Published date: March 28, 2022
On the slopes of the volcano, which has marked the times of the countryside for centuries, Roberto Carbone preserves a precious heritage of biodiversity with his young and courageous agricultural project: SARI.
It’s Sunday afternoon and Roberto Carbone is busy preparing an important order: almost 2,000 jars of spices, herbs, herbal teas and fragrant and colorful aromatic mixes destined for one of the most famous brands in Milan. “I’m going through an intense moment, I’m very happy. Only four years ago I was at a crossroads: leave Sicily to go work in the north or stay in my homeland. I chose to stay here and make my dream come true: SARI”.
Roberto's entrepreneurial project took shape in 2018, during his university studies in food science and technology. "I didn't have a penny or a square meter of land, but I had the essential ingredient: the unconditional trust of my parents. For my birthday, they gave me 3,500 square meters of agricultural land on the slopes of Etna. Thanks to its unique position, between the volcano and the sea, and its natural terraces, it is much more than agricultural land: it is my open-air laboratory."
In the heart of the Etna National Park, where the volcano has been irrigating its black sides with minerals for centuries, Roberto has decided to differentiate himself with a project that goes against the grain: growing medicinal plants, herbs and spices. “Here I safeguard a heritage of biodiversity that intensive agriculture puts at risk. I create educational paths to help young people discover plants and their benefits and understand all the work that goes into making a jar of oregano.”
The idea is right, the volumes grow and, in 2020, Roberto understands that it is time to open a small laboratory. “I bought a dryer and the tools needed to create herbal teas, infusions and other derived products. Then I met Boniviri with whom I share the same vision of agriculture and the values of sustainability. Since then, growth has been unstoppable, I had to take over another piece of land”.
Roberto explains to me that his project is intrinsically sustainable. “All my plants are low water consumption and do not require fertilizers. Not only that: as demonstrated by recent research, with their unique scents and colors they positively influence mood and, for their beneficial effects, they are highly sought after to decorate the green spaces of hospitals and healthcare facilities”.
I imagine Roberto in his small laboratory in Trecastagni, in the province of Catania, intent on studying his aromatic herbs, drying them, mixing them with skill and a generous dose of creativity. His Sunday is still long, we must say goodbye. Before we say goodbye, I want to satisfy a curiosity: how did the name SARI come about? “I was inspired by a document written by Tommaso Fazello, a Dominican friar and spy of the emperor Charles V who lived in the 16th century, author of the first book on the history of Sicily. Like all foreigners, arriving in Catania, he was struck by the beauty of Etna and its lunar landscape characterized by large black stones, which in the ancient Catania dialect were called SARI. If you think about it, these stones are a simple and at the same time extraordinary element: when they crumble with their mineral-rich dust, they nourish the plants and give the soil unique properties”.
The day falls and I remain in my office thinking about our phone call. It is true: staying is almost always the most difficult journey, but also the most exciting. “Leave or stay” is Roberto’s crossroads, but also our greatest challenge. Staying means not betraying your dream, pursuing it and doing everything to make it come true. Staying means sharing with loved ones the fullest joys and the most painful falls that, like the black saris of Etna when they break, nourish our daily goals.
Yes, staying is our true heroic measure.
