Who we are

Our history

We are Cascina Bosco Fornasara!

A family, a firm, a different idea to conceive agriculture:

Roberto, who works in the fields and monitors the entire production chain, Ilena appointed for communication and direct sale, Cloe, which is the real engine of our radical change and Noah, the youngest member of the family, who brought us the curiosity and excitement typical of childhood.

This land and this farmstead are our home, our work and our project, which we led against the opinion of many and with the support of few, facing many obstacles, but motivated by the certainty of being on the right path. Taking all the risks typical of every revolution, we have completely converted our firm into biological agriculture, choosing a natural method which doesn’t involve the use of substances, not even those allowed by the biological specifications, entirely based on the synergy between nature and cultivation.

We succeeded facing together all the failures and the fears, making mistakes and trying again, listening to the critics as well as to the words of support, looking together in the same direction: that of a natural agriculture, respectful of man and environment. We fought against old customs, ignorance and greed; for the environment, for an eco-sustainable agriculture, for our and our children’s future.

We chose to live among the rice fields, far from the city, in the nineteen-century farmstead of our grandparents, which we restored following the standards of bio-housing, using soil, straw and wood. Being in contact with the nature makes us feel in peace; moreover, we believe that a different way of life is actually possible. We live and work in a synergic relationship with the environment and its equilibrium, limiting atmospheric and water pollution, preserving biodiversity.

In 2018 we received the price Legambiente Cambiamo Agricoltura “for our dedication to the safety of biodiversity and for the good agricultural practices we put in place, which testify how the change of the agricultural model in terms of sustainability is effectively possible”.

Our path is long, with ancient roots:
the land we work is a heritage, resulted from great sacrifices, started when Natale, the grandfather, at the beginning of the ’60, chose to separate from his brothers and to rent the land which now is ours, in Cascina Bosco.

The first years of life of the grandfather and his family were made difficult by poverty; then, with the introduction of machines and chemical products, there was a gradual lightening of work and a growth of profits. Thanks to the abundant harvests, to the savings and to a discrete dose of courage, they succeeded in 1980 in purchasing the lands they have been working as tenants. As years passed by, wellbeing entered their lives and, along with it, the increasing desire of implementing the production and consequently the profit, to the detriment of the environment: the biggest fields were leveled, trees and hedges eliminated.

Decades passed by, and the firm became bigger and modern and, gradually, with the help of all the members of the family, became rich. Notwithstanding, in 2008, the increasing desire of returning to a natural agriculture, pushed us to attempt, initially in little fields, to restore the equilibrium between nature and cultivation, with the aim of returning to the fields the life which was taken by years of use of chemical products and intensive cultivation recreating a sound environment, in which rice could grow in synergy with trees, hedges and weeds.

Besides converting the whole firm to biological agriculture and to polyculture we decided to reduce our impact on the environment to the minimum, transforming not only our way of cultivating the land but our live as well. At home as in our work we try toproduce what we need to live, from vegetables to cosmetics, we recover the production scraps, such as rice husk, to make building material and we use energy derived from photovoltaic systems.

Our purpose is to incorporate, in our activity and in the value of our products, the care for the landscape and the respect for the environment and its inhabitants.

Roberto Marinone

Titolare dell'Azienda

Abbandonare le logiche dell'agricoltura convenzionale, volte a massimizzare il profitto a discapito della qualità del prodotto e dell’ambiente; smettere di spingere le piante a produrre il massimo, per poi utilizzare prodotti volti a tamponare gli effetti negativi dati dalla forzatura delle coltivazioni, è stata la svolta che mi ha cambiato la vita. Veder tornare insetti, uccelli ed erbe quasi scomparsi in risaia, è stato il nostro grande successo.

Ilena Maran

Moglie e socia di Roberto

In un mondo sempre più affetto da problematiche legate all'inquinamento di aria, acqua e suolo e alla distruzione degli ecosistemi, dove migliaia di piante e specie animali scompaiono, ognuno di noi riveste un ruolo fondamentale nel cambiamento. Come coltivatori biologici sentiamo il dovere di promuovere un'agricoltura sana, sostenibile e responsabile, per il nostro cibo e il benessere di tutti, per proteggere il futuro del pianeta e del clima.

Giambattista Mortarino

Responsabile del settore ambientale dell'associazione Burchvif 

Roberto ed Ilena, siete pionieri e, come tali, le difficoltà che avete dovuto incontrare (e che ancora incontrerete) sono tante ma avete la determinazione del vostro carattere tenace e della certezza di essere sulla strada giusta. Voi siete la dimostrazione che si può produrre reddito lavorando insieme a madre terra conservandone la biodiversità. Grazie a nome di tutti noi di Burchvif per l'apprezzamento e buon lavoro. Noi siamo qui, come sempre e vi siamo vicini.

Fausto Pistoia

Naturalista e responsabile dell'Osai Lipu Bosco del Vignolo

Meritano non solo per la bontà e salubrità del loro riso, ma anche e soprattutto perché stanno trasformando il deserto in oasi.

Azienda Agricola Marinone Roberto
Cascina Bosco, 4
27020 Nicorvo (PV)

+39 339 56 41 211

info@cascinaboscofornasara.it