The new ones “Earth Healers”.

AN EMPLOYMENT WORKSHOP PROMOTED BY COAG CANARIAS FORMA 20 NEW ECOLOGICAL FARMERS IN THE VILLAGE.

Approach the farm where the practical classes were taught, It is an experience for the senses. Everything inside oozes life, but the most impressive thing is the transformation of the land in less than a year.

Observe the photographs shown by the director of the recently completed Organic Agriculture Employment Workshop, It means carrying out an exercise in timelessness that is very difficult to materialize.. From the first snapshots, You would have to have a lot of imagination to have glimpsed the reconversion of the land. And furthermore, was made by forming.

Agroaldea had the opportunity to learn about the work carried out by two of the trained students, Roberto and Tomas, and the monitor, Iñaki. If something caught our attention, it was the great motivation of these people and the desire they exude from wanting to transmit the way of producing organic farming..

Upon entering the property, The first thing you come across is a row that runs along the right side of the greenhouse in which flowers, Medicinal plants and herbs are the crop's medicine cabinet. Tomás and Roberto are quick to explain to us the properties attributed to each of them and the effectiveness of their use..

The Rigor question that is asked is the following: Has organic farming convinced you or will you continue to practice conventional farming?? They both rush to respond immediately: “no what goes, it has nothing to do. I won't change this for anything”.

And is that, both Roberto and Tomás, They are very clear. The year of training and experimentation has led them to the conclusion that “in organic farming, you don't spend a euro. You get everything from plants: fertilizers, seeds, purines, insecticides, quality of production and quality of life. It's like healing yourself and the earth”, claim.

Spain is the country in the European Union that dedicates the largest area to organic farming. However, The large consumers of these productions continue to be in central and northern Europe. The new guidelines of the CAP reform point towards organic production in a period of less than ten years.

Touring the farm has been like taking an overdose of vitamins. The motivation and enthusiasm of the newly minted organic farmers infects you with every step we take in each of the plots into which the land was divided..

We arrived at the cabbage area and discovered that the cabbage lizard had taken a bite out of the outer leaves.. Tomás explains that at this moment we were not going to find her, but we already have the remedy. This afternoon we prepared a bran mixture, sugar and Bacillus turigiensis and tomorrow you will see that we find it, deceased of course.

While Roberto explains to us that flowers and aromatic plants are the lure of insects that, together with good preparation and feeding of the land, allow May we achieve balance. When we arrived at the farm there was not a bird to be seen in the surrounding area., says Thomas.

Now the farm is an ecosystem in harmony. There is no corner of it where life is not palpable.. In less than a year the miracle has been achieved. The Employment Workshop has managed to transform an almost unproductive land, saturated in salts, on living ground, where the earth smells and tastes.

The crux is in BALANCE.

Excesses have always been bad company. That's something that Nature teaches us every day., the human being has it more than proven, but we insist on resorting to extremes. And this procedure is not supported by organic farming.. Balance is essential, Without it there is no crop that progresses.

Roberto and Tomás insist again on balance. It is the word that has been spoken the most times during our visit. The crop association, rotation and perfect payment, They also contribute to balance. The cure requires attention, not many, the fair ones, insist.

The farm where the Workshop practices were carried out was divided into four sectors. Five students were in charge of each of these, distributing the tasks of their development each week. The good atmosphere and harmony was the tone.

Now comes the hardest part, not for that reason the impossible. Tomás and Roberto are looking for farms to rent because their intention is to continue learning and producing. “If, In addition, He gives us a euro and we walk towards discharge like professionals.”.

The monitor, Iñaki, comments that the Parliament of the Canary Islands has pending approval to incorporate organic productions in the Community's school cafeterias. If so, There would not be enough surface area in the Canary Islands to supply them, designates.

Without a doubt, an excellent exit. However, Organic production has another large market yet to be exploited: tourism. And some tour operators already require these productions from some hotels on their menus.. There is still a long way to go, but it's getting closer.

We wish the best of luck to these new ones. “Earth Healers” and let the example spread.