, known for merging Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Jewish traditions. Central to this approach was the Theory of the Four Humours, which links health and temperament to four bodily fluids – blood (air), yellow bile (fire), black bile (earth), and phlegm (water) – and relies on plants, categorized as hot/cold and dry/wet, to restore balance. This visit also set the foundation for what comes next, as we will be working on applying this ancient framework to contemporary gardening practices in Eboli.

 

 

And then there’s the part that might be just as important as any workshop – food. Because in Italy, meals are never just a pause, they’re an experience. Thanks to Terra Orti, we prepared fresh artichokes together, while the first week was marked by scarola – we ate it a lot! What could have been a simple cooking session turned into something much more: a moment of connection, laughter, and shared effort, where even the most ordinary ingredients felt special. Antonella’s kitchen quickly became one of our favorite places, and through countless coffee breaks, we learned that every pause here is an opportunity to connect, something that reflects just how important community is, which we could feel from day one.

Some of us also rolled up our sleeves at Forno di Vincenzo, diving into a hands-on bread-making workshop. Guided by Vincenzo himself, we followed his (not-so-secret, but still magical) recipe, learning the patience and intuition behind good bread, the kind you can’t rush, only feel.

And if this is just the beginning, it already feels like something is taking root not just in the herbarium pages, but in the way we observe, learn, and connect. We can only imagine how beautifully the rest of this journey will continue to bloom.

Stay tuned for what’s to come! 

Written by: Marija Milić