ORTOFFICINA
Ortofficina is our farm estate in the hills of Bologna, where we use the biodynamic method to grow and harvest medicinal herbs that we distil locally, transforming them into Organic Way ingredients.
It is the first stage of the journey through Oway: the place where you can experience the real essence of our circular project and the earth from which to extract the secret of purity and well-being of our treatments.
What is biodynamics?
The biodynamic method is the purest and cleanest type of cultivation, free from pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and synthetic fertilisers used in conventional agriculture. The deep bond with nature and the complete respect of its rhythms allow us to obtain the most concentrated and effective active ingredients. The three key principles of biodynamic agriculture are:
- Keeping plants healthy without using any chemicals
- Keeping soil fertile for each successive cultivation using biodynamic preparations and the compost pile
- Relying on the moon’s influence for proper sowing and harvesting and to obtain ingredients rich in active and nutritious elements
What is biodynamics?
The biodynamic method is the purest and cleanest type of cultivation, free from pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and synthetic fertilisers used in conventional agriculture. The deep bond with nature and the complete respect of its rhythms allow us to obtain the most concentrated and effective active ingredients. The three key principles of biodynamic agriculture are:
- Keeping plants healthy without using any chemicals
- Keeping soil fertile for each successive cultivation using biodynamic preparations and the compost pile
- Relying on the moon’s influence for proper sowing and harvesting and to obtain ingredients rich in active and nutritious elements
The origins
Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Steiner's medicine and of Waldorf pedagogy, gave life to biodynamics in 1924 to set farmers free from the slavery of chemical products in fertilisation and plant protection.
Biodiversity and the role of the farmer
The biodynamic method perceives the company as a living organic unit, where several other organisms that make it up (forest, meadow, fields, gardens, animals, plants, hedges, fruit trees, useful insects, compost pile, humus, earthworms) work in harmony, vivifying it through their different ecological functions and making the system dynamic and productive.
The farmer has a role of great responsibility, as the spiritual principle who arranges and organises the entire activity of the system. His action must be based on knowledge of all the requirements of the farm organisation, on the daily observation of the interaction between all the living beings present and on taking into account the close dialogue that exists between the earth and the cosmos.
Biodiversity and the role of the farmer
The biodynamic method perceives the company as a living organic unit, where several other organisms that make it up (forest, meadow, fields, gardens, animals, plants, hedges, fruit trees, useful insects, compost pile, humus, earthworms) work in harmony, vivifying it through their different ecological functions and making the system dynamic and productive.
The farmer has a role of great responsibility, as the spiritual principle who arranges and organises the entire activity of the system. His action must be based on knowledge of all the requirements of the farm organisation, on the daily observation of the interaction between all the living beings present and on taking into account the close dialogue that exists between the earth and the cosmos.
BEES IN ORTOFFICINA
Bees are responsible for around 70% of the pollination of all plant species on the planet and during their flight they build a thick net which envelops and protects the plants on which they settle.
Thanks to the presence of beehives within the perimeter of Ortofficina, the medicinal plants grown on the estate benefit from this natural and spontaneous “insecticide”, as well as from the productive power provided by their precious pollination.
With the biodynamic method we totally avoid the use of chemical fertilisers or herbicides, the bees in the Ortofficina can stay here safely and maintain the balance of the ecosystem, fertilising and protecting the precious plant sources of our extracts and formulas.
BEES IN ORTOFFICINA
Bees are responsible for around 70% of the pollination of all plant species on the planet and during their flight they build a thick net which envelops and protects the plants on which they settle.
Thanks to the presence of beehives within the perimeter of Ortofficina, the medicinal plants grown on the estate benefit from this natural and spontaneous “insecticide”, as well as from the productive power provided by their precious pollination.
With the biodynamic method we totally avoid the use of chemical fertilisers or herbicides, the bees in the Ortofficina can stay here safely and maintain the balance of the ecosystem, fertilising and protecting the precious plant sources of our extracts and formulas.
Water dynamization
Dynamization is a fundamental procedure of biodynamic agriculture. It consists in activating some natural substances by means of their dilution and strong interpenetration with water through an energetic stirring.
The dynamization of the biodynamic preparations to be supplied occurs by stirring the water with a rotating movement, alternating clockwise and counter clockwise.
The water is thus charged with energy, movement and oxygen to energise the preparations that we spray on the fields.
Water dynamization
Dynamization is a fundamental procedure of biodynamic agriculture. It consists in activating some natural substances by means of their dilution and strong interpenetration with water through an energetic stirring.
The dynamization of the biodynamic preparations to be supplied occurs by stirring the water with a rotating movement, alternating clockwise and counter clockwise.
The water is thus charged with energy, movement and oxygen to energise the preparations that we spray on the fields.
Locally grown plant-ingredients
At Oway we sow, harvest and process medicinal plants to obtain the precious ingredients of our green and clean chemical formulas.
Any manifestation of everyday life involves chemistry, from natural phenomena such as photosynthesis, to the reactions which take place within our body. Life is a set of transformations, (re)actions and interactions and here at Oway we are committed to best mixing the plant-derivatives and functional active ingredients for every formula. Choosing the green and clean method means preferring physical processes - such as distillation, maceration and pressing - to transform plant-derived ingredients, just as occurs for our essential oils.
Locally grown plant-ingredients
At Oway we sow, harvest and process medicinal plants to obtain the precious ingredients of our green and clean chemical formulas.
Any manifestation of everyday life involves chemistry, from natural phenomena such as photosynthesis, to the reactions which take place within our body. Life is a set of transformations, (re)actions and interactions and here at Oway we are committed to best mixing the plant-derivatives and functional active ingredients for every formula. Choosing the green and clean method means preferring physical processes - such as distillation, maceration and pressing - to transform plant-derived ingredients, just as occurs for our essential oils.
Beyond Ortofficina: our biodynamic and organic partners
From direct cultivation and based on territorial characteristics, we obtain plants which we then transform locally into the Oway plant-active ingredients. In order to guarantee plant ingredients and pure extracts in all treatments and to draw on raw materials respecting biodiversity (as in the case of citrus fruits from Southern Italy), we work with a network of certified Italian partners and biodynamic and organic farmers who grow according to rigid agricultural and eco-friendly standards. Promoting and spreading agricultural approaches such as organic and biodynamic- the latter still too little practiced on the national territory - for us means encouraging a type of healthy, clean and lively cultivation and promoting the sustainability of the supply chain, starting right from the producer up to the end processor.
Ortofficina is not just a farm, but a harmonious experience with nature, of health and well-being for man, of respect for our planet.
Ortofficina
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