Psychedelic therapy will take place under the guidance of highly-trained and experienced practitioners. Groups will be limited in size – no more than ten participants – with an important role given to ceremony. The centre will operate on a strictly non-profit basis: all income will be used to sustain and expand the work of Honeydew.

The creation of the community and its mission to heal are indivisible: the community exists to facilitate healing; the goal of healing is to nurture the community. We come together, from a place of brokenness, to build something whole.

Among the biggest challenges for users of psychedelics is ‘integration’ – the task of incorporating insights from a trip into daily life. Certain practitioners will (for a fee) ‘guide’ your reintegration back into society, but ultimately, it’s impossible to re-integrate healthily into an anti-psychedelic culture.

Our purpose is not to make integration ‘complete’ (one doesn’t live in a trip, nor would one want to) but to close the chasm: to create a cicatrice – a healing bridge – between the two. We wish to expand the sacred space of ceremony into our everyday lives.

There is an urgent need to create new communities based on cooperative rather than competitive principles. The climate crisis is driven not by overpopulation but by overconsumption, and the global adoption of an economic model that is ecologically ruinous. It has also brought a deep spiritual malaise: depression and anxiety are endemic in the wealthiest nations on earth.

Psychedelics are uniquely able to help us escape the consumer trap. They lay bare the illusions of advertising, and reawaken our connection with nature and with each other. We feel that the most effective and transformative act – on both a personal and societal level – is to draw our energy away from consumerism. We hope that those who visit Honeydew will be inspired to join us, as we set up a network of communities across Italy and beyond.

A number of sacred plants, such as ayahuasca, are legal in Italy, while others are decriminalised, such as psilocybin (the active compound in magic mushrooms). The exact legal status of each plant is subject to interpretation, and the situation is evolving: in 2022, Italians will vote in a referendum on the full legalisation of psychoactive plants.

Honeydew will host an exhibition space for the visual and musical arts. Psychedelics heighten our senses and increase our receptiveness to unfamiliar aesthetics. Honeydew will work with curators to help trippers explore different dimensions, from the texture of a sculpture to the frequencies of a sound installation. If you could discern a new world in an altered state, what would you see and hear?