Our history as farmers is closely connected to the history of the nature reserve “El Parque Natural de la Albufera”. The word “albufera” is arabic and means “small ocean”. It is a freshwater lagoon connected to the Mediterranean Sea. My father is a rice farmer. My grandfather was a rice farmer. The father and grandfather of my grandfather were rice farmers as well. Their passion and knowledge was transmitted from generation to generation impacting us until we became what we are now: Rice farmers of the 21st century with a profound respect for nature. We believe that our rice is the fruit of our relationship with mother earth. We only have limited space to cultivate, hence the amount we harvest also has its limits. In order to survive, a competitive international market, we put our bets on product quality and the integration of a supply chain that turns us into packagers and salesmen of our own product. CrowdFarming allows us to share this pride with the final consumer and moreover, it lets us invite him or her to be part of the development of his or her rice paddy. Our vision is to contribute to the well-being of the consumer offering him or her the best product range while preserving the ecosystem in which we work, striving for sustainability in all possible ways.

My family has been living and cultivating on this farm since the 19th century. We cultivate in the nature reserve “El Parque Natural de la Albufera”, a privileged environment, which has set the scene for traditional Spanish rice cultivation since the Middle Ages. Our enclave by nature has special characteristics, such as its light and floodability conditions that make it the optimal place to produce rice. There is only a limited number of places in Spain to cultivate rice due to the specific geological conditions necessary. They need to be floodable through canals, which direct the water directly from a freshwater lake. Before sowing it is necessary to prepare the fields. After working and levelling them, we start to sow the seeds, which takes place between the beginning of April until May. To plant the seeds, we flood the plots of land to maintain a constant water level. Afterwards, the seeds are sown extensively on the different fields. During summer the plant is growing until the ear appears. When it has turned golden, the plant has reached its optimal level of maturity to be harvested. The harvest season starts at the end of August and lasts until mid-October depending on the climatic conditions. Once harvested the grains are dried to remain durable and then brought to be stored in the granaries. During the period, in which the plains are flooded, the rice plants act as green filters of the ecosystem: They are natural treatment plants of the nearby lake and surrounding hectares, withholding sediments that carry nutrients, which in turn are used by the plants for their growth. Rice, its natural habitat of cultivation and the rice farmer are linked inseparably. One cannot exist without the other. If the rice farmers weren’t to cultivate here, this zone would probably now have been turned into a housing estate for its utter beauty. Our process of cultivating, drying and packaging takes place in the same place - la Albufera.