Pleased to meet you. We are Wigwam® . Our name is that of the round hut in which Red Indians used to meet for talks and feasts. When we were born as a movement - nearly 30 years ago in the Padua area (near Venice), in an era of ecological debates and "metropolitan" Indians - the people of the Great Lakes were a symbol of a just relationship between man and nature.
We "Wigwammers" hold nature and traditions dear. But we also appreciate the instruments provided by technological progress. We are a mix of tradition and innovation, because our aim is to constantly improve the quality of life, our own and that of others
Some of us nostalgically think of past times, believing that things were better then. Today, we inevitably live in a "global" village which means fewer communication barriers and more exchange. However, the big risk is that the demands of the market and a distorted use of these new instruments may lead to a passively accepted levelling out, where one's own diversity and one's own roots will be forgotten. The Wigwam® Association is a bit like a village in which each Club is a hut, a family with its own interests and projects.
A busy village, made up of people with an urge to do something concrete, who prefer to roll up their shirt sleeves rather than sit around and wait for things to change. There are those whose desire is to bring out the value of rural culture (like the Countryside Circles), those who wish to make the most of traditional wines and foods (such as the "Convivio" Clubs), those who love the sea (like the Sailing Clubs), those who wish to give more value to historical green areas (such as the Historical Gardens Club), those who are concerned with ecological and naturalistic tourism (Holiday Club and Environment Clubs), those who wish to work with children (Fantasy Clubs) and many, many more. And everybody is working towards realizing a project, either to solve a problem or exploit a resource in a new and interesting way, in order to enrich our common patrimony.
It is a village in which experiences are shared (in order to contribute towards the Work Method), where collaboration is a must (in order to develop synergies within the Circuit), where together we can construct something which is useful for all (a meeting centre, a newspaper, participation in a trade fair, etc, …).
A village in constant ferment, because each and every Wigwam® project is like a training course, because there is no better teacher than direct experience in the field. It is also a place of work: many young people have been able to construct their own first experience (something which all employers ask for but few are willing to provide!); but there are also those women and men who, at a certain time of their lives, have decided to give in to the luxury of transforming their work time into enrichment time for themselves and for others, doing something that really interests them, something different that they can create together with people they get on with, with all the advantages but also the responsibilities that this involves.
A village which collaborates with other villages: in fact, "Wigwammers" can often find themselves sitting around a table with representatives of public offices, private companies or other associations, working together on a common project, vouched for by the "neutral" formula of the Wigwam® Method which "shares common ethics", as for example the economical and social development of a territory, the exploitation of neglected resources, the furtherance of certain themes and spreading awareness of the same.
A hospitable village: more and more school groups (4,000 students during the year 2000 only), private groups and individuals are turning to our Wigwam® Clubs or Countryside Clubs in order to take part - for one or more days - in particular activities such as trips into the Venetian lagoon in a sailing boat, olive-gathering, visits to silk-worm farms, walks through historical gardens, summer camps on farms getting to know the animals, excursions in the countryside on foot or by bike, star-gazing, the tasting of typical products, cookery courses, creative workshop... So, welcome to the Wigwam® village!