Daniel's trip to Italy

Hi! Thank you for taking the time to read my story and considering helping me out in a new career endeavor that is now taking me to Italy!
I was recently selected to work on an organic farm- Tenuta di Spannocchia near Siena, Italy from December 2019 through March 2020 as one of eight butcher apprentices for this year. This is a new experience for me as it'll be my first time visiting Europe let alone be immersed in rural Italy for 3 months. This is all very exciting and a little crazy for me and for my partner-in-crime Alex. But I am still very grateful to be chosen with continued support from her (for helping me write my story!), our many friends that have stood by us from the start,  our families for their love and trust, and to my coworkers for holding it down while I'm gone.  

To give you some background, The Tenuta di Spannocchia is an organic agricultural estate in central Tuscany that promotes awareness, understanding, and practice of sustainable resource use in rural communities to interns like myself and visiting foundation members who stay at the property during their travels in Italy. The farm emphasizes the importance of preservation and architecture, landscape, forest, wildlife, animals, and plants with the use of current advances in organic agriculture.  This is an organic farm where everything is cultivated at the site from wine, cheese, produce, all in a non-gmo/pesticide-free environment :) I'll also be taking art and language classes to learn Italian and the culture that Italy has to offer.

As many of you know I've embraced the art of butchery and cooking through my years of experience in the kitchen and most recently with my completed Midwest Meat Apprenticeship at Whole Foods. With these skills under my belt, I'm ready to take my craft to the next level, but even more excited in bringing back knowledge of Italian cuisine and responsible consumption. I also want to be better prepared to promote quality over quantity when deciding how we feed our bodies and what we put back into the earth. I know there are more complex ways to prepare and consume meat and I want to see how it is being explored first hand. 

The money I receive will go towards my travel expenses, regular bills I have here at home (health insurance, rent, car payments), and other misc. costs in preparation for this trip like vaccinations, necessary equipment, and supplies while living in rural Italy.  

I'm hopeful that one day we can live in a world where we respect and fully understand the origin of what we consume. If you agree with this I hope that you can donate what you can.  

Thanks so much and, Peace! 
Daniel Gomez and Alex Herrera