May 9, 2025
Being born in Sicily means, sooner or later, finding yourself at a crossroads: leave or stay.
In recent years, Sicily has lost about 3.4% of its population, with a trend that according to Istat data could lead to a further decline of 12.6% by 2042. The serious demographic decline and the progressive abandonment have multiple causes: the low birth rate, but above all the lack of job opportunities and the lack of essential services are the push for emigration towards northern Italy or abroad. The internal areas, rural and mountainous ones, such as the Etna area, are particularly affected by this phenomenon, with a progressive emptying that puts the survival of local communities and traditional agricultural practices at risk.
In recent years, the concept of restanza has taken on a profound and current meaning for territorial contexts marked by strong depopulation. Restanza indicates the attitude of those who, despite adversity, choose to remain in their homeland with the intent of improving and regenerating it. An act of resistance and resilience that contrasts depopulation.
In a sector, that of agriculture, where generational change struggles to take hold, this concept takes on crucial importance. In this context, the stories of Roberto and Davide, growers of the Boniviri network, tell an alternative version and are testimonies of persistence, courage and rootedness.
Roberto Carbone is a grower and custodian of the scents and aromas of Etna, which after graduating in food science and technology becomes his "outdoor laboratory" among medicinal plants, herbs and native spices. In 2018 Roberto began to dedicate himself to this rich heritage of biodiversity in Trecastagni (CT), in the heart of the Etna National Park. Here he began his countercurrent project, SARI, of which he is the founder and first-generation grower.
Roberto's project begins to grow, the land on the slopes of Etna is joined by the transformation laboratory where herbal teas and infusions are born. The collaboration with Boniviri is triggered on these products, and finds fertile ground in Roberto's vision of responsible agriculture and the valorization of local heritage.
Davide Scaravilli's story of staying would have skipped a generation, if it had not been for the call of Etna that made him return to the Nebrodi Mountains from New York. Faced with his personal choice between staying in the United States or returning to Sicily, Davide decides to return to manage his grandparents' farm, and build a life among the olive trees where he grew up and where Garbato and the monocultivars Ogliarola Messinese and Nocellara dell'Etna of the Boniviri selection are produced.
Their stories demonstrate that staying is not only an act of courage, but also a valuable choice to regenerate territories and communities.
