Associazione Libero Pensatore

Founded in 2009 in Perugia (Umbria) in the center of Italy, Libero Pensatore APS came into Erasmus+ in 2022, participating as a sending organization to some KA153 projects. In 2023, we participated to several KA2 projects, and in the same year we submitted our first KA210-ADU project to the Italian NA, which was aproved with 97/100 (we're very proud of this!): a) Our KA210-ADU project “Crescendo: Creative communication and Soft skills for agriCultural Entrepreneurs for the sustainable Development Of Europe” is currently being implemented. Briefly, the project is a soft-skill training for farmers based on theatre and communication methods. b) In 2023, we are among the partners of the KA220-ADU project “MALCOM: Mediterranean Action-Learning Community of Micro- olive growers”, specifically responsible for developing the concept and methodology of Action Learning in the among Mediterranean Micro Growers of olives. b) In 2024, we have been partners in the Hungarian KA210 project “Walking the Inner Path”, with specific responsibility for implementing a "walking training" by the title of “Pilgrimage of Sustainability” along the 100km Franciscan path from Chiusi della Verna (AR) to Assisi (PG). d) In 2024, we will be partners in a KA153-YOU project “Flow with Your Elements” and in a KA210-ADU project “Your Heart beats”, both held in Hungary. Limited Erasmus+ experience notwithstanding, we bring to the project the following relevant experiences: a) Conducting several adult professional training workshops, among which: “Distances: Managing Effectively Your Professional Relations” (2 editions), “Innovative Marketing and Sales Methods for Sustainable Agriculture”, “Gruppo Mario: An Action-based workshop for Entrepreneurs in Organic Agriculture” (ongoing). b) Several trainings (teambuilding, leadership development, soft skill development, stress management) for private corporations in collaboration with the multi-national training firm Tack&TMI. c) Planning, setting up and implementing numerous projects related to sustainability within the local community: In 2012, we started experimenting with the business model of olive micro-growing - over the years, the Oh-Live Life project has led to an innovative social organization model for EVO oil production involving owners of abandoned orchards, restoring those, and producing oil. In 2014, our project “ROOTS - Restoring Olive Orchards to Sustainability” was among the 10 winners of the European Social Innovation Competition (with more than 1500 submissions). The project connected artists with aged farmers in the restoration of abandoned olive groves. In 2015-6, we produced olive-wood cutting boards - an experience that brought us to embark on the commercialization of Babalù, a bamboo toothbrush we created as a first step towards manufacturing olive-wood toothbrushes from pruning waste (www.liberopensatore.it/babalu). Among others, Babalù received the support of Tana Italia, the subsidiary of a Finnish multinational in the waste sector, and won the HQ 2022 Marketing Prize). We are currently involved in several initiatives related to sustainable agriculture: the Sustainable Food Network (an alliance of organic farmers and chefs from Umbria); the Fair of the Living (a Farmers’ and Artisans’ Market in Perugia). We also conducted several projects in rural areas - the last one in 2022 “The Gift of Bread” involved researching the traditions of the collective oven in San Biagio della Valle (Umbria), restoring it, and returning to the local population a book by the same name (“Il Dono del Pane”, ed. Liberopensatore.it 2022). In 2024, the Wheat Circle project brings together 19 families to self-produce wheat of ancient variety, flour and pasta on 1.5 hectars in Pilonico Materno (PG).