Maddalena Zanoni

What was the moment that made you decide to leave Milan and come back to the mountains?

I made my decision when I was living in Belgium, which was the sixth country I’d moved to. I adore travelling. I believe that everybody should have the experience of starting from zero in a new country so that you really grow and learn about yourself. But after all my wandering, I began to wonder what was my essence — what lay beneath the surface of my CV and my career?

I took two months off from work to search for the answer and went to Val di Non, where my family are from. I started out at the farmstead in Sfruz and Smarano, where I helped out with the goats, and then I went to my grandmother Anna’s old house.

What did you lose and what did you gain when you changed your life?

I lost all the hustle and bustle. I gained a new consciousness. I discovered that we don’t need a lot to be happy. On the contrary, we are better off if we free ourselves of superfluous things in order to see more clearly. It helps us to understand who we are and what we want to do with our time on this planet.

Your toughest moment?

The first step is always the most difficult, when you leave the known for the unknown, stepping off the easy path that's clearly marked for you for one that you have to carve out on your own — a path that you might get lost on, often without the people around you fully understanding.

Your most rewarding moment?

I’ve had two of them. The first was when I discovered the magic of officinal mountain herbs. They have a short lifespan, surrounded by difficult environmental conditions. This is precisely what makes them more intense, with a greater concentration of secondary metabolites, which make them stronger. They truly are the fullest expression of themselves, which I believe we all should be.

The second moment was when my friends came to visit me at the Tres farmstead, travelling from Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and Mexico to be by my side and support me in this moment of madness. I still remember that as one of the happiest moments of my life.

What is it that gets you out of bed every morning now? And what did it used to be?

Let’s say that I don’t want my life to live me. I want to be the one to embrace, choose, intensify my life, just like the flowers of the high Alps do. I believe that we should live like they do, trying to reach the truest expression of ourselves and surrounding ourselves with people who help us on that journey.

That’s the energy I wake up with these days. Before, I was always very eager for every new job and trip, but perhaps I was more focused on speed than direction.

Your favourite mountain flower?

Calendula is without doubt the most iconic, thanks to its striking colour and beneficial properties. But my personal favourite might be yarrow. It’s more humble, less eye-catching, but it can grow in poor, arid soil, keeping travellers company at the sides of rocky mountain trails, the kind of trails that aren’t easy or signposted and often pose a challenge for explorers.

When people come to you, what are they looking for?

The reason for ALM's existence is to shift gears and focus on concentration instead of accumulation, starting from scratch with the power of nature to rediscover the magic of our planet again and again.

I believe that the pandemic has created a lot of unhappiness for people forced to stay home for a long time, maybe on their own, away from nature. I like to think about the plants we’ve picked in the mountains arriving at those people’s homes to bring them some relief.

What is freedom for you?

I like to think that there are no wrong paths, just different roads to explore. The only mistake you can make is to stand still. Titles and job descriptions don’t matter, only the desire to create and grow.

I don’t just want to work, I want to follow my dreams and share them with people who have the same zest for life, letting our energy multiply by sharing it. And even as we think about what impact we want to have, we can enjoy sharing our passion.

Ultimately, the present moment is the only certainty we have. And living fully in the moment is freedom to me.  They say that the secret to happiness is freedom and the secret to freedom is courage.

How much did the fact that you were born in the mountains influence your decision?

That’s a very tough question. The decision I made was to find myself. For me, the mountains and their farmsteads represent the essential, so I definitely see them as landmarks on this journey. But everybody can seek out their own space — physical or mental — where they are free to experiment, free to not have all the answers, free to try a new path and make mistakes, because as Einstein said, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new”.

Would you do it all again?

Definitely, without a doubt! Sure, ALM needs investments and there’s still a lot to do, but I'm happy. I’m enjoying this voyage of discovery, and I hope that I can inspire anybody who has a dream to take that first step. After all, the only failure is not to try.