For those who haven't had the chance to read it, we offer you the article about us published in the "winter 2020" edition of Piancavallo Magazine , a periodical that talks about the mountains of Pordenone. Enjoy the reading!
Arnica Valley increasingly an attraction for the beloved “Passeggiata delle Malghe”
By Clelia Delponte
For hikers in Piancavallo they have now become a point of reference. Those who have walked the Passeggiata delle Malghe in the summer have certainly had the opportunity to admire, near the Casera del Medico , their cultivation of Arnica montana , an experimental agricultural project recognized not only locally but also nationally.
The guys from ARMO1191 run one of the largest Arnica montana crops in Europe, which has become a real attraction for mountain lovers over time.
Enthusiastic about promoting their workplace, for several years they have been collaborating to animate Piancavallo by organizing, during the harvest period, visits that enhance the natural places that surround us and that we often forget we have just a few minutes from home.
“This year,” says Antonio Conzato, owner of ARMO1191, “we have noticed with great pleasure a strong “home” tourism. The fact of having been confined for a long time due to the pandemic has awakened in us the desire and need to spend time in open and boundless spaces: our “wild” mountain has lent itself perfectly to this need.
We often forget that we have a pristine natural environment just a few minutes away that allows us to escape, even if only for a few hours, from the frenetic pace of everyday life. I hope that the experience we are living will make people understand how lucky they are to live in an area like ours, and that the “assault” on the mountains that occurred this year was not just a passing fad.”
The now traditional “Arnica Festival” organized by ARMO1191 was held again this year. “Obviously in a reduced form and respecting all the regulations in force to combat the spread of the pandemic – says Francesca Muner, member of ARMO1191.
Until the last moment we did not know whether to organize something or not, then, thanks to the consolidated and valuable collaboration of Eupolis studio associato and its excursion groups, we opted for a closed-number event. We spent a few hours in the shade of our beech trees, truly suggestive, especially thanks to the participation of the Compagnia Ortoteatro and Federica Guerra , who made us travel with our thoughts thanks to her readings narrating stories of life in the woods and in nature.
The appointment is for next spring/summer, hoping that the health emergency situation has improved because we have some surprises in store that we can't wait to reveal."
The message that comes through these words is certainly one of positivity, a sign of a reality that wants to move forward despite the difficulties. “It is a difficult period for everyone – explains Andrea Muner, also a member of ARMO1191 – because in addition to the promotional activity there is also the marketing of our Arnica-based products, and obviously with the closure of fairs, markets, shops and commercial activities, and with the limitation of travel, everything becomes more complicated.
But we are confident and we move forward, our plan is to further expand the cultivation which today has around 100,000 plants in production, and we are working with our laboratory to further refine the Arnica extract which is the main ingredient of all our products .
This year we have also completely renewed our website www.armo1191.it integrating the online shop: another hard-earned and very important goal in the lockdown era. We have a constant desire to improve ourselves and seek perfection, this is the secret to satisfying our customers.”
In short, almost 10 years after the first experimental flowerbeds were planted on Mount Caseratte, ARMO1191 is now an established reality and promoter of our territory that, despite the difficulties that organic agriculture entails, especially in the mountains, added to the particular situation we are experiencing, knows how to roll up its sleeves and face adversity. Despite everything, they are here!
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