Have you ever heard of heliculture? If this word does not sound familiar, let us tell you about ElicItaly.
It was 2015 when Andrea Toffolon, an agricultural surveyor, decided to try his hand at raising snails for gastronomy and creating snail slime products here in Aviano.
Specifically, the farm run by Andrea with the help of his mother and dog Kyle is an organic type of farming that aims to safeguard the local vegetation with minimal environmental impact and the utmost respect for the well-being of the snails, which grow in nineteen large enclosures and an open field feeding on the leaves of a special cabbage, without any chemical treatment harmful to the animal or the environment.
The entire breeding focuses on the Helix Aspersa Muller species, internationally renowned for the quality of its meat (delicious!), but especially for the properties of its slime: the snails are sent to the laboratory to drool tickled by ozone a maximum of three times a year, so as not to overstress them and preserve their health.
There are many products that can be made from snail slime, such as syrups, shampoos, and creams with soothing and healing properties, as well as the very pure snail slime that can be used on its own on the skin or to make soap, as Andrea showed us when we visited him at the farm:
Do you know how many snails it takes to produce one liter of slime? About 800! This is why Andrea periodically introduces new specimens into the enclosures, where there is no distinction between the breeding area and the snail feeding area so that the breeding environment is as natural as possible for the animals it houses.
Have you ever noticed the little horn that sprouts on snails when they breed?
You should know that snails are hermaphroditic mollusks, that is, there is no distinction between male and female, so they can both be fertilized through a small horn that sprouts at the side of the head and through which the two specimens exchange gametes. Each fertilized snail lays between 50 and 100 eggs, once a year, which give birth to small, perfectly formed snails.
ElicItaly's attention and care for its snails also goes through the choice of the territory where the farm is born: in fact, snails need the humidity that our climate is rich in and a skeletal soil, that is, rich in stones from which the snails, by gnawing on the surface, are able to take calcium to harden their shells and protect themselves from the external environment.
Natural food, climate and soil are therefore key factors in growing healthy snails and obtaining the highest quality slime, but that is not enough. In fact, great care must be taken that the enclosures receive the right amount of shade (thanks to the presence of benches under which the snails can shelter from the sun) and water even during the hottest months through sprinkler irrigation, which is so gentle that it feels like real natural rain to keep the soil moist so that the snails do not get burned by the summer sun.
What about in winter?
In winter the adult snails hibernate by sealing their shells with slime, which is a natural defense against the cold and predators, while the smaller, weaker ones are taken out of the enclosures to be placed in a nursery that protects them until they are strong enough to be reintroduced into the enclosures.
Andrea has managed to create a breeding that is proof that commitment and hard work pay off, in perfect harmony with the environment in which it is placed. He has shown that a breeding that is not obvious and unusual like this is within the reach of anyone who has the passion and tenacity to get involved. He has shown that striving to follow one's own ideas gives great satisfaction.
To find out more about ElicItaly and its philosophy:
Via Marchet SNC - 33081 Aviano (PN)
+39 329 2328 305
Facebook: Elicitaly
Instagram: @elicitaly
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