I am Chiara Parisi, a girl who has been handed a great responsibility, namely the beauty of nature. My father has always encouraged me to take part in this world, always with great emotion. I often remember when he took me and my sister to the country and when, as children, we climbed trees as if we were monkeys. Now that everything has passed into my hands I am running the company with my sister, Elena, and we are working to make it better and better and we dedicate ourselves day after day to find new opportunities to improve. For us young girls it was difficult to be recognized in a competitive market full of adults (mainly men), but we never gave up, in fact, about six years ago we acquired the certificate of farm manager and from there we never stopped working on innovating the farm. That’s why we immediately entered the world of organic agriculture, which we consider to be a great care for us all. In the scent of citrus we recognize our land. It smells particularly in the months of April and May when the scent of orange blossoms inebriates our land with a unique fragrance. I recently completed my studies in marketing and advertising. For this reason, I check that all departments work in unison and I always study new products to propose and new ways to make the company and the region known. Elena comes from a training in economics and therefore deals with the commercial part and the relationship with customers, but she never denies a walk through the trees and the orange blossom scent. In a world where the connection between producers and consumers is decreasing more and more, we are excited to be part of CrowdFarming and be able to offer our products, the result of so much effort, directly to those who will consume them, trying to explain the energy and commitment we put into the production day by day.

Oroverde is a family business founded 25 years ago, when our father bought the first plot of land. The name is inspired by the goldsmith tradition already settled in the family (gold) and adding to the name the colour of nature (green). Today the agricultural tradition has passed into our hands, Elena and Chiara. The farm Oroverde born on the slopes of the Etna in an area dedicated to the production of red oranges, extends on a flat land that is only 20 km away from the sea. The low temperatures from the Etna volcano together with the high temperatures of the island blend with the sea breeze and create a unique product, allowing the fruit to form and grow in a unique way and that has received thanks to its organoleptic characteristics the IGP certification. Agriculture has always been the primary source of wealth of our beautiful land of Sicily, giving work to the largest part of the labour market. In our company we produce mainly blood oranges (Moro and Tarocco varieties) but we have always grown other citrus fruits as well, in order to diversify our production and satisfy as many customers as possible. For this reason, we also have areas of the farm cultivated with lemons, blond oranges, mandarins and clementines. On the farm, we have three artesian wells that meet the needs of water of our plants. To best measure the amount of water we give to each plant, we have recently equipped the whole farm with a drip irrigation system, which allows us to save water and energy. Our oranges are irrigated from May to September, a period in which the rain is too poor to suficiently supply the plants. During these months we irrigate every week, meeting the needs of each plant ranging from 80 to 100 liters per week. Our company holds the organic farming certification and we firmly believe in respect for the environment and nature. For this reason, within the company, we have reserved an area for bee hives that allow the orange blossom, the zagara, a natural and fast pollination. In addition, we are currently engaged in a project for the installation of solar panels to produce, from now on, our own renewable energy. Our team consists of 20 people, all with regular contracts according to the regulations in force. Some of these people have been working with us since the company was founded. Together, we also take care of a small garden among citrus fruits, so as to ensure us and our families excellent vegetables. We like to share this passion, we like that everything belongs to everyone, so that everybody feels at home. During the citrus fruit ripening period (between October and June), our main job is to collect and prepare our customers' orders. During the rest of the year, we prune the plants, control the grass with a brush cutter, plant new trees to replace those that are no longer productive and fertilise the plants. In the company we also have a composting area where, using the production waste, we produce the fertilizer that will feed our plants. In addition, when selecting the fruit, the product that cannot be sold because it does not meet the quality expectations for sale, is given to a company that produces organic juices.