The Finca Marroquino farm is located in a very particular enclave, within the municipality of Cútar. It's so called because it originally belonged to a person who lived in Morocco, who was known in the town as 'the Moroccan' (Marroquino in Spanish). It is situated on a mountainside with steep slopers: Even steeper than 100% (45º) in many parts. In the lower part of the finca the "Arroyo Pipí" stream runs through and is bordered by avocado trees up to the so-called "Peñones Gordos", which are gigantic gashes in the middle of the stream bed. From the stream if you look up you can see mountains on both sides and the peculiar "Peña de Hierro" just above.
The fields of this farm were planted by my father about 20 years ago and they were extended about 3 years ago. We have adult and young avocados, as well as young mangos that soon begin to produce. They are all irrigated using modern drip irrigation systems from an irrigation community.
Although we are still in the conversion phase our cultivation is already organic. For weed control, we use a manual procedure. We do not use pesticides and/or herbicides, favouring thereby the proliferation of beneficial insects for pest control, and consequently biodiversity. Besides, we reuse the irrigation water in order to avoid overexploiting the groundwater.
My family and one or two helpers work actively on the farm, depending on the respective season and the requirements of the farm. The salary is in accordance with the collective agreement and includes contributions above the required levels.
The specific tasks are distributed among the team members, although all of the workers are qualified to carry out all of the necessities of the farm such as pruning, grafting, watering, fertilizing, etc.
Fruits that cannot be sold are destined for local markets. We also use them for jams and guacamole and they are consumed by family and friends, too.
The avocados you'll receive are in their optimum state of ripeness. They are harvested minimizing the loss of quality caused by bruises or bad conservation. They are packed as homogeneously and quickly as possible based on the planning offered by CrowdFarming to avoid unnecessary preservation.
The residue coming from pruning is used as organic matter on the farm and is composted directly benath each tree. Fruits in worse conditions are usually given to neighbors with livestock to feed their animals and thus avoid waste.