My name is Ana Salgado, and together with my brother Antonio and our children, nieces and nephews, we have started this beautiful "lifelong" farming project. Our lives have been linked to the countryside in one way or another. We have each dedicated ourselves to our professions, him to construction and me to the hotel business, but at the same time we had small tropical fruit farms in the Axarquia region, destined to supply the local markets. El Bosque del Batán is our first "serious" agricultural project. At our age, we put aside our old jobs to continue working, but in a quieter way, keeping ourselves company in a place we love. In El Batán we have found this space and motivation. Periana is a wonderful village, not as well known as those on the coast, but authentic and different. It is located in a mountain setting of Mediterranean forest and ancient olive groves. We began this journey hand in hand with our children. They are educated and experienced in agricultural management, and have a great vision of alternative markets. With them everything is easier and more relaxed and for them it is an important extra, to be able to count on our support when carrying out the daily tasks on the farm. My brother Antonio is responsible for the work on the farm, making sure that each crop is cared for according to its needs. I support him with this work, in particular I am very attentive to the harvest and preparation of deliveries. As I have already explained, El Bosque del Batán is a project for the conservation and recovery of traditional agricultural activities. Both my brother and I know a lot about this, as we grew up in an agricultural environment with our grandparents and parents. We are aware of the fact that agriculture is advancing along with science and technology. Fortunately, in order not to lose the connection, my son Paco is the one who designs the strategies to keep up to date with all the advances, which he successfully combines with life-long farming. He was the one who advised us on how important it is to find support outside the traditional markets. I did not know that people are interested in protecting farmers, their efforts and the environment in which they work, through the shopping basket. Without CrowdFarming today our project would be meaningless and we would not be able to carry it out.

El Bosque del Batán is a very iconic family farm in the area due to its water source. Its name refers to a hydraulic mechanism dating back to the 12th century, which, by means of the movement of a wheel turned by the flow of water, works the wool to compact it. The Bosque del Batán covers an area of some 90 hectares, where the predominant crop is olives, with centenary trees of the Verdial variety. It is very close to the village of Baños del Vilo, known for the water that emerges from the spring and has therapeutic properties. In the centre of the farm is the spring of water (considered to be mineral water), which was once used to move the fulling mill. We also have areas for growing vegetables and fruit trees that are fed by the spring water; these include orange, peach, almond, carob, fig and prickly pear trees. The remaining area, around 70%, is made up of scrub forest and abandoned rain-fed crops. We can also find an old country farmhouse, which we will gradually rebuild next to the fulling mill, in order to relive the history of the farm. As far as the management of the farm is concerned, our first objective has been to change from conventional to organic farming for the whole farm. It makes perfect sense: this farm is located in the so-called "high Axarquia", a mountainous area where olive trees have traditionally been cultivated in areas of Mediterranean forest for a long time. Maintaining its cultivation, but also providing it with sustainable practices and conservation of the space, is a goal that we have made our own and to which we are committed. To this end, we have developed a diverse agriculture, with different plantations throughout the year. We have also protected the forest and scrubland areas, as they are a refuge for wildlife and beneficial insects to protect us from pests. The farm had been abandoned for years, so we have set out to restore most of the crops and give it a new agricultural and forestry purpose. For the areas most damaged by erosion, we plan to replant them in order to protect the soil and promote the biodiversity of the environment. These old farmers were obliged to live on what they grew and raised. They had livestock, vegetable gardens, fruit and olive groves to keep them going all year round. We have put the traditional summer vegetable garden to good use; growing it is just as rewarding as cooking its produce without using greenhouses and free from pesticides. The water from the spring of the fulling mill is used for its cultivation. Their ecological value is vital to the area, so we only take as much water as we need, while using drip irrigation systems, which help us to save every drop of water. However, this beautiful area in the north of Málaga, rich in nature and customs, is in a clear process of depopulation. Unemployment is high, as the profitability of traditional crops fails to match production costs. This is why many farms are converting to other, more profitable crops. In our case, the project aims to enhance the value of traditional crops and protect their environmental importance, thereby generating employment for 10-20 people in the area. We already have a stable team of agricultural professionals who have been with us for 4 years. We apply working conditions adapted to their needs, taking the labour agreement as a starting point. Coming full circle, we use all the by-products from the farm as organic matter to fertilise the soil, or we donate them to our neighbour's goat farm, who in turn gives us his manure to fertilise our trees.