The Fattoria Capre e Cavoli project was conceived in the summer of 2015 by a group of 5 people, including Max, with whom we’re going to have a chat.
The idea has its roots in the animal rights activism of some of them, who, visiting other shelters, realise that saving animals is part of their nature.
In December 2015, the project managers found a farmstead near Mesaro, on the outskirts of Milan, and easily accessible from other cities as it’s located near the motorway.
Initially, the road to creating this place wasn’t easy.
So much so that problems gradually came up due to the fact that farmsteads like these aren’t legally recognised.
However, after a few months of cleaning and maintenance works, the Fattoria Capre e Cavoli opened on the 20th of March 2016: a happy oasis for animals.
Over time, more and more guests have been taken in, up to about fifty today.
A single goal: to save
The farmstead is the work of a group of volunteers, who constantly work only out of love for these living beings.
But what does this association actually do?
They literally save the lives of many animals, most of which come from abduction, abandonment or abuse.
They receive emergency calls everyday, and thanks to the Free Animal Sanctuaries Network, of which the Fattoria is part, they’re always informed of animals that need help.
The animals usually come from Northern Italy, mainly from Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna.
Sometimes, however, like the case of rabbits in Calabria, it’s the volunteers who decide to go and save them.
The volunteers give them a new life at the Fattoria Capre e Cavoli.
They take care of them, feed them, provide them with all the necessary treatments and medicines, and most importantly they love them unconditionally.
The key thing about this farm is that these animals are not exploited nor used for hidden agendas, such as killing to obtain meat.
This makes the farmsted a perfect example of sustainable reality.
Pet therapy for the public
In addition to an ethical and responsible function on a concrete level, at the same time the Fattoria Capre e Cavoli has a social function as it can be visited by the public.
The sanctuary can be visited every Sunday from 3 pm, in summer from 4 pm due to the heat, with an attached guided tour.
Inside the farm you can do what you will hardly find in other places.
Here you can spend time with the animals, caress them, and interact with them, but it always has to come from the will of the animals themselves.
The social function of the farm also extends to the collaboration with schools, kindergartens or recovery associations, which can visit it by appointment.
Indeed, spending a day in nature is very important and revitalising for them.
It’s a kind of pet therapy in which animals are free and it’s forbidden to ride them.
A feeling of solidarity in the farm
This period is a serious limitation for the farm, which finds itself having to deal with the great expenses they have to bear.
Renting the farmstead, paying utilities, veterinary expenses, and food for the animals are just some of the costs that the volunteers have to meet.
During the 12-months lockdown, the Fattoria Capre e Cavoli was able to remain open to visitors for just a few days.
Volunteers also had to stop activities such as vegan dinners, organised to raise lots of funds.
This has led to a dramatic decrease in economic revenues.
However, solidarity for the farm does not stop.
Donations, long-distance adoptions, a small merchandising, the creation of a colouring book for children showing the animals in the farmstead, a specially-made calendar.
These are just some of the projects that allow the Fattoria Capre e Cavoli to get by economically.
They’d like to expand their facilities to take in as many animals as possible by trying to fulfill their needs always according to their wallet.
When we ask Max what future plans are for the farm, he says that, since they’ve got no idea when this period will end, they’re going to think about it before making investments.
