I am a farmer by conviction, all my previous generations, or at least those I can remember, have been involved in farming. From a very young age, I remember helping my grandparents when they were harvesting by hand and then threshing (or separating the wheat from the straw) with the help of the family's mules. I am proud to preserve some of the farms that belonged to my grandparents, and also to have the help of my son Tales, who wants to follow the path of agricultural tradition and together we are in this adventure. Between both of us, we are moving forward with this project by sharing all the tasks, both in the field and in the preparation of the boxes. We believe that conventional agriculture based on synthesis chemistry is damaging our land, the environment, biodiversity and our health, so in 2008 we decided to initiate the change and began to certify our plots in Organic Farming. We combined the traditional techniques and advice from our grandparents with the collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Madrid to move our crops forward. As a result of this collaboration, we participated in the LIFE+ Crops for better Soil project, whose objective was to demonstrate that organic farming methods can return carbon content to vulnerable soils and make them economically viable again. The project started in 2011 and was awarded the 2018 Green Awards. During the five years of the project we were able to gain very satisfactory knowledge that gives us the security to offer our products with full guarantees. We join CrowdFarming for a fair price for our product and to save both economic and energy costs. I am worried about the future of my profession because climate change generates many unknowns: will we be able to stop it?

The name “BioVallega” consists of two parts: “Bio” refers to the fact that all the plots we cultivate have been certified in Organic Agriculture since 2008 and “Vállega” refers to an Andalusian settlement on the Tagus River near our village. We are located in Illana, within the region of La Alcarria in the south of the central Iberian plateau. The property is located in the municipalities of Illana and Albalate de Zorita (Guadalajara). In the surroundings, we have the field of Guadalajara de la Alcarria which is characterized by a multitude of aromatic plants such as rosemary, lavender, thyme. And a forest populated with holm oaks, juniper, oak, etc. It is an area where dry farming alternates with small gardens around the many rivers and streams that run through it. Apart from the crops, the presence of slopes and cuts near the streams favours the presence of a great diversity of aromatic flora that has led, for a long time, to the establishment of apiaries in the area. In 2008 we decided to convert our crops to organic production because we did not want to use products that would damage the health of the soil and human beings. The conversion time for the land to obtain 100% organic products was 2 years for cereal and leguminous crops and 3 years for olive and almond trees. Seeking to improve our efficiency, reduce soil erosion, and increase the biodiversity of our farms, we decided to implement a crop rotation system. To do this, we decided to cultivate following the order: cereal (usually wheat) - chickpea - fallow. In this way, the chickpea crop is responsible for fixing nitrogen in the soil, being a key tool in the supply of nutrients, and on the other hand, the fallow helps us to increase biodiversity and reduce competition from weeds when we grow the cereal, so much so that some swarms of bees have landed on our crops, being able to recover and care for them in our beekeeping site for self-consumption. In addition, we grow our crops on dry land, reducing the water footprint of our products as much as possible. As Farmers 360 we carry out all the tasks that make up the production processes of our flour and chickpeas, from sowing to harvesting when the ripening is perfect. At the time of harvest, the harvester itself separates the grain or chickpeas from the rest of the plant, which is crushed and incorporated into the soil as a contribution of organic matter. We also have our own stone mill where we grind the wheat to produce the flour. Finally, if during the cleaning of the wheat and chickpeas we find broken grains we use them as food for our chickens, so we manage not to produce any waste and have excellent eggs for our own consumption. Currently, our team consists of 2 people (Luis and Tales) who have been working together for 14 years.