Behind the Scene

” I am Ivan, my story begins beautifully as I used to come to this farm with my grandfather and father and I enjoyed learning about wine, oil as well as farming. I studied a lot and came back to bring  my knowledge and quality to the family business. However the truth is somewhat different. As a child I only came to the farm with my father (Pardao), I really wanted to play football with my friends on the streets in the city. But my father loved the finca and enjoyed working there very much. So, he tried to teach me all about farming and that I learned something of everything. But I spent my days walking or sitting angrily in a corner.
When I was 19, my father passed away … The years also passed, the farm was abandond there and when I was 30 the Spanish economic crisis hit and I faced an uncertain future. I do not know how I came to this conclusion, but I wanted to and I was going to take over the farm and I had my dreams of how this place would be. But I was still not sure if it was a good decision … mainly because when I started I didn’t know much about agriculture or agro ecology, which was the same as olive trees and grapes …. Over time the business did not grow as expected but my knowledge of how to be a farmer, as well as my love for this place grew day by day. I just like to spend my time on the farm, with Asia my dog, work in the field, see the vegetables growing and try lots of new ideas. Along the way the olive grove got a little bit left behind because I put all of my focus and energy into the vegetable garden. But the trees are still there even if they are lost in the forest. After the years on the farm, I now believe that my knowledge has matured and it is enough to take care of everything. My intention is now to recover the trees and build the paradise that I had in mind in my initial plan but with all of the experiences and the love that I have learned.”