About us#
Melemarze ETS is a non-profit organization founded in 2024 in Gagliano Aterno (Abruzzo, Italy), a small village in a depopulated rural area in the Appennini Mountains. The organization aims to support long-term habitability and social cohesion in marginal territories through regenerative, community-based approaches that address primary needs such as housing, food, relationships, economic and environmental sustainability.
Melemarze works at the intersection of non-formal education, grassroots community development and ecological sustainability, with specific expertise in bio-construction, food sovereignty, land regeneration, participatory processes and group facilitation. Its activities are strongly rooted in the local context, while being connected to national networks and emerging European collaborations.
The name Melemarze reflects our association’s broader approach. We start from the resources already present in a place — in this case the seeds from mele marce, the rotten apples fallen from the area’s old trees — and use them as a starting point to create a new tree. Onto these roots we graft a marza: a new branch, a scion, that carries fresh energy, knowledge and new perspectives. Our name plays on this: mele marce (rotten apples) and marza (scion) merge into Melemarze. The result is a tree that belongs to both the past and the present, and as such is better prepared to face the future. A rootstock shaped by decades of life in this landscape, joined with a new variety suited to today’s and tomorrow’s physical and social conditions.
Bylaws#
You can find the association’s bylaws, signed on May 9th 2024, by clicking HERE — currently available in Italian only.
Contact#
Write to us with information, requests or proposals — we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.