Having fun with some old-fashioned children’s games

Events at Frantoio Turri There is an international festival of street games, called Tocatì. An unmissable event, which takes place in Verona. It promotes a different way of thinking from today’s popular games. In the village of Cavaion Veronese, the Frantoio Turri olive mill supports and endorses the project.

di Maria Carla Squeo

ocatì,” Laura Turri explains, “encourages responsible consumption and production, principles in which we firmly believe”. Sustainability is a value that needs to be handed down to children, so as to educate them in a way of life that is more closely connected with nature, starting off from what is designated as “production waste”.

One example might be the water contained in the olive fruits being turned into biogas. Another could be olive pits being transformed into solid fuel. This is what raising environmental awareness means. Knowing that nothing goes to waste, everything can be useful. Hence the Turri family’s challenge – to involve children through play so as to get across to them how important it is to be mindful of nature and its fruits, starting with extra-virgin olive oil. And this in turn led to the two games, Peta dell’Oliva and Giro dell’Olio (which translate roughly as Olive Hopscotch and Olive Oil Tour). It is a way of getting children involved in outdoor games, because they also contribute, alongside a healthy olive oilbased diet, to a healthy lifestyle. As the chil- dren at Tocatì walk into the Turri reception area, they come across something they are not used to seeing, i.e. the olive kernel. As Laura Turri explains, “The children have to load the kernel into a cardboard boiler, just like the one we use to heat our oil mill. A simple yet engaging task, because it’s something they’ve never heard of before. They enjoy it”. Each child who plays in the Turri area at Tocatì gets to take a free oil game back home with them. Here are the two games. Peta (or Hopscotch) is a popular game of ancient origin, widespread in many countries around the world, under a variety of different names. As well as being a game, it is also a way for children to stimulate their motor skills and a chance to socialise. It is very easy: all you need to do is just grab an olive and start playing. Giro dell’Olio, on the other hand, is a very similar game to Snakes and Ladders.