The Team
Our Story
In 2016, being aware of the present world issues, longtime friends Diego and Claudio realize they could be part of the solution and make a difference. After doing a lot of research, they decided to take a step back to Nature. They knew it was time to take a stand and help improve the environment, and at the same time give families the opportunity to reconnect with Nature. They believe that unplugging ourselves from technology and enjoying real-life experiences with family and friends can have an extremely positive effect on our lifes, interacting with nature we can improve our wellbeing in many ways.
They started to exchange seeds and created a community vegetable garden project, having successful results in the neighborhood. That was a great motivation to keep moving forward into this lifestyle. Eager to learn more, they found the Center for Bioregional Living. Diego and Claudio spent many weekends taking all the workshops the school offered: Biodynamic Gardening, Natural Building, Herbal Medicine, Water in the land, Water Harvesting, and two permaculture design courses.
After volunteering at many different farms in the northeast, working on various projects, and gaining experience, they felt ready to take their skills to their backyard.
Diego
Diego grew up on a off grid farm where he spent the best times of his childhood in a natural environment. Working with animals and growing organic food was a normal thing to do for him.
In 2001 he started working in the construction field for many years as an electrician and then as a handyman. Still, he always stayed in touch with Nature by building bike trails in the woods where he spends most of his free time making natural construction scenes and riding bikes for fun., he always kept his growing food tradition at home year after year. Diego is also a musician, a self-teacher, and a researcher. He is a problem solver by nature and thrives on creating.
Together with Claudio, they believe that it is time to stand up for our Mother Earth and the future generations, so they did all their training as a team in the Center for bioregional living, where they obtained a PDC (permaculture design course) and much more natural training. They believe that an eco-friendly, healthy lifestyle is essential to being happy in today’s world, and together, they founded BACK TO NATURE!
Claudio
Claudio is a Permaculture Designer, fine artist, percussionist, traveler, yogi, vegetarian, living in Stamford, CT.
As a kid, he had a strong connection with Nature; at the age of eight, Claudio’s parents enrolled him in the Boy Scouts, where he developed a passion for the outdoors and animals. This drove him to volunteer at a veterinarian center at a young age, and down the years, this passion became part of his lifestyle as he became vegetarian. In search of better quality food, he started gardening, and that developed into permaculture. He obtained his PDC after graduating from the Center for Bioregional Living. He trained on Intensive biodynamic gardening, Water in the land and water harvesting, Herbal medicine, and tinctures.
After his training, Claudio spends many hours volunteering at the Ellenville, NY campus, and the school director mentored his first projects.
Recently he designed and led a project of edible landscape in southeastern Uruguay. At the age of 18, he started backpacking to other countries, exploring different cultures and landscapes and concluded that we are all the same. The differences between societies are not about flags or borders. Geographical characteristics and climate determine the difference between cultures.
After spending weeks learning yoga in India, he fell in love with the traditional way of practicing this discipline. Today he practices yoga and Vipassana meditation daily. He also does fine art, having his studio at the Loft Artists Association building in Stamford, CT. You can visit his art portfolio at www.claudioart.com.
