Life changes when you put on a blindfold and hit the trail in the mountains, in safe conditions of course. This was experienced by many visitors who attended the grand opening this morning and afternoon “A journey for everyone“toWWF Oasis “The Deer and the Moon”in a protected reserve Mount Arcos (Cagliari).
IN Gutturu Mannu Park, in the Sa Canna area, after almost 24 months of work, a path has seen the light that creates a new opportunity for sharing and inclusion. Originally designed to make the sensory experience accessible to people who are blind, visually impaired, or have physical or mental disabilities, it has proven to be truly useful for everyone: those with temporary walking problems, but also people who enjoys excellent health. Hence the invitation to test the path using black bandages that do not allow you to see.
“It’s unbelievable, I felt a very strange feeling because I had to measure myself without the aid of sight, as I am usually used to. And there were great emotions,” he says Will beThe 48-year-old came from Varese for a long weekend in Sardinia. “I immediately felt an expansion of my other senses: from hearing (which made me listen in awe even to the sound of my footsteps on the ground) to smell, which allowed me to appreciate the scents of the surrounding nature. All the things that we often miss because we are used to them and do not attach the right importance to them”, he underlines Pavel65 years old Perugiaalso on vacation with the family.
“It’s a very important day for all of us, we’ve been waiting for it for almost two years,” he explains Petra Paoliniová, manager of Oasis. “We worked intensively on it, we used the cooperation of experts and friends. This is a sensory journey where anyone who wants to experience the Oasis can do so with all their senses activated. It’s like a guided tour, but in a slightly different way. An experience to be had quietly, touching the bark of trees rather than the horns of a mouflon, smelling the scent of essences, walking with your toes on deer antlers, learning the history of this beautiful part of the park.”
“We are now looking ahead and trying to move to the next step, which is envisaged by the agreement with WWF, which cares and manages the entire naturalistic part of the Oasis, while Domus de Luna manages the reception of visitors and events through the work of fragile people and cooperation social cooperative “Good and Bad”“, continues Paolini. “We plan to involve a total of around a hundred young people who come from complicated paths and who will find a way to redeem themselves here with work. We have a large project in progress, which concerns the area of the former quarry, where a rural hotel with ten rooms and a large restaurant will be built to accommodate groups, schools and scout groups».
Same Ugo Bressanello, the founder of Domus de Luna, experienced the journey by walking it with the help of crutches. “Luckily for me it’s a temporary injury,” he comments. “But it’s certainly one of the many difficult situations that anyone can find themselves in without having to be deprived of such a beautiful experience. Today allowed me to put myself in the shoes of those who need special attention to enjoy this beautiful oasis. This route must be truly accessible to everyone, for example people with intellectual disabilities: within the route we have to manage different emotions. The oasis must be opened more and more to all people who, especially in such a difficult period, need to experience moments of peace and quiet, but also to rediscover nature.”
In addition to the mayor Uta (one of the nearest municipalities), Giacomo Porcupresident and director of the companyThe European Institute investigates excellent career guidance training for disabled and marginalized people – Ierfoprespectively Roberto Pili AND Bachisio Zolo, who stressed the importance of being able to multiply such initiatives. “Just in these weeks, through a project linked to the environment, we will accompany many blind and partially sighted people in areas of great natural value, such as the WWF Oasis and Molentargius Park, in which the paths are accessible to people with special fragility. This allows us to have experiences that are not possible elsewhere.”
