A British man pursuing an off-grid lifestyle in the Italian wilderness has expressed profound shock after authorities removed his three children from the family home following an incident involving poisonous mushrooms.
The Off-Grid Lifestyle Interrupted
Nathan Trevallion had moved to a remote cottage in the Abruzzo woods with his Australian wife Catherine Birmingham and their three children, embracing what he described as a more natural way of living. The family slept in one bedroom, heated their home with a kitchen stove, used an outhouse as a toilet, and drew water from a nearby well.
However, their alternative lifestyle came under scrutiny on Thursday afternoon when four police vehicles arrived at their property and officers took the children to a care facility. The dramatic intervention followed a hospital visit by the entire family after they consumed toxic mushrooms gathered from the surrounding woodland.
Authorities Take Action
The situation escalated when a judge made the decision to remove the children after discovering they neither attended formal school nor received home tutoring. Nathan described the moment as "quite a shock, very fast and unexpected," adding that he believed they were "targeted because we chose to live a different kind of life."
Despite the intervention, Nathan passionately defended their chosen lifestyle, stating: "This is the best way to raise children. We are aiming for a more open-minded generation who can change the world for the better." He even compared their current accommodation favourably to previous rented properties, noting that "the winters here are mild and we have stayed in rented accommodation in the past that had a colder loo."
Growing Support and Political Backing
The case has attracted significant attention and support, with 45,000 people signing a petition defending the family's right to raise their children according to their values. High-profile political figures have also weighed in on the controversy.
Matteo Salvini, Italy's deputy prime minister, called the state intervention "shameful", criticising authorities for involving themselves in "the personal choices of two parents who found hospitality in Italy, only to have their children taken from them." The local mayor has shown solidarity by personally delivering olive oil and biscuits to the family.
Nathan recounted the emotional moment the children were taken: "There were ten officers ready to go and kidnap the children, to put it bluntly. We spent 30 minutes negotiating and they agreed to allow Catherine to accompany the children to a centre. It was a compromise. Otherwise they would have just taken away the children without saying where."
He described the children's shock at being moved from their peaceful woodland home to an institution behind fences in Vasto, where they were initially separated from their mother during sleeping hours, though he expressed hope this arrangement would improve.
