Tomorrow, Thursday May 30, AM, from Tatti, a small hamlet in the area of Massa Marittima (Southern Tuscany), there will be the kick off of a “little feat”. Little, but a feat.
Picture a 70 year-old a 50 year-old, and two under 30’s, interacting almost daily for over two years now, on the grounds of their respective professional experiences (agriculture, engineering, music) to explain some issues which are important to them, concerning the development (or the lack thereof) of a rural area.
Or… picture two young folks from the Cecina Valley, born and raised in a combination of rural tradition and modern geothermal energy utilities, and two “less young folks” born in Germany (even though one is genetically from Southern Tuscany), who have been roaming and working for years in various European and extra-Europan countries, eventually meeting at 400 metres above sea level, around longitude 43 North in the Thyrrenian area, experimenting the coexistence of indigenous and local values and projects.
The overall result of this exercise to date is an interdisciplinary project which -starting from the “minimum common denominator” represented by music multiplied by a will to make an active use of it in the environmental field, i.e. geomusic– has taken the form of a collective called Metalliferous Hills Jug Band (in Italian “Jug Band dalle Colline Metallifere“, or JBCM).
The feat will consist in giving five performances in four days. These will combine music, storytelling, land planning, agriculture, citizen science on light pollution, free/open source mapping, and other threads (including tasting of typical products from the area where the group is based). The opening event will be at Politecnico di Milano. Then, the band will head to in Germany, in the Stuttgart area (performing, in addition to the Baden-Württemberg capital, in Ludwigsburg, Vaihingen-Enz, Sachsenheim, and Oberrot). A detailed schedule of the story is explained in this post.
The JBCM collective went public in September 2018. During the cold months it played in several events in Southern Tuscany, and worked in parallel to explain the project. This has raised interest both in Italy and abroad. Among other feedback, the geomusical idea has been acknowledged by the European Citizen Science Association as an experimental project for empowerment, inclusiveness and equality in participatory investigations (where scientist and citizens co-exist), and is enticing research and outreach institutions from various countries.
The return to Toscana is planned for June 3, with a load of typical German products to balance the Tuscan products we will have shared on our way up. We then expect to arrange some event to let people know how the story went.
As Marcus King, young bluesman from South Carolina says “.. we don’t know where we’re headed, but we know we’ll meet you there”.
For more information: jugbandcm@pibinko.org (all band members read it) or +39 3317539228 (Jack O’Malley).