Comunità Frizzante literally means “sparkling community”. Comunità Frizzante is a diverse network of organisations and informal groups who are passionate about the Vallagarina valley in the Italian Alps. The group mobilises the participatory production of fizzy drinks to challenge individualised ways of life and alienation from the mountains they are based in, focusing on ecological respect.
The drinks have proved a great tool for investigating and challenging destructive economic practices: with the cola, the group inquires together with teenagers into the politics of multinational food corporations; with the orangeade – produced from the left-over orange pulp – it supports the fight against hyper-exploitative labour of undocumented workers in the orange production; with its grape drink, it questions the grape monocultures invading their valleys, while campaigning for regenerative agriculture.
The project shows how activities of social inclusion can take a non-stigmatising form, which led it to co-establishment a “school of well-being” with the local mental health center. They also run public courses, foraging walks and connect with migrant workers.
