Today we’d like to introduce you to Alessandra And Gianfranco Santagati.
Alessandra and Gianfranco , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My wife Alessandra and I (Gianfranco )are Italian, deeply Italian in our roots, our culture, our love for food, family and beauty. But after many years, experiences and places, we also consider ourselves citizens of the world.
We have always been visionaries and creators. We build businesses, develop startups, transform ideas into something real. We see possibilities where sometimes there is nothing yet.
Creating is simply part of who we are.
But at a certain point in our lives, we made a very conscious choice: *we wanted our work to be in harmony with our souls.*
We no longer wanted to create just for the sake of creating a successful business. We wanted to create beauty. We wanted to work with Mother Nature instead of against her. We wanted to build projects that could give people more freedom, independence and a deeper connection with the land.
That is when our idea of entrepreneurship began to change
And From opening Restaurants we switched and now we love to create Intentional Community and Ecovillages !
Today, we are especially passionate about creating *self-sufficient and sovereign startups* small ecosystems that can produce, sustain themselves, adapt and grow while respecting the environment around them.
Owl Creek is one expression of that vision.
Here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, we have been able to bring together so many things we believe in: land, water, food, animals, hospitality, old Italian traditions, creativity, education, community and entrepreneurship.
We don’t believe that progress has to mean becoming disconnected from nature. In fact, we believe the future may be exactly the opposite.
For us, true innovation is learning how to create abundance without destroying what surrounds us.
We are still entrepreneurs. We are still dreamers. We still wake up with more ideas than we could possibly build in one lifetime.
The difference is that today we choose very carefully what deserves our energy.
If it creates beauty, if it gives something back, if it brings people closer to nature and makes life a little more sovereign and self-sufficient, then we become curious.
And usually… we start building it.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Maybe this is something cultural, or maybe it is simply part of who we are, but as Italians we have a particular ability to see possibilities where others may see problems.
So we have never really looked at obstacles as obstacles.
We see possibilities. We see opportunities. Even a mistake can become the beginning of something completely different if you are willing to change your perspective.
Our visions are never rigid. They evolve with circumstances, with people, with the land and with whatever life puts in front of us.
We like to think of ourselves as water.
When water meets a stone, it doesn’t waste all its energy trying to move the stone. It simply finds another way. It flows around it, changes direction and continues its journey.
That is very much how we approach life and business.
When something doesn’t work, we don’t remain attached to how we originally imagined it. We adapt. We look around. We find another path, another solution, sometimes even another purpose for the original idea.
And very often, what we discover because of an obstacle turns out to be more interesting than what we had planned in the first place.
Perhaps that is one of our greatest strengths: *we are never short of ideas, because we never believe there is only one way forward.* and we are Natural Problem Solvers
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Owl Creek Farm Resort is difficult to describe with just one label and we actually like it that way.
It is a farm, a place to stay, a place to learn, a place to reconnect with nature, and above all, a living experiment in a more self-sufficient and sovereign way of life.
On our land in the mountains of Western North Carolina, we have been creating a small ecosystem where hospitality, agriculture, animals, food, water, traditional knowledge and entrepreneurship coexist.
Guests can stay with us, walk through the farm, meet the animals, gather around a fire, experience our gardens and natural spaces, or participate in hands-on experiences where we share things that are part of our everyday life from Italian food traditions and pasta making to herbs, natural preparations and skills connected to the land like Survivors Workshops or Foraging
But what sets Owl Creek apart is probably not any single thing we offer.
It is the philosophy behind it.
We don’t want people simply to come here, consume an experience and leave. We want them to become curious again.
Curious about where their food comes from. Curious about what grows around them. Curious about what they could make with their own hands. Curious about how much of what we normally buy or depend upon we could actually learn to produce ourselves.
We believe luxury is changing.
For us, real luxury is clean water, good food, fertile soil, space, knowledge, freedom, time and the ability to provide for at least part of your own needs.
Owl Creek is also our laboratory. We are constantly experimenting with ways a relatively small piece of land can generate food, experiences, education, hospitality and multiple small businesses while remaining in harmony with Mother Nature.
Perhaps what we are most proud of is that Owl Creek is never really finished.
It grows with us.
Every season teaches us something, every person who visits brings something new, and almost every corner of the property seems to eventually give us another idea.
We are not trying to build the biggest resort.
*We are trying to explore how much life, beauty, independence and possibility can be created from one piece of land.*
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We love collaboration, especially when it brings together people who might normally never think of working together.
Owl Creek was never created to be an isolated project. We believe that a truly sustainable business grows by creating relationships with its community farmers, artisans, educators, small businesses, organizations, travelers and, most importantly, people with ideas.
We are always interested in meeting creative minds.
If someone has knowledge, a skill, a product, an experience or simply an idea that could create something meaningful in harmony with nature, we are willing to listen.
Sometimes collaboration means hosting a class or an experience at Owl Creek. Sometimes it means working with a local producer, creating an event, developing a new concept together, or simply connecting two people who can help each other.
And supporting us can be much simpler: visit us, stay with us, participate in one of our experiences, buy from the small local producers and businesses we work with, or simply share what we are doing.
We strongly believe that the future belongs to communities that *collaborate rather than compete*.
There is enough space for everyone’s creativity.
And if someone comes to us with an unusual idea, our first question is rarely, “Why?”
It is usually:
“Why not?”
We are also a Biodynamic Organinc Farm !
One of our guest gave us the best feedback ever : she said : “you guys are the best Enviromentalist !”
Wow
We loved it
Come and visit us
We are in Murphy Nc
Follow us on Facebook Instagram You tube And Tik Tok
And visit our website
Www.owlcreekfarmresort.com
To book one of our lodge apartment
Airbnb.com/h/owl-creek-farm-resort
To visit us with your Rv and sleep creek Front book your spot with
https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/land/north-carolina-owl-creek-farm-resort-5x5hv5qm?adults=1&children=0
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.owlcreekfarmresort.com
