This year, in the woods, Luisa also collected walnuts (“a record harvest: I have enough to sell them” she says) and chestnuts. Even though she will continue to commute from Brescia, the woods have become part of her: “They are addictive, and it is only when you are here every day that you realise there is so much to do in order to prevent them from going wild. For example, after I tended the chestnut trees, this year they are back to producing a lot” says Luisa.

In her new job as a farmer, she can use some of her skills in the field of law and new technologies: “Image management, social networks, and a proprietary e-commerce website are essential. Moreover, opening a farm involves a series of bureaucratic issues that could easily discourage many, as they pose challenges that add up to the “physical” ones – hard work and life in the mountains – and the social ones, because fitting into the local community is not something one should take for granted. That is why, at the beginning of our walk, Luisa had told us that, should we meet her land neighbours, we would stop and chat for a while. In order not to be isolated, creating good neighbourly relations is important. In the woods, too