Our story
The transition of the abandoned Serre Lamboi compound to the MVI real-world laboratory is a continous process of co-design with many partners and supporters, driven and fueled by our team, with uncountable hours of personal invest." The transition process is reason and motivation in itself, and highly valuable for experimenting with technical and social change.
Pre-phase
1985-2001
Building the foundational motivation and skills
Pre-phase
2002-2014
Learning, dreaming and exploring
Finding and starting
2015-2019
Finding Serre Lamboi and starting MVI’s operation in transition
Consolidating and growing
2020
Consolidating MVI as RWL and growing a professional organisation
Finding and starting
2015
TL and MR explore the Torino valleys in the surfer van and skitour five valleys to identify the exact place for a mtn retreat, and find Ostana in February 2015 – because of a simple banner on one old ruin stating “near zero energy renovation” – which we very much resonated with – and then due to lights on in Rifugio Galaberna and today’s sindaca Silvia Rovere offering a tea, then connecting us with that time mayor Giacomo Lombardo. TL and MR wrote a concept paper for April and GL helping to find Serre Lamboi abandoned compound. Following four months of hard work by GL to identify and contact about 40+ owners of the different co-owned ruins and the many different land plots. First notarial land buying act August 14 2015.
2016
2nd notarial buying act in December
2015-2019
Getting to know the place, people, meeting local architect Luisella Dutto to help getting started, Enrico Crespo the builder from Valle dell’Eco, and many very friendly and helpful local and regional people, like Francesca Deaglio. Making the campus accessible, writing a business plan, creating the first website, making a “real-world laboratory” focus from the initial simpler “work&play retreat”. Testing out courses, having multiple university student classes there to learn by research on e.g. mobility transition and social innovation, and offering first permaculture design and hemp building courses. Constant travelling from Switzerland to Ostana, often spontaneous, after work, for the weekend, basically turning private life into MVI creation life
2017-2019
Building the first house, “Il Doppio”, a passive net-positive wooden house, and administering MVI as legal association in Torino. Financed by family and friends, since the European banking system does not allow us to get a bank loan. Many friends from around the world visit and help building the campus.
2019
January, inauguration of the Doppio with 80 local and regional visitors; from now on, the unfinished but livable Doppio is our new home@MVI, and the organizational life eases a little bit; first RDT are offered, co-developed by new fellow Haley Fitzpatrick who as well designs the new MVI masterplan
Consolidating and growing
2020
Proceed to consolidate and professionalize MVI with a growing young team; new CI donated by close friend Claire; new website; developing first RDT virtual as adaptation to the global Corona crisis and the cancellation of all in-person group programs at our campus
Next years: see masterplan time frame map