Way back in the nineteenth century, the “Passu Latru” district, located between Noto and Syracuse, was a place “of raids and bandits” who used to pillage the land.
The Passo Ladro project, which takes its name from the district in which it is located, aims to restore the social, natural and vital balance of land whose potential is no longer appreciated, starting from the Noto Valley.
Today, these same lands are steeped in history and tradition, coupled with a culture of value that we pursue daily with our production of healthy and genuine food.
Our goal is to protect the work of the new bandits, the Ethical ones, who have repopulated the fields of the district, by promoting healthy and intrinsically organic crop production.For decades, these 27 hectares were unspoiled but uncultivated. The children of the peasants who owned them had abandoned them in search of a better future. In the beginning we reclaimed our land, dedicating time and energy to it.
Then we went further by meeting the neighbours, who were farmers over the age of 80. “The trust of a sceptical elderly farmer is won by spending hours together, accepting a glass of wine and a piece of cheese – sharing the preciousness of time – letting him tell his life story”. Thus began an ethically-inspired project now known as Passo Ladro.
We convinced the elderly farmers, who unknowingly practised an agriculture that was intrinsically organic, to certify organic brand compliance and to involve their children and grandchildren. Today, our cultivated land extends to 250 hectares and comprises an alliance of six producers, with many young people having returned to the fields.
The Passo Ladro family is open to anyone who feels like an Ethical Bandit and to all who want to express their trust in us by supporting organic farming as a fundamental choice.