This system also existed here in Switzerland. Families would have a main house in the valley where they lived during the winter and more smaller houses at different heights in the mountains. The warmer the season was, the higher up they would move with their animals, up to the alp where they would spend the summer. Today people live mostly in the valleys and the houses in the mountains were either abandoned or are now used as vacation homes. In the german and french speaking parts, those houses would be made of wood, but in the southern, italian speaking part of Switzerland, they're made of stone just like your houses. I have spent time in some of them, they are nice and cool when it's hot outside but as soon as it gets cold they are freezing. The stone walls let some wind through and it always feels kind of wet. They also usually didn't have an oven (like the tile stoves that are common in the german speaking regions), just a fireplace that's terribly ineffective at heating a room. Simply installing a simple wood burner like you did is already a huge upgrade. The reason why they used stone to build all the houses is because there is plenty of stone that's easy to use for building (very blocky plate-y shaped) and wood was scarce because it was used for heating. If you look at all the forrests on the hills and mountains aroung your houses, most of those have grown in the last 100 years. It used to be all grassland for the animals and some fields for crops (yes, even in the mountains, you had to make due).
Very true. Actually, we have such a very old Alphütte on 2200 m made of stone with thick walls and and big stable but the stable has declinded. There is a stove in there and in winter, it is covered by snow. So, in spring (end of May) we have to dig out the door and the windows which is really hard work after a hard ascent but hey, this is what it's all about...back to basics....you don't need all that civilization crap like internet, tv and all that...
A total feast for the senses. This is the third time I have sat down with the intention of eating my dinner whilst watching... and three times my dinner has gone cold because my eyes are glued to the screen. It is all so wonderful, and a complete pleasure to watch.
Mine too. No cheap entertainment. No pretense or keeping up appearances. Raw realness and beauty!!! I soak in every second. And the music choice is haunting the cinematic output.
@@7pdude oh yeah i know, but the thought that I could experience this stunning view at less than 10km away from where I live amazes me particularly! I'm so grateful I discovered Martijn and his videos
Seems like the village was last inhabited around 2003-ish, cool insight into someone's way of life. Cheers from a fellow designer with ambitions bigger than a computer screen...this series is soup for the soul while I toil away
My grandparents were from Italy and came to America 120 years ago. They would have known these villages you are in now. I’m happy you are reclaiming historic structures. It’s beautiful scenery.
I was born in a small mountain village called Cocullo, Abruzzo, about 2 hrs east of Rome and immigrated to Canada with my parents when I was 5 yrs old. I visited Italy several times and stayed with my relatives in this small mountain village so different than where i live in Canada. But I loved every minute there. These videos have brought back some of those great memories. Thanks Martjin!
When I was 17 (I'm 63now)..my father took us to Galicia, Spain to visit my mother's family. My mother had not been there is over 30 years. We had to walk in ....in terrain just like this...because there was no road. The houses were few and made just like these! Their animals (goat, cows, pigs) lived in the basement of the house so they could keep warm. There was no running water or electricity at the time....and all the food was grown or raised in their fields. Coming from the US...Miami, Florida....and having been raised in the city since the age of 6....it was a WONDERFULy educational experiece! I went back a few times.....they finally got the running water and electricity and built a road in.....but I will never forget the serenity, crisp air and immaculate water in those mountains! Thank you for sharing your quest. You've brought back So many memories!
Daniele has a beautiful home love the arched glass doors in the library. Thank you for the history lesson of the former families who lived in this area. Nice aerial footage. Night sky is breathtaking.
my family is from veneto.i showed this video to my father. he used to sleep with the cows when he was young. he was really touched by your interview with Daniele
I love your videos so much! I have one complaint. They are never long enough. I want more!! ❤️ Loved the history, the reality of life in the mountains, and your comments on how the quest for comfort has robbed us of richness of life. The time lapse sky shots at the end….AWESOME! MAGNIFICENT! “Lift up your eyes to heaven and see. Who has created these things? It is the One who brings out their army by number; He calls them all by name. Because of his vast dynamic energy and his awe-inspiring power, Not one of them is missing.”
We can learn so much from our elders. Thanks for including the talk with Daniella. Really enjoy your content and appreciate the work you put into filming.
Martijn, your work seems to exalt the ordinary, the everyday, which we know is not the ordinary, but when we stop to look, we realise it is something much more profound, beyond the temporal. Beautiful music, narrative and filming. Those night sky end shots remind me, that within the power of nature around us, we each can feel the weight of glory.
When you get to the end of the video thinking that it was really worth it, then the night timelapses start with those cinematic teal and orange colors and you say again "now that's really worth it!!"
Thank you for creating this series of films, documenting your adventure. I have an old property in Nova Scotia that requires so much attention and is affected by water that streams down the hillside. I feel like I am always struggling with the force of nature. You remind me to understand this and to work with it. Your films are inspiring, calming and encouraging.
A particularly fascinating video revealing in the first part the lives of long vanished families continually moving within the transhumance tradition of mountain areas. The black and white photographs shown by Daniele all help give an idea of the life of these families and the visit to the abandoned village caps it nicely. Extraordinarily informative. I am in awe of the DIY skills that Martijn reveals during each episode of these wonderful videos. They are wonderful as they encompass his skills with the camera in all its manifestations, the music and the scenes chosen to illustrate the project in all weathers and times of day. He is comfortable with the camera as his companion relaying his thinking to us watchers down in the vallies of the world where most of us live. As I have written before: these productions are now a part of my life and I thank you for them.
I too look forward to his recorded history, giving me a chance to drift through previous history with him. I really truly thank you for including the pictorial views provided by the elders’ books. His explanations of living history within the mountains was very illuminating. Profound really. Many thanks from a Texas woman, long stay in the flatlands but always loving my times in the mountains.
..I am pleased to see he is interested and taking the time to learn about the history of the people and history of this area in which he has chosen to live...too often, I see people move into an area(such as where I live)and could not care less about the history, culture, or people who were/are already there....
The ingenuity of necessity is so special to see … the work that went into even one of those houses is mind boggling. They carved out a life for themselves out of rock … we, as a supposedly advanced people wouldn’t dream of doing labor like this to make our homes. You are a throwback, Martijn and I celebrate your desire to recreate this life for yourself.
What magnificence. The time-lapse star vault was breathtaking. It made me feel small and humble. Thoughtful shots of the buds getting ready to pop…spring is almost there. I appreciate your great photography!
The transhumance system also operated here in mid-Wales. The wild uplands are dotted with the ruins of what were once the summer homes of farmers and shepherds ... Martijn, your films are a restful and inspiring escape from the awful reality of Europe in 2022 - the peace you have found and the ambition of your project bring hope in dark days. Thank you.
Love watching your story. I was born on the island of Flores, Azores.1962. My parents and I imagrated to California in 67. We still have our family home there. We were there last summer. The house is now more modern. Loved hearing the gentleman´s story.i totally understand his story. I have lived it. It’s a 2 story home. Up stairs was the kitchen, bedroom,and living area. Downstairs was the barn where the cows and dads horse were kept in the winter time. This man’s story touches me deeply I lived it. Even when we visited in the 70s it was still that way. Thank you.😢😢
Thank you for making your videos the way you do. I feel at ease watching your restoration project in the mountains. I’m starting to believe the mountains are magic. I would be happy to lend you a hand.
My maternal grandfather was born and raised around Anges, France. He came to Canada as a young man of 18, but carried a lot of stories. In 1974 my mom and her sister (and her husband) went to France for a month to try and track down that farm that housed both the family and all the livestock in one building - they found it! Such amazing history
This history lesson hits so close to home because my father's house, the one I am currently living in, used to be like the communal house Mr. Jalla described. My grandmother, grandfather, and their children would live on the top floor whereas the animals would live on the ground floor. This was the way they built houses for easy access because their animals were their livelihood. Not much was done to the house as living space because they would rarely stay in as we do now. They were always outside working or in another village so the only time they'd be in the home was for sleeping.
I took a long 6 months break because of the war in my country. So happy to be back and know I have plenty of beautifully crafted videos to watch. I've been to Italy recently and I have caught myself a couple of times watching the hills thinking of your hut.
Abigail here… loved the history lessons. Interesting they moved up and down the mountains. Was so thrilled to see ladies hand spinning. On our island in Maine we had a herd of about 75 wild sheep. They lived on islands on their own just fine. We sheared them every summer, because of our sheep I leaned how to spin wool…. 52years ago. I still spin 3-4 times a week. Interesting the goast town had out buildings, we did too ( for generators, well house etc. ) …Now you are building them too, kind of funny. Still looking at those crazy large rocks on the roofs!
My grandmother’s grandfather was born in the mountains of Switzerland (German speaking), this is the closest thing I have seen to help me realize what his actual life would have been like as a child growing up there. Really appreciate seeing this whole video.
Oh my goodness. I’m in Northeastern Pennsylvania USA, and I’ve heard of farmers here living in with their animals. In fact, not more than a mile from me a family has chickens next door, in their garage. This whole series so far is not only about your building, but about history as you are finding out about your place. And this is the biggest thing that intrigues me most. It’s as if you know what we all are thinking and questioning.
Amazing when you said, "this landscape really makes you humble". We're so used to having things under control, that we sometimes forget that nature is so much above us, it can take everything from us in a second. I hope you get the chance to learn some Italian - Daniele would definitely be able (and happy) to tell you many more stories without the language barrier.
I am in awe in everything you Martijn, the construction , the cooking , the filming the editing . i mean everything is brilliant and aesthetic . i literally could watch this for days , everything minimal thing you do have a mystic to it, the scenery of the mountains . the time lapse of the stars moving . a feeling i can't describe . really fascinating .
Sounds ridicules, but I feel like I lived this way in my 6th floor walkup in NYC. Really enjoying your life, and how thoughtful you are at making choices and how you persevere at continuing on. Also, on another level you are teaching me how my past relatives lived in the French Alps. I was wondering how they lived, and the 3 houses migrating up and down, makes total sense. Lovely. I want to go back in time.
Those little houses are so appealing. Abandoned goods as well. Life now is comfortable but there's still a place in my heart to simplify needs. I don't if I would really be able to tough it out. Probably why I like watching you solve the problems.
Sure you can tough it out. It's almost like glamping nowadays, even compared to 50 years ago. To have internet on a remote mountain side is a major game changer.
You are not just building a house you are also making a documentary. This is fascinating. Every things seems natural but also well-tought. I can't believe this is just created by one man.. There are so much things needs to be appricated. Thank you for making this masterpiece.
this is the most exciting, i've ever seen in yt.. i just watched 10 episodes in a row. that never happened before to me. i don't know exactly, what it is, maybe a mixture of exciting content, a man, you life a live in a way, most of us dream about, but don't be "dare" enough, to do it. it's also the way you edit your content. there is so much calm in it, no annoying music and sound effects, no rush in the cut, no forced action. it is like watching it, is joining it. i am so excited for more.. good luck to you all the time and greetings from austria!
I love all the wonder an beauty of God's handiwork ! The master of creation!! All he had to do was speak it! Thankyou for sharing I look forward to every posting! The little words on the screen are so small I can't make them out without a magnifying glass! God bless your adventurous heart!
So much more than just a DIY on a remote cabin rebuild- totally engaging perspectives of nature, history and culture too- not to mention film making. Looking forward to the next and the next….👍🏽👏🏽👏🏽
The old way of life is truly fascinating and especially because of what we’ve become. My parents grew up in the mountains of Calabria before emigrating to New York in the 1950’s because they had no opportunities there anymore. Now I want to go back there for a simpler retirement I hope someday. I so admire what you are doing… of course, I also love the videos. Thank you 🙏🏽
We will always go back to the natural ways. Cities have come and gone. It is the way of the earth and we are here just for a moment. Lovey place will be there way longer before and after us.
Definitely, the large cities were considered until very recently as the ideal place for the mind and interaction with others, but the pandemic and an impending energy and food scarcity make them not so appealing anymore.
How unfortunate that such areas have not been kept up, and moving forward for folks to continue enjoying into the future. The world is such a strange place, and yet beauty can be found when we look for it. Thank you for sharing your adventures!😎👍
In Friuli the mountain houses - they usually had a Fogolar. A fire pit indoors with a hook/ stand for a pot and heat. Wonder if your village had one. Love the views and trip to see the old village. Beautiful video and editing, sound design.
you made me cry at the end there and I had to rewind to see the magnificent stars which I've only ever seen at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. Thanks for all the hard work you do to share the beauty you see everyday. Its been amazing watching things come together on your property. Your view when you eat or drink outside...I mean,, c'mon! Love from California my friend!
Build sidewalls on the solar panel rack to prevent wind from lifting them up. Put the batteries, generator and electronic below the solarpanels. They make a good roof. You do not need to remove the panels in winter, they are built to stay outdooors. Or are you afraid they will be stolen? Generators and wood around them does not match. The exaust might ignite the wood. You need a minimum of 20cm clearance.
Adding sidewalls wouldn’t help it. Flat surfaces will be lift up just from Wind blowing over it because missing pressure. Try out by holding a piece of paper in your hand and blowing over it. The paper will bend upwards.
Thanks Martin for your videos about the renovation. I sat and watched them all today. I bought an old summercabin here in Iceland in 2018 with my late husband. He was a handyman that knew how to build everything with his hands. Sadly he didn’t finish the renovation so now my plan is to finish it myself with help from my family. My house has solarpanels as well but I keep them on the roof. I have as well a woodburning stove and everyone is asking me if I’m not gonna install electricity but I love it this way. I’m learning from your videos so keep up the good, inspiring job 😁
Hello Martijn, a very interesting video, all these places that are being lost, I have been a few days in a very large abandoned town and I have made several videos there... it has been a pleasant experience... the people from before they were very wise... a greeting friend
