Enjoi, a 3 hectare piece of land located in the Sicilian countryside, needs your help to further develop and continue. Permaculture, which is not supported by the Italian government, is a critically important practice not only Sicily, but the entire planet. Monoculture, and the rampant pesticide use that accompanies it, are the crux of agricultural production in the developed world… but are leading to the potential downfall of the agricultural environment as we know it. This is why supporting small farms and permaculture projects like Enjoi are so critically important.

Enjoi is aiming to develop a sustainable, chemical-free community, creating new "food forests" in the dry, tree-less landscape of eastern Sicily. By using a diverse group of plants that work together in harmony with each other, the need for pesticides is eliminated. To cultivate healthy soil, we use "vermi composting" techniques (red worms in bins feed on food scraps, yard trimmings, and other organic matter to create compost). Sustainable practices are used in every aspect of daily life, such as collecting coffee grounds from local cafés to use in the removal of oil from dishes used in cooking so that water waste from cleaning can in turn be re-used to water plants without oil. We have a colony of bees on the property for pollination. The majority of our food that we consume comes from our own gardens. Our hope is to be an example for sustainable permaculture practices throughout Sicily, and to provide learning opportunities for those who are interested (a number of beds and tents on the property are available).

Why does Enjoi need your help and what will your money go towards?
At this point, we are renting the property, and in 3 years, will have to either buy it or leave it behind. All of our money is going towards purchasing materials for the project, as well as rent, and at this rate, we estimate that we won't be able to buy the property outright for 10 years…which will be sadly too late.