Personal growth, contact with nature, sustainability and integration with the local community
Interview with Antonella, co-founder of HerzLand - the oasis of change
There is always time to realize one’s dreams, even after a lifetime of following a completely different path.
This is exactly what happened to Antonella who, after a life as a sales and marketing manager in several companies, in 2018, together with her partner Gianfranco and son Jacopo, conceived and designed HerzLand.
Antonella is participating in Batch 8 of the Pilot Program specifically to concretize her project, and today she tells us about her experience in creating pathways for personal and business growth through interaction with horses.
Hi Antonella, we know that you are working tirelessly for HerzLand and that the official opening is scheduled in a very few months, tell us in detail what it is about and how the idea came about?
Yes, that’s right. The center is scheduled to open in spring 2023. Simply put, HerzLand is the Coaching Center for Change and Transformation. We are a team of professionals qualified to accompany with the support of horses, people, companies and organizations in stages of change in their lives or activities.
The idea of opening a center with these aims came from direct experience lived by the founders, who were able to benefit firsthand from the effectiveness of the method by solving chronic problems and radically transforming their lives. The deep feeling of gratitude derived, generated a desire to give back what they received by making themselves available to others to help them achieve their goals.
HerzLand’s is undoubtedly a truly innovative project, but what do you think is your greatest strength?
The strength of HerzLand is the strength of a unique and unrepeatable team, consisting of the guest who, supported by the coach, enters to collaborate with the herd of horses living in freedom, immersed in the nature of the protected oasis of the Orobie Bergamasche Park, 90 km from Milan. In this place where nature and silence reign supreme, guided by the horses’ subtle energy reconnecting with oneself and one’s reality is … natural! Through simple exercises performed from the ground, for which no equestrian skills are needed, talents and resources emerge from the fog of thoughts and worries, revealing solutions already present but hitherto invisible. Everyone can transform his or her life for the better, and HerzLand’s mission is to accompany in the change with empathy and professionalism.”
Congratulations indeed! Surely in your journey you have also encountered some difficulties, would you like to tell us about them?
I must say that the HerzLand project was born and is being realized through what we call “a series of fortunate coincidences,” although we are convinced they were not random. Nevertheless, even very challenging difficulties have not been lacking, and even at this time we are facing unexpected problems. Beyond the details, what is most significant for us is the interpretation we consciously choose to adopt to handle these events: accepting any event neutrally, drawing from it what is useful for us to achieve the goal. This vision is capable of renewing the motivation and energy to go forward, with self-confidence and faith in that Universal Intelligence that has shown us the way to fulfill our mission: to help others and ourselves put our birth talents to good use, to create a beneficial and circular system.”
At some point along the way you met Apical, how did that happen and why did you decide to participate in the Pilot Program?
We discovered Apical on social media. We realized early on that Apical’s support could be the missing piece in moving quickly from the design phase to the creation and sale of high-value “transformative experiences.”
Participating in the program our first impression was absolutely confirmed, the Pilot turned out to be a very practical program and not just theoretical as one might think. Apical’s team takes you by the hand, makes you understand what you need to do, and takes you step by step. I must say that I always look forward to the Tuesday meetings with great anticipation and enthusiasm!”
As you know community and networking are very important to us, what’s your idea of the other projects that are participating with you in the Pilot Program?
Behind every Pilot Program project are people united by the realization that, in order to create transformative experiences capable of changing the collective view of the world, it takes not only specialized training paths, but above all the genuine desire to make available to others the values that animate them. These common foundations amplify opportunities for collaboration and allow each person’s message to be brought to an increasingly receptive audience.
The peculiarities of our projects derive from the life experiences of each of us, consciously reworked in a positive light and put back into a virtuous circle in the places where the projects are implemented. Each of our projects is unique, each experience is unique, magical and unrepeatable, as is the mix that constitutes it.”
In addition to community, the other founding value for Apical is impact. What kind of impact does Herzland want to have on the territory and communities?
The starter of the circular benefit system was the realization of how and how much our lives have changed for the better as a result of the growth path we personally took years ago. The resulting gratitude is the engine of a system that produces clean, renewable, expandable and contagious energy. We believe in the value of small conscious actions. Actions that may seem like drops in the ocean, but which, born of a free heart, know how to pass from heart to heart without boundaries, generating other actions capable of transforming the everyday and ferrying us into a new reality.
In addition, To complement the work done with the horses, qualified, licensed and certified practitioners whose skills are consistent with the Center’s aims and quality standards can collaborate in HerzLand: psychologists, pedagogists, Yogi masters, doctors, veterinarians, coaches, biologists, musicians, artists, but also simply grandfathers and grandmothers who are able to pass on their theoretical and practical knowledge to others.”
