I was born and raised in 1989 as Domenico Cannova from a Sicilian immigrant family that moved to Belgium to work in the mines.
As I grew up I understood that I was different from most peers. While the world around me made it difficult for me to grow up without worries, I soon learned that there was no healthier choice for me than to accept that I was attracted to men.
The struggle made me very sensitive and empathetic to the world around me, with a forever analytical environment screening quality and a strong love for nature. I call them super powers, cause that's how I experience them today.
I was always obsessed with music and dancing. Singing was my greatest passion in the beginning. So as an adolescent I studied teacher training of music and English, but soon realized it was not the path I wanted to follow. My passions were elsewhere.
When I bought a house with a garden in Gent with my ex-partner my love for gardening and cultivating things grew immensely. It was there and then that I understood my future would involve permanent dirt under my nails.
The passions
I discovered Permaculture and went down the rabbit hole of information. Enticed and intrigued by it, I taught myself most of what I know today by reading many books and watching many videos. I sealed it with a Permaculture certificate after following an online course.
Later on I got into fermentation and foraging. Two of my other passions, that honestly aren't that far fetched from the gardening obsession. The unseen world of bacteria and fungi, fermenting your foods to healthy probiotic powerhouses. And the forgotten knowledge of uncultivated plants and fungi, abundant of key nutrients and medicinal properties. I mean, this should be basic knowledge, am I right?
Anyway I work as a botanic gardener now where some of my passions are fulfilled and that's just a small part of who I am and what magnificent journey I chose in life.
Oh, and I have always loved climbing, as you can see in the pictures. And with that also wild camping, fire making and hiking mountainous areas.