ALBA
Alternaturae began as a project for the renovation of the old straw oven on the property, one of just a handful still existing in the region. That project is still ongoing and its goal is to make the oven available for the community to use, a place for everyone to bake their own dough one day a week. Start-up has simply been postponed, as we are waiting to be ready to launch a line of Alba-branded baked goods. In the meantime, by the end of spring 2020, we will begin renovating the ground floor of the building, using funds from the Rural Development Plan. This will allow us to welcome groups and serve food and beverages. Many are the tourists that come here to live an experience with us and try their hand at cheese-making” explains Michela.
Straw oven
Typically found in Molise and in other areas of the Southern Apennines, a straw oven is different to a wood oven. It has two chambers, one for combustion and one for cooking. “The first chamber is positioned below the cooking chamber, with a clear separation between the two” says Michela Bunino.
There are two large doors – the lower one, on ground level, is used to fill the chamber with straw, while the upper one is used to place the dough in for cooking. The two chambers are connected via an opening in the middle, letting the flames through, but not the ashes. Once the upper chamber has reached the temperature needed for bread baking, the opening is closed with a stone.
The straw oven is registered on the Food Culture Geoportal of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage.
Michela’s project came third at ReStartApp 2015: “This experience has allowed me to acquire the key skills I needed to complete my production knowledge with finance and administrative competencies, which were exactly the skills I was missing after a degree in graphic design and one in gastronomic science and promotion” explains Michela. A knowledge that also helps her answer the many questions of those who, in this remote corner of Italy, ask her “Why did you not remain in Piedmont, where people are better off, where there is more wealth?”. “Many, unfortunately, cannot see the wealth of a land that is so healthy – concludes Michela. We were fearful that our project would only last one or two years, but in 2021 Alba will celebrate ten years from the day we set up our VAT number”. Ten years of ideas and many more in the making.
