»I used to work as an architect in Madrid, but I always had the desire to go back to the countryside, because I had spent my childhood there.
10 years ago, we have started an agri-ecological project by connecting various companies under one roof, for example a bakery, a kitchen, the distribution and the cultivation of vegetables (leafy vegetables, potatoes, tomatoes, etc.). We don't make a profit with our project up to now, but we can live by our work and we have not applied for state support in order to be independent.
There are no more than one project like this per village. At the beginning the old villagers, who worked as farmers in the past, had no respect for us and our work.
The entire small and family businesses in agriculture were abandoned in the 80th because Spain oriented itself more towards tourism and for example home slaughtering became forbidden by EU laws. Agriculture here has lost much of its value by joining the EU.
Most of our customers come from Madrid, for example restaurant owners who value the highest quality. It's important that you are convinced about the value of your work and keep at it continuously, then the people respect you.« —Héctor