Friday/Rāmere
Reggio Emilia is famous for the Reggio Emilia pedagogical approach for kindergarten and primary school teaching. It was born and developed in Italy in the 1950's by Loris Malaguzzi.
From Wikipedia: "It is based on the child as a bearer of rights and needs, on its potential, on its ability to build knowledge. In this approach there is no predefined methodology: final objectives are established, but subsequent planning, reconsideration of ideas and communication objectives are carried out. The child is not required to adopt strategies or methodologies to acquire knowledge: he is free to choose the path that best suits his learning needs, assisted by educators in his development. Malaguzzi's starting point is: "What children learn is not the automatic result of what they are taught. Rather, it is due in large part to making children own as a consequence of their activities and resources."
From Margaret Bendall (NZ education guru and blog reader): "Teachers in primary schools say "Reggio Emilia" with a reverence reserved for only the most exciting and thought-provoking of educational approaches in primary schools."
While Paulo, Manuela and Chiara have travelled and lived a lot of their life outside Reggio Emilia, in the short time I have known them all they have this philosophy in their hearts - especially this bit: "He/she is free to choose the path that best suits his/her learning needs". A picture of the Ficarelli / Prandini family (we have met Mattia only on Skype.)
Chiara had suggested our accommodation, a great B&B setup in the country outside Reggio Emilia. This is it.
Chiara and her parents had organised a great itinerary for our stay. Today it was off to see the making and sampling of parmesan cheese (parmigiano-reggiano is from the Reggio Emilia area.) We started at Bruno's farm, where Paulo's mother had grown up. All their milk goes to the local parmesan cheese co-op. Here is Bruno with Bill, Paolo and Lachie.
All dairy farming around Reggio is intensive. The cows are all indoors. Bruno's family has farmed here since 1966. There are 134 cows, and 100 hectares. In this area they collect the cows number two's every five days. This is then spread back over the paddocks of grass. I think it was day number five. It smelt a bit, or maybe I have a big nose. Manuela said she liked the smell as it was farm like! That is for sure.
The cows eat 2/3 hay and 1/3 fresh grass a day and produce 30 litres of milk a day. Here they are feeding on hay.
This is fresh grass to be cut, then arriving for the cows.
Here are some calves - they also grow up indoors - very different from New Zealand! There are 14 farms like this which take their milk to the Parmesan factory. And 350 Parmesan co-operatives in the region.
Another area cows can go to. They only stay in three areas and the milking area in their life.
This is the number ones and number twos being taken out to be spread on the paddocks.
Next we went to the cheese plant. The founder was killed by the fascists in 1922. Co-ops were seen as communist.
We get hygienically geared up. Lachie watches Manuela to know how.
1050 litres of milk goes into these vats each day. Temperature must be kept at 34 degrees. Add rennett to the vats, or if vegetarian Kaffir, wait 20 minutes, and cheese starts to form.
Then these expert stirrers/cheese makers collect the cheese (they have been working here for 30 years). Each of these vats produces two wheels of 40kg of parmesan a day. Vats are copper inside and steel outside. Steam goes in the gap in between to keep the perfect temperature.
Much of it is done by hand.
My new friend (for the blog) Lucrezia, the master cheesemaker.
5000 wheels are made each week. Each wheel is 40kg of cheese and uses 100 litres of milk. A wheel can be stored for years. We had a taste of a 1 year cheese and a 2 year cheese - 2 years so much better.
Cheese Maturing: youngest Parmesan is 12 months. Less is not Parmesan - it does not get the branding- oldest up to 40 months -normally 36 for a matured Parmesan-The coop sells to the warehouse (it works like a Bank) soon after branding, at 12 months of maturing.
They can store up to 300,000 wheels here. Each wheel would retail at ~$1000. The co-op makes 20,000 wheels a year. Most of these are pre-sold.
Now they have an automatic cleaner. They used to pull out each one by hand and clean it. Would have needed rugby players in training for that.
Then it was to the shop, where we sampled and bought cheese.
After the farm and cheese tours, we went to Scandiano to have a swim and some lunch.
And to another best ice cream place in Italy, which Chiara found.
Then it was walking into the hills of Scandiano to see the famed shooting stars - on the night of San Lorenzo (Aug 9th) the sky is filled with shooting stars. No joke!
Paulo loves donkeys! (He trained as a vet.)
We walked and walked.
Hay cutting on the slopes?
We waited for the dark, and for shooting stars (with a bottle of wine, beer and chips from the restaurant at the top of the hill).
There were none tonight. Apparently with climate change they do not show up on this night as much any more. But it was a lovely walk.