🇬🇧 Summer Camp “Zona Ø – The Art of Living”
An immersive experience in the woods of Valchiusella, weaving together community life, permaculture, natural building, mindfulness, care, and art
📅 July 5-12, 2026
📍 Valchiusella, Issiglio (Turin, Italy)
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world” – Gandhi
☀️ What is “Zone Ø: The Art of Living”?
In a fast-paced world that fragments our attention, the “Zone 0: The Art of Living” Summer Camp is an act of gentle resistance—an immersive experience in the woods of Valchiusella to slow down and dwell within your own center.
The title draws inspiration from both Permaculture and Gandhi‘s message.
In permaculture, Zone 0 represents the very first area from which to start designing sustainable systems. It is the home, and even before that, the individual—the energetic center from which everything radiates.
“The Art of Living” is the title of an enlightening book by Gandhi, which conveys the idea that life itself should be a work of art, shaped through simplicity, discipline, truth, love, spirituality, self-care, and community care.
These are the main inspirations behind a journey that weaves together community life, natural building, permaculture, mindfulness practices, care, and art. A week of wild learning and regeneration to reconnect with yourself and the earth, rediscovering autonomy, creativity, and a sense of belonging.
Our guiding thread will be the “Albero Maestro”—the Master Tree. Each day will reflect a specific phase of its growth and a core concept:
Monday: sprout – centering 🌱 🧘♀️
Tuesday: roots – belonging 🌳 🤝
Wednesday: sap – nourishment 💧 🍎
Thursday: trunk – stability 🪵 🏛️
Friday: branches – expression 🌿 🎨
Saturday: flowers – fulfillment 🌸 ✨
Sunday: seeds – legacy 🌻 🏺
🌀 A Typical Day
08:00 – 09:00 | Breakfast
09:00 – 10:30 | Zone 0: mindfulness practices, foraging, and forest bathing
10:30 – 11:30 | The Art of Living: self-expression through art
11:30 – 15:30 | Community lunch and relaxation
15:30 – 18:30 | The Art of Making: artistic natural building for the “Capanna del Silenzio” (The Hut of Silence)
18:30 – 19:00 | Sharing circle and reflection
19:00 – onwards | Community dinner and relaxation
🌈 The Tribe: The Parallel Journey for Children
While adults engage in the main program, the younger ones experience a parallel journey of growth and discovery:
- The Forest Tribe (09:00 – 11:30): forest exploration, theater games, child-friendly meditations, and outdoor education.
- The Art Tribe (15:30 – 18:30): creative activities and art therapy to encourage self-expression through art. Whenever possible, the Art Tribe will join the adults at the building site to help build the Hut of Silence.
💚 Why join?
You feel the need to:
Disconnect from the noise to tune back into your biological rhythm, guided by your breath and the cycles of nature.
Reclaim the power of your hands, discovering that building and foraging are not just actions, but acts of freedom and independence.
Experience community without filters, in a space where silence is valued as much as speech, and where every meal tastes of the local territory and care.
Return home with a framework: not just a natural building technique or the name of a plant, but an inner compass—your Master Tree—to stay grounded through the storms of everyday life.
💛 Who can join?
Open to youth, families, and anyone wishing to experience a slow, authentic, and community-centered lifestyle.
ℹ️ Practical Info and Logistics
🛎️ Arrivals and Departures
Arrival: Sunday, July 5, starting from 4:00 PM.
Departure: Sunday, July 12, after the closing lunch.
🏕️ Hospitality and Community
The Summer Camp is an experiment in authentic communal living:
Communal kitchen: meals will be prepared by participants on a rotating basis. Cooking together is an act of collective care and a cornerstone of community life.
Accommodation: space is available for tents, camper vans, and shared rooms.
Shared spaces: kitchen and bathrooms are shared and managed with mutual respect and a spirit of adaptation.
💰 Participation Fees
Adult: 560 euros
Adult “Early Bird”: 500 euros (valid for registrations by May 31)
Child: 150 euro
The fee covers the cost of meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), materials, and activities. Accommodation (tent, camper, or shared room) is on a donation basis.
📩 How to Register
To register, please fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/t6v8zsnXbnAsc3Gt5
If you need further information or updates: +39 348 3824189 – rinselvainfo@gmail.com
The team walking with you
Chiara Kaya Bruzzese
What I do: Environmental hiking guide, eco-cultural designer, and permaculturist. I graduated in Development Cooperation with the desire to create positive-impact projects that bring together environment, people, and culture. This drive evolved into the Rinselva project, where I organize hikes, workshops, and journeys to reconnect with the wild. I have integrated walking with my accreditation as a Mindfulness Facilitator with IPHM and IMMA.
What I will do during the camp: I will be your guide along the trails of Valchiusella. We will walk together to discover wild herbs, I will accompany you through mindfulness practices in the forest, and I will facilitate our sharing circles.
My dream: To see people go home with their hands dirty with soil, their eyes full of wonder, and a light heart.
Chiara Colombi
What I do: Visual artist and creator of participatory art projects. Mother and curator of Labolat33, a home-studio immersed in the nature of Valchiusella, born from the desire to welcome international artists in residence and make art an accessible space for anyone wishing to reopen their creative portals.
What I will do during the camp: I will guide the activities of “Zone 0”, in continuity with the experiential practices on the self led by Chiara Bruzzese. I will accompany the transition from intimate experience to its outward, collective expression, working directly within nature through the multiple languages of visual art: sculpture, installation, drawing, photography, and site-specific practices.
My dream: That this Camp may be a precious opportunity to inhabit our inner space and make it resonate harmoniously within the collective, in an authentic and living way.
Beatrice Loda
What I do: I am an architect and artisan specializing in natural building and natural finishes. I have managed several Superadobe and Bamboo construction sites in Mexico, where I also studied the art of affresco at the Escuela de Muralismo in Oaxaca. I lead training workshops on natural building and work on co-design processes with communities both in Italy and abroad.
What I will do during the camp: I will introduce both adults and children to the ancient, eco-friendly technique of “torchis”, getting our hands dirty with clay and plant fibers to build the infill walls of a hexagonal wooden hut.
My dream: To participate together in a common project, where each person can express their own nature in harmony with others, like in a great open-air theater.
Filippo Ludovici
What I do: I hold a degree in Sports Science and am training to become a school physical education teacher. In the meantime, here in Ivrea, I created a movement-based meditation course for children, integrating the knowledge gained from my university studies with my passion for meditation and the human inner world, creating a dynamic method to experience meditation through movement.
What I will do during the camp: I will show children the beauty and joy of play and meditation in interaction with the invisible realities of the natural and soulful world.
My dream: To leave children with experiences of play, joy, and wonder that can accompany and guide them for the rest of their lives, while at the same time learning from these little masters of spontaneity, truth, and simplicity.
Martina Tina Grifoni
What I do: Visual artist, art therapist, educator, and facilitator of participatory processes. I graduated in Art Education and Communication, and for over ten years, I have been working with groups of people to create spaces for care and expression. I explore the visual and performing arts as tools for individual and collective well-being.
What I will do during the camp: I will accompany the Art Tribe in their artistic creation through playful and experiential activities, focusing on being together in harmony.
My dream: To plant small seeds that can sprout a future of equity, respect, and harmony.
We look forward to welcoming you! Join us for a week of nature, art, care, and community ☀️