To steep is to saturate someone or something, such as soaking leaves, grapes or herbs in liquid. From a different root, the adjective steep denotes an incline, as in a steep learning curve. Common to both definitions is the condition of time or difficulty, a journey that involves some kind of transformation and sometimes, effort. The tea leaves swell up, the visitor returns home steeped in the aromas of the mountains. Can this kind of transformation be anticipated and cultivated? Why not? Steeping raises questions about quantities, qualities and temporalities:  What we’re bringing to the host environment, how long we should be steeping it in the new surroundings, and how both ingredient and state might be transformed. 

At Banca del Fare, an educational farmhouse in rural Italy, where visitors share knowledge, traditional building techniques and design activities through  "learning by doing”, DesignInquiry will be exploring the topic of steeping. Around 15 inquirers will be selected for the gathering, to work with local residents and artisans around materials (stone, wood, honey) and the questions: what activity or skill would you be happy to share, what might be transformed by this steeping, and how?