“I do like win-win situations.” says David Peat of the Pari Centre just south of Siena in Italy. ” Take our own Center, for example, we had been living in the medieval hilltop village of Pari for several years and noted the feeling local people had that there was no future for their village and its falling population. In 2000 I was given some funding to run a conference in London on the future of Universities. I asked the people in the village if they would like to host it in Pari.”

“The result was the Pari Center.” he says, a centre for ‘New Learning’. He goes on to explain that: “For the village it means an influx of visitors who rent the empty furnished houses — an a few have actually moved her as full-time inhabitants, spend their money in the two local shops, eat and the bar and two restaurants. And when we have conferences we have the local people cook. But even more important is the sense that the village is alive. Two years ago we had some business leaders from Uk and USA and the day after the conference I had them sit with some of the local people and discuss possible visions for the future.

In return we have free use of the Palazzo — no rent to pay — with a
conference room, office, library and coffee room.”

David and his family have also set up a small publishing company in the area ‘Pari Publishing’ which has published his latest book Gentle Action. To find out more visit the website www​.gentleaction​.com