In the world, Spain is one of the countries suffering the greatest large-scale degradation.
In the arid steppe of southern Spain, known as the Altiplano of Granada and Almeria, a group of entrepreneurs have teamed up under the name AlVelAl. The name comes from ALtiplano, VELez and ALmanzora, regions covering more than 630,000 hectares of degraded steppe, which share a common ecosystem and history. The region of Guadix and the northwest of Murcia have recently joined.
We are facing a unique movement of transformation that is already taking place in the Andalusian highlands. The altiplano is a primarily agricultural area with a semi-arid climate and extreme conditions. With an annual rainfall of approximately 370 millimeters, which has been progressively decreasing during the last decade, and a considerable daily thermal oscillation, the possibilities for cultivation are more limited than in other areas of Spain.
It is in this area of Andalusia where the local economy is based almost entirely on agricultural production (almond trees, olive trees and dry cereals) and livestock (Segureño lamb); there it has been proven firsthand how soils suffer erosion and degradation due to hundreds of years of deforestation, intensive agriculture and overgrazing. Currently, approximately 10 to 25 hectares of soil cover are lost annually in the region.
Policies, subsidies and other support for agricultural production over the past 40 years have slowly diluted the self-esteem and security of producers by limiting their potential for action. This has resulted in a relationship of dependence on the government, land degradation and a lack of hope for a better and more prosperous future. This precarious situation has become commonplace for many rural areas worldwide, resulting in a negative impact on the global situation of the planet and on the possibilities we have to feed the world’s population in a sustainable manner.
In all this context and within the Commonland and AlVelAl initiatives, our company Almendrehesa, S.L. has been created, with its headquarters in Chirivel (Almería). We are 21 organic farmer partners who aim to stop and reverse this degradation at all levels by applying REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE techniques as an agricultural production system really capable of regenerating the soils and landscapes of this area, being ecologically, economically and socially sustainable and with a perspective of development and welfare of the area.
All this is directed towards a productive ecosystem that we call – inspired by the ecosystem of the DEHESA – LA ALMENDREHESA that combines rainfed almond trees as the main crop with other crops such as olive trees, vines, cereals or aromatic herbs with the implementation of hedges, vegetation cover, beekeeping and sustainable grazing.
Another result of our activities is the production of truly healthy food, of the highest quality and nutritional value, without pesticide residues or other contaminants and guaranteeing maximum transparency and traceability. An example of this is our PEPITA DE ORO® almond.®.
But La Almendrehesa also wants to be a springboard to organize common activities such as making one’s own compost or sharing machinery among the members, such as a weed and pruning branch cutter or a compost turner.
Workshops on regenerative agriculture are planned for members and other interested farmers. This is an important task since this type of agriculture requires a great deal of knowledge in certain areas such as the management of vegetation cover, the creation of biodiversity through hedges and patches of non-productive vegetation or aromatic herbs, the improvement of the hydrological balance, the reduction of erosion and the elaboration of compost to increase organic matter, etc.
You can contact us if you are interested in buying our products or if you need any information related to regenerative agriculture or other related issues.
We invite all those who are curious and interested to join us on this path to a better future!
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