Another story Mirko is keen to tell is about the crowdfunding he launched in the autumn of 2021 to donate 12 joelette excursions to those who cannot afford to ‘grant themselves the right’ to take a trip in the mountains. Every outing costs on average around €250, so the campaign promoted on the IdeaGinger platform that goes by the evocative name of Ti apro le montagne (Opening up the mountains for you) aimed at raising €3,000. “Among others, I saw the donation made by a young man from Abruzzo who works as a social media manager for il Bosso – a cooperative based in Abruzzo working in experiential tourism. Because he’s a person with disabilities, I informed him that he had a free joelette excursion available. At first he said no, then he reconsidered” explains Mirko.

The young man – he continues – wanted to go back to a place where he used to go as a child, a river bed. I accompanied him together with his dad, who brought a minibar with beers, and it was great. During that trip he told me about one occasion when he had fallen off the motor tricycle he normally uses to get around and told the people that were trying to help him to just leave him there. ‘I was not hurt in the least – he explained to me – but I hadn’t fallen on the ground for a decade at least: I wanted to spend some time there, it was a great feeling’. Along the way, a wonderful bond was created – it happens all the time”, concludes Mirko.

One of the key words in his job is, indeed, ‘confidence’ – a word which also opens up new business opportunities for Appenini for All: Mirko tells us about a couple of businesses that have asked to organise some team building activities. The first event has already been held; the second will involve 70 people. “Besides offering accommodation, I get people to try driving the joelettes, which is an example of teamwork. It is also important that the person being carried is an able-bodied person, on the one hand, to build trust in their colleagues, on the other to truly experience first-hand what a person with a disability normally experiences. During the first team building event, there was a person with motor disabilities who agreed to participate”, says Mirko, who assures that everything took place safely, on level ground. Another similar activity was organised by Appennini for All for the 4th- and 5th-grade pupils of an upper secondary school in Tagliacozzo (L’Aquila), who first attended a lesson on inclusive and accessible tourism in the school theatre and then were able to do three hours of practice. One hundred and fifty boys and girls, divided into three groups of 50, experienced driving and sitting on the joelette.