From September 3 to 5, 2025, the village of Sessa Cilento will host the third edition of the Foodsystem 5.0 Seasonal School, scientifically directed by Rural Hack as part of the “Il Borgo dei Mulini” project, promoted by the Municipality of Sessa Cilento and the Ministry of Culture. This edition is organized in collaboration with the RETE Hub of Salerno, activated by the Department for Youth Policies of the Presidency of the Council, with Invitalia and the Chamber of Commerce of Salerno.
This edition focuses on the idea of innovation as a rooted, slow, and transformative phenomenon. Like the White Fig of Cilento—the symbol chosen to represent the entire concept of the school—innovation needs deep roots, care, and a favorable context to ripen. This is not about top-down technologies, but rather appropriate, frugal, and adaptable technologies, capable of enhancing local resources and generating meaning.
An Experiential Lab Between Tradition, Enterprise, and Community
The School is designed as an experiential training path that weaves together material culture, local knowledge, and tools of digital and social innovation. Its dual aim is to promote self-entrepreneurship in inner areas and to activate new imaginaries to rethink the role of rural communities in the ecological and digital transition.
In this framework, the fig becomes a living metaphor of a model of innovation that does not grow everywhere, but only where there is a balance between environment, knowledge, and relationship. A metaphor that guides participants through an exploration of regenerative agriculture, smart micro-supply chains, territorial storytelling, and meaningful business models.
Youth, Villages, and Appropriate Technologies
Thanks to the collaboration with the RETE Hub, the school will activate innovative educational tools to enhance participants’ project design and entrepreneurial skills, focusing on concrete development opportunities within the territories. It’s not just about learning to use tools, but about cultivating the ability to read contexts, build networks, and transform challenges into shared development opportunities.
This September edition will speak to those who want to stay in the territories to innovate them, to those who dream of long-lasting positive impacts, to those who know that even in the digital realm, slowness, listening, and relationships are needed.
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