Through their adventures in France and Portugal, the “Growing Greener” learned how to create eco-lodges that put nature, sharing and community at their heart.
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Living in the hustle and bustle of the city, who hasn’t wondered if we are really moving to our own rhythm?
Francesca Tortorelli and Eliza Cox met in Naples’ nightlife in 2020. But the couple – a video editor from a town near Salerno and an English teacher from Nottingham – found themselves disillusioned with the big city, in stark contrast to the fulfillment they found on their camping trips.
Determined, the pair decided to turn their frustration into action: In September 2022, they began a year of traveling and volunteering around Europe, fulfilling their dream of opening an eco-lodge in Southern Italy.
“It broke life down into its simplest elements,” Eliza, 23, says of her experience on the eco-retreat. “In a community of volunteers, all the other chaos and drama is stripped away and you just get the simple rhythm of life. It was a really special experience and taught us a lot.”
They now live in Perdifumo, a small town in southwest Italy, where they work in partnership with the local community to ensure their future destination is as inclusive and sustainable as possible.
We met with Francesca and Eliza (aka the “Growing Greener”) to hear about their journey and what it takes to create a truly community-based tourism experience.
How can you travel and volunteer in Europe?
Although the couple listened to their emotions, it wasn’t an impulsive move: it took six months of planning and research to figure out the best way to travel on a budget, Francesca, 30, explains.
They used a website called “Worldpackers,” where hosts offer travelers lodging and meals in exchange for five hours of work a day.
For Growing Greener, this was not only an opportunity to meet like-minded travelers on a long-term adventure, but it also gave them valuable skills to use in future projects.
In Portugal, the couple stayed at an off-grid eco-retreat farm in Aljezur, sleeping in tents and doing a variety of tasks: Elisa picked fruit in the forest and cooked for other volunteers, while Francesca cleaned and prepared breakfast for the guests.
Their next stop was an organic farm in France, where they learned about vegetable growing and agriculture and helped plant a “food forest” of over 150 trees.
They were also tasked with caring for the family’s newest additions, a flock of chickens and goats. “For us city-dwelling video editors and English teachers, going out into nature was something completely new and foreign,” Eliza recalls.
Life on the road hasn’t always been easy—”It can be pretty intense, difficult, and there’s no personal space at times,” the bilingual couple say, interweaving their sentences—”but it’s been a real experience that’s helped us grow a lot.”
“It was the best year of my life,” Francesca says. “It taught me to listen to myself and do what I really want to do.”
How can you build your own ecolodge in Europe?
The Growing Gleaners now want to create a place where other travellers can come and learn, but first they need to put down roots themselves: Francesca’s grandparents were from Cilento, near where the couple live, and she is keen to create something authentic to the region.
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Their envisioned eco-lodge would be a place for travelers who care as much about their impact on the world as they do about the place they live.
“At the heart of this project we have the local community in mind,” Eliza explains. “We want to showcase the beauty of the area, but we want to do it in a way that doesn’t negatively impact the people who actually live here all year round.”
So what does active engagement look like? Growing Greener’s Instagram, with more than 21,000 followers, is full of heartwarming examples of the couple taking the time to get to know their neighbors in Perdifumo and organizing events, like last month’s beach cleanup.
As part of the project, they will host a range of courses and workshops, from permaculture and yoga to pasta making and other local traditions: the idea is that visitors can pay to learn something new, and then offer another course for free to local people with limited resources.
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Growing Greener plans to hold its first event in Cilento from May 2024. Further details will be announced on the website later this month.
As for the actual eco-lodge, they’re still searching for a suitable location and seeking a state grant to get started. It may take a few years, but they’ll obviously have a strong foundation for the community by then.
To learn more about Growing Greener’s journey to Cilento and project, watch the video above.
Video Editor • Joanna Adem
