Green Fingers Trending in Milan

Mariella: Writer and Film Maker

Mariella is a sci-tech journalist, a writer, and now a film maker working on social and environmental issues.  A green activist very well known in town for her deep experiences in urban gardening and for her community gardens projects and International projects “In fact I wrote two books on avantgardening L'orto diffuso and L'orto in città and now I am Facebook manager of Greentown Italy, a growshop where you can find  products for home cultivation, including some super tech growboxes.  I also made a  project of mapping vegetable gardens in Milano reported on my blog Ortodiffuso”. In the meanwhile, after a movie on women's violence L'amore che sbrana. Mariella is preparing a movie on “box popolare”, that means boxing outside the local federation network, made in occupied places and with a strong link to politics and music. 

Years ago we worked together for a nature publishing group, so it's quite a long time that Mariella has inspired me for her professional skills, her self determination and making ability.  I meet her in an old popular style building of Milan “casa di ringhiera” now urban arty and chic in Porta Venezia where she lives as a nerd with a cat and a lot of plants.

On the table a Canon camera, two computers, one Mac Book Pro, one PC, and a knitting set. In fact some of Mariella's clothes are “Do-It-Yourself” mixed in a unique punk style that reminded me of Vivienne Westwood's attitude. She offers me a delicious cup of coffee prepared by a modified Moka Express.

Food and wellness: what are your favorite products? 

“I am of course a vegetarian and from long ago I refuse to use the allopathic remedies and I use only homeopathic remedies of brands following the ideas of Rudolf Steiner. So for beauty I use only Weleda products, a Swiss company that use only biological ingredients and have respectable rules with the workers. Then twice a week I go to the gym and a lot of city bike.”

Do you have a car?

“No car at all”. Mariella does not like cars (including the new electric cars) because they are the main cause of greenhouse effect and air pollution.  

You always move by bike, summer and winter: which kind of bike? 

“It's a self-made bike built by me at the Ciclofficina, a free space where everybody can fix or make a bike. It's an aluminum one so it's very light”.

Tech tools for working and green ethics: how do you manage this controversial relation?

“Of course I use branded products, I have a Mac only for the editing of videos and photos and I have also a PC. On my PC I have a boot which allows me the use of Linux software and in windows I use only Gnu licenses. For work I have Gmail but basicly I use the server Autistici/Inventati, a provider of free communication tools that is  very well known in Italy”.