From the barn to the treasure chamber

We visited Antonio from Sicilian Passion in Sicily. In a region traditionally known for its citrus fruits, Antonio decided to take a different path several years ago: he grows passion fruit (and even papayas!). A crucial part of our collaboration is precisely determining the harvest time. Our teams conduct sugar content measurements directly in the field. A refractometer is used to determine the Brix value, ensuring that the fruits have reached the required physiological maturity and full aromatic profile. Harvesting only begins once these thresholds are met. In the video below, you can see our colleague Angelo taking these measurements. It’s a lot of fun, because you’re literally looking into the future. Ripening Characteristics and Etymology An important quality characteristic of passion fruit is the texture of its skin. Unlike many fruits, here’s the rule: the more pronounced the wrinkling of the fruit, the higher the sugar content. Due to slight evaporation during the ripening process, the fruit sugar concentrates inside, while the acidity subtly decreases. There are two harvests per year – one in the winter months and one in the summer months. Especially in summer, the fruits are “wrinklier” because the liquid evaporates faster due to the heat. Did you know that the name “passion fruit” is derived from Christian iconography? Spanish missionaries in the 16th century interpreted the complex flower structure as symbols of the Passion of Christ. The filaments of the flower were associated with the crown of thorns, the three stigmas with the nails of the cross, and the five stamens with the wounds. In the gallery, you’ll find a picture where this is very clearly visible.

We Weren’t Prepared for This – Or Were We? It has been raining for several weeks in Spain. This week, however, a state of disaster was declared in several regions, especially in Andalusia. Our farmers sent us the pictures attached below – and our team was speechless for several minutes. We have reported on heavy rainfall many times before, but this year the extent is particularly great. The good news is: all farmers are doing well! Persistent low-pressure weather systems brought intense rainfall, hurricane-force gusts of wind, and rivers overflowing their banks. Our farmers from the Málaga region are reporting fallen trees and muddy roads, making access almost impossible. Unfortunately, some farmers have already informed us that they will likely suffer crop losses as fruits have been damaged. The lesser evil is probably the delays in delivery – it hasn’t stopped raining, which means the fruits are too wet to be shipped; they would mould in their boxes. Haven’t We Already Found the Solution? I’m speaking with Maikel from Finca Habitat, located in a small town between Jaén and Granada – one of the most severely affected areas. He sends me a video, which you can find below – it shows his neighbors’ flooded olive groves and the raging river. In the next video, he’s in his own fields, showing how much rain has fallen. He pours it onto his trees, which he protects from drying out and simultaneously fertilizes with his sheep’s wool during hot months. “For me, the rain is an absolute joy. It’s wonderful!” says the farmer. In his fields – not even a puddle. “This is a sign that we are doing everything right, Magdalena,” he explains. Maikel decided to farm regeneratively over a decade ago. In one of Spain’s driest regions, he manages to avoid irrigating his olive trees through his practices. How Does That Work? Through a ground cover that acts like a sponge, soaking up all the water and allowing it to seep into deeper soil layers. Not a single drop of water is lost because the root system has such a high capacity to absorb water that it neither drains away nor accumulates. What if we could make farms so resilient that they emerge encouraged from extreme weather events? Would regenerative agriculture be the solution we’ve been looking for? These are the questions I ask myself when I see the pictures and videos that offer such a different perspective on the situation. The weather forecast continues to show rain for the next few days, and we, along with the farmers, reassess the situation daily – safety comes first, and we will probably have to be patient a little longer until the sun comes out again.

The soil is still the best classroom we have. More than one year ago, we launched our 1% for the Soil initiative with a clear goal: to regenerate 10,000 hectares of soil and re-invest in projects that create lasting impact, not only in the fields, but also in the minds of future generations.Once every 6 months, we regroup with our community to present our progress and our budget, and once a year, we vote on what initiatives we would like to invest in for the next semester. Out of different initiatives, our community voted for Viva el Campo organised by La Junquera farm within the Camp Altiplano area (Ecosystem Restoration Camps) as one of the projects to support this year. It’s an initiative that reflects what regeneration means: passing on knowledge, reconnecting people with the land, and inspiring young minds to see soil as the living foundation of life. It is an educational programme that brings students out of the classroom and into the fields to learn about soil, biodiversity water and also the origin and the future of food. Jacobo, head of the program, tells us, that in many rural areas of Spain, including the region of Murcia, often young people grow up without ever setting foot on a farm. They may learn about climate change, photosynthesis, or soil erosion from textbooks, but few have had the chance to hold a handful of soil, identify earthworms, or see how weather and water scarcity affect crops first-hand. Schools often lack the time, funding, and infrastructure to organise outdoor learning. Teachers would love to show their students what living soil looks like, but there are no structured programmes, no nearby farms that can host them, and no space in the curriculum. As a result, the countryside remains distant, something they read about, not something they feel part of. Each year, secondary school students between the ages of 12 and 16 leave behind the whiteboards and screens of everyday school life and head to local farms in Spain. There, they become researchers and observers. Over the course of a week, they explore how food is produced and how agriculture connects to broader challenges such as water scarcity, soil degradation, and climate change. Each day has its own theme, from the soil beneath our feet to the biodiversity that sustains it. Students collect soil samples, identify plants and insects, measure water infiltration, and record their observations in field notebooks. They discover the relationships between farmers and ecosystems, between human choices and environmental consequences, between the field and the plate. At the heart of Viva el Campo lies a mini research programme. Each group of students develops a small, practical experiment: comparing the moisture retention of soils with and without plant cover, observing biodiversity across habitats, or testing how regenerative practices influence water absorption. Guided by farmers from La Junquera and educators like Jacobo, they collect data, analyse results, and share their findings at the end of the week. The experiment is conducted in three plots with different management methods: non-intervention, regenerative, and conventional vs. .organic. Students collect soil samples with augers and shovels and analyse indicators such as pH, moisture, nutrients (NPK), and microbial activity. They also use techniques such as invertebrate traps, infiltration tests, microorganism cultures, soil respiration measurements, and biomass analysis. The data is analysed and compared in the classroom, where the students prepare a short scientific paper. In it, they present their conclusions, explain the research process, and reflect on the impact of agricultural practices on soil health. This exercise strengthens their scientific skills and allows them to communicate the results obtained in the field in a rigorous and accessible way. One of the biggest challenges European agriculture faces today is the lack of generational renewal. Many farms risk closure, not only because of more difficult climatic conditions, but also because there is no one left to take over. Fewer young people choose to become farmers, often simply because they’ve always been shown a negative image of what farming needs. . Being a farmer has lost prestige over time, it can be seen as exhausting work with little financial reward. This perception distances young people from the land and from a profession that is, in reality, one of the most vital to our collective future.Jacobo tells us, that children and teenagers who once saw the countryside as something distant begin to view it as essential and that they often want to come back to the farm and help and learn. Jacobo says he always starts the course by asking which of the young people would like to be a farmer, and that usually no one raises their hand. Before the young adults board the bus back to Murcia, he asks the same question again, and in most cases, there are two or three young people who raise their hands. They see how soil becomes food, how water is stored in living ground, and how nature’s balance depends on cooperation.