Hallo, I'm Pierluigi Parente. Originally from Trinitapoli, a small town in Puglia, living in the Netherlands since 2011. In 2015, driven by a desire to help friends, I started importing olive oil and wine from my town, where traditional producers' products wouldn't easily reach international markets. What began as a simple webshop quickly evolved into something more meaningful. Through video stories and vlogs, I shared the real stories of our producers, their craft, and traditions. The highlight was our olive tree adoption program, which allowed customers to know exactly where their oil came from while directly supporting small-scale producers.

In 2016, we started organizing trips to Trinitapoli with the help of a local tourism association. In three years, we took more than 100 people from the Netherlands to Puglia to meet the producers, experience the harvest, and even enjoy limoncello at my grandmother's house. This initiative sparked unexpected enthusiasm in the town, catching the attention of local press and even the mayor. More importantly, it showed the potential for creating real connections between the Netherlands and Trinitapoli's artisanal producers.

This experience laid the foundation for Terra Collective, proving that direct relationships between conscious consumers and real producers can create value for everyone involved. My goal is to keep connecting people with the genuine corners of Italy — through our products, our tastings and our shop, Casa Parente in Utrecht.