De La Maria Eco is the name of the company led by Maria Rovira (Piera, 1952). By the time she joined the farming profession at 40 years old, she’d already been around the block a few times after completing an artistic degree. These days, she grows organic vegetables, sweet fruit, olives and biodynamic vines on a farm in Piera, in the heart of Montserrat Rural Park. She balances her farming work with her role as a trade unionist of the Farmers Union of Catalonia, which she fulfils out of principle, and with her responsibilities as a grandmother, which she’s willingly taken on out of love. The farm covers six hectares in total: two hectares devoted to vegetable crops, half a hectare to grape vines, and the rest to fruit and olive trees. She runs the farm alongside Lourdes Gómez (Sant Pere de Riudebitlles, 1975), who’s been working with her for the past four years. Lourdes is another strong, indefatigable woman for whom working the land fosters good physical and mental health. They like to say they carry out calm farming practices in order to feed people rather than to make a profit.

Maria is a fighter who’s had to prove that not only could she become a farmer but also an extremely good one. She farms with great sensitivity to the land and loves trying out new things. Her work was acknowledged in 2005 when the Government of Catalonia awarded her the prestigious Creu de Sant Jordi (Saint George's Cross).

Maria’s brain is always buzzing with projects and she keeps reinventing herself. “I enjoy starting projects: it’s a life approach,” confesses this farmer who studied interior design as a young woman. Now 70 years old, she hopes to live to a hundred and wonders where life will take her. She’s amazed when she hears about newly retired people who gripe about not knowing what to do with their time. “When I was 60 years old, I turned my farming operation inside out like a sock,” she says. Twenty years after becoming a farmer, she decided to make the switch to organic farming, changing the way she cultivated her fruit trees and vegetable crops. Her current passion is biodynamics, a farming approach that she has begun to apply to her grape vines with the help of Lourdes.

The memory of vines

Maria can trace her relationship with the land all the way back to her earliest memories, when she’d tag along with her father to pick grapes. Although she lived in a village, one of the things she’s most proud of is that she was able to pursue her studies thanks to her mum, who was adamant that girls should have the same educational opportunities as boys. Instead of signing Maria up to the traditional sewing classes, she encouraged her to study whatever she fancied. Maria was initially keen on a career in nursing, but when her mum told her that it meant “being a maid to doctors”, she opted for a degree in art and design at Barcelona’s Massana School. She breaks into laughter as she recalls those years of rebellion and student protests: “It was a great period, because we saw so much; it wasn’t just about studying every day.”

She soon found work and after a while moved to Mallorca, which she preferred to Barcelona. Nonetheless, she missed the vines of Anoia and Alt Penedès, so she always timed her visits home to the family to coincide with the olive harvest or some other task on the farm. She also began to produce dried flower pictures, which proved hugely successful. In fact, she’s never again managed to earn as much money as she did in those early years of her career. “When something’s going well for me, I stop doing it!” she says, chuckling again.

When her dad fell ill, someone had to take over the running of the family farm in La Fortesa, a hamlet in the municipality of Piera. “In theory, it should have been my brother, who was the heir, despite being younger than me and having no interest whatsoever in the farm,” she reflects sardonically. Fortunately, her brother already had a job elsewhere and she was able to take over the reins. In the early days, her cousins helped her out a bit, since it was unusual for a woman to lead a farming project in the 90s. Her husband Joan also lent a hand back then and over the years, but he’s always had his own job. Maria was and remains the boss.

Although Maria comes from farming stock herself, her advice to those wishing to embark on a farming project is to have other experiences and to work in other jobs before starting their farming business. “Seeing the world enabled me to set up a company, because although this is a family farm, we have to approach it as a business; otherwise, there’s no future in it,” she explains.

«Although this is a family farm, we have to approach it as a business; otherwise, there’s no future in it» Maria Rovira
 

The organic transition

Maria’s project initially focused solely on growing vegetables, before incorporating the farm’s grape vines and its peach, cherry and apricot trees. She made the decision to switch to organic farming a few years later.

Making the transition from a conventional farming operation to an organic one is no walk in the park but Maria, fully committed, threw herself into the task because the market had changed a lot during the time that she’d been farming. In the early days, she took her produce to Mercabarna (Barcelona’s wholesale market) and things ticked along fine, but when imported fruit and vegetables began to arrive at the market before her own, she realised it was time to change direction. “If I want to continue farming, either I change things or it’s going to go badly,” she warned herself. And no sooner said than done: she stopped doing things the way her father had always done them and embarked upon integrated fruit production and organic vegetable farming. She also changed her sales approach. For a time, she sold her produce at the market in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, but four years ago she switched to preparing weekly baskets for individual customers, adapting one of the family wine cellars as a store. This direct sales point, which opens on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings, serves as both a retail outlet for casual customers and a pick-up point for the 50 baskets she prepares every week. She also does a few deliveries, always in the local area. “If you have to start travelling further afield to deliver your produce, it can no longer be considered organic,” Maria argues.

«If you have to start travelling further afield to deliver your produce, it can no longer be considered organic» Maria Rovira
 

By the time she reached this stage in her farming project, she’d been joined by another courageous woman, Lourdes, who was born just a stone’s throw from La Fortesa. Although her grandparents were farmers and she grew up in a home that kept a vegetable garden and small livestock, Lourdes’ parents chose a different path. Indeed, her own career began a long way from crop fields. After studying administration, she worked for several years at a dental clinic and for a short time in a pastry shop. It wasn’t until 2018 that she was offered a job at De la Maria Eco. Now that she’s a seasoned farmer, her father sometimes jokes about it with her. “I always used to ask you to come and do some weeding in the vegetable garden but you never did. And now you go and become a farmer!”, he remarks wryly.

A well-matched team

Lourdes works hand in hand with Maria on the farm, as well as preparing the baskets. As she sees it, farming is more a therapeutic pursuit than a job. She feels that it has “this element of freedom that’s psychologically beneficial.” Despite the insect bites, the winter cold and the summer heat, she loves being outdoors all the time and has an extremely positive outlook on the work she does at the farm, especially in the context of today’s world: “Out in the vegetable garden, everything slows down and you can switch off from the hectic pace of modern life. You learn to observe your surroundings; being able to do that is so satisfying.” But she’s well aware that the job’s not all about solitude and nature; the social aspect comes into play when dealing with customers. Maria and Lourdes offer them a glass of cava and a chinwag. What’s more, Maria’s keen to embark on a culinary project at the winery. It’s one that she’s been mulling over for some time: she’d like to hold cooking workshops on a variety of themes, such as what to cook with certain vegetables, how to cook pulses properly or how to make the most of food that’s about to go off. Projects upon projects! “It’s all lovely and bucolic being in the countryside or sipping a glass of cava, but then we have to think with our heads,” says Maria.

«Out in the vegetable garden, everything slows down and you can switch off from the hectic pace of modern life. You learn to observe your surroundings; being able to do that is so satisfying» Lourdes Gómez
 

Although Maria’s main focus at La Fortesa is on its vegetable garden and fruit trees, she also cultivates half a hectare of vines, using a biodynamic approach, and she’s going to plant more olive trees in the near future. All in all, her six hectares go a long way: “As is the case with many women, my farm is small, but I still feed a lot of people!”, she exclaims.

A conversation abut feminism is inevitable with Maria Rovira. In fact, she was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi (Saint George’s Cross) by the Government of Catalonia in 2005 for setting an example as a go-getter and in recognition of “women’s socioeconomic contribution to rural development”. In addition to the work she carries out in the primary sector, the accolade also acknowledged her role as a trade unionist. Looking back on the occasion, she recounts that before the ceremony, she had to insist on being referred to as farmer rather an agricultural producer: “I’m a farmer!” Whenever she rewatches the video of the ceremony, it still brings a smile to her face when the presenter trips over the word.

Although Maria has always been extremely active in trade union affairs, at one point serving as Head of Territorial Policy of the Permanent National Committee of the Farming Union, she acknowledges that she’s been winding down a bit recently because farming is an intensive profession and sometimes she needs a break. Nonetheless, she’s currently in charge of the Urban Development and Landscape area. And she’s not the only woman in the union, not by a long chalk: the other day she was amazed when a colleague told her that the Farming Union boasts around 4,000 women members.

Out in the fields and at home, discipline and boundaries

Maria’s also busy in her role as a grandmother: she picks her two grandchildren up from school twice a week and they have lunch together. It’s something she enjoys doing because it gives her the chance to see them. The days of raising her own son are long gone, while Lourdes is still busy bringing up her teenage daughter, a responsibility she shares with her ex-partner. Striking a healthy work-life balance is often no easy task. Neither is gaining respect and acknowledgement for the farming profession. Lourdes had to point out to the father of her daughter that although he had a job in a company, her job was also important and she couldn’t just drop everything at any time to look after their child. “I nipped it in the bud, because there was no way I was going to let him consider that my job was less important than his and that I should suddenly stop planting my lettuces. If he had an important meeting to attend in a particular week, then he’d have to organise himself accordingly!” she exclaims.

Maria adds that combining farming tasks with work in the house requires a disciplined schedule. Her husband, Joan, has always been heavily involved at home. Maria used to travel a lot and he’d take care of their son. But they have to be on their toes now that they’re older and living alone in the house. As regards farming, even though Joan doesn’t work in the profession, the neighbours sometimes ask him about the farm (whether they’ve used sulphur fertilisers, for example). Joan always replies that his wife is the farmer. Maria will always remember the day she went to buy a tractor, accompanied by her son, whom she’d just picked up from the station. She was astonished when the salesperson went about explaining the features of the new vehicle to her son rather than to her.

The women have warmed to the theme now and describe two incidents that had a big impact on them. Lourdes recalls an equality course she went on where the question was raised of why the working day of male farmers finished so late. “I realised that if they were coming in from the fields at 11 pm it was because they knew that their wives were looking after the kids and had their supper on the table,” she says. Meanwhile, Maria highlights the hugely satisfying experience of meeting the women farmers who, like her, feature in the book "Converses a peu de vinya. 50 viticultores del Penedès" (Conversations amid the vines. 50 women winemakers from the Penedès region). Since its publication, the women have kept in touch through a chat group in which they offer each other support and defend common interests.

When asked if more young women farmers can follow her example, Lourdes replies that they can but that first “they have to believe they can run a farming company.” She also feels that women have a special connection with the land, a quality that she sees embodied every day in Maria: “When it comes to experimenting, working and observing, she has this special sensitivity, an openness to everything, which is typical of many women.” Moreover, Lourdes thinks it’s crucial to know how to be organised: if a task is so fiddly that it requires more time or so laborious that it requires the help of someone else, these aspects must be factored in.

«Young farmers have to believe they can run a farming company» Lourdes Gómez
 

However, the farming profession also forces them to deal with complicated challenges. One of the issues that has angered them in particular of late is the overpopulation of wild boars. Just recently, the animals entered the vegetable garden the day after planting and turned up the soil. “I haven’t stepped foot in the vegetable garden for almost a month,” says Maria, crossly. The wild boars also uprooted the iron poles that help keep the electric fence energiser in place. It’s not the first time that these animals have caused damage to the farm: one night last year, shortly before the start of the grape harvest, they entered the vineyard, despite it being protected with fences, and ate part of the grape crop.

A good generational renewal strategy that’s committed to bringing in new farmers

Maria’s farm is set within the protection perimeter of Montserrat Rural Park. Given how concerned she is about the issue of generational renewal in farming, she happily attended the presentation of the new new land bank. She’s aware that big companies are making purchase offers to farmers who are about to retire. In fact, she herself was made an offer some years ago which she angrily refused, her vision of farming being radically opposed to this model. Conversely, she feels that land banks are a tool for facilitating the incorporation of young people in the profession, and for halting the steady disappearance of small and medium farms. In addition to the land bank, this trade unionist believes that a minimum income should be established for new farmers embarking on projects, since a large initial investment is required. She also believes that five- and ten-year leases are too short, because having got their farming project up and running, new farmers may find themselves evicted, which is what happened to a young man she knows. He was farming 20 hectares and, all of a sudden, he was told he could no longer lease the land. “This often happens because the farm owner’s son fancies playing at being a farmer. It’s a real problem because rural businesses need stability,” she explains.

She had it easier: at least she had some land and an old tractor in working order, along with an irrigation network. Even so, the road has not been smooth and she empathises with young people who are keen to start a farming project. When we ask her for her opinion on how generational renewal in farming should be approached, Maria lists two requirements that should be fulfilled by anyone who’s interested in joining the profession: firstly, they must really like farming work, because it’s a vocational profession; secondly, they must produce a well-thought-out business plan that takes into account all the elements they have to invest in (manure, machinery, etc.). Moreover, she urges new farmers to commit to continuous training in order to keep up to date with the latest developments in farm management. She offers the example of her half hectare of vineyards, planted by her forebears, which she cultivates using a biodynamic approach. Doing it right requires precision and strictly following the instructions of the technician who prepares the material they incorporate in the soil. “You have to start at three o’clock on the dot and finish in exactly one hour!”, he instructs them. To get it right, Lourdes uses a timer. Pure mathematics! The same is true of pruning: scrupulousness is so important that Maria has gone back to using traditional scissors. Training has been a constant ingredient in Maria’s career. The pandemic actually made it easier for her because of the boost it gave to the digital environment. In the past she’d get frustrated at not being able to attend courses, either because she didn't have time or because after finishing her farming chores, tidying up and showering, she couldn’t get to the course venue in time. But nowadays, many sessions are held online.

Farming naturally and calmly

On this farm, organic and biodynamic farming is a statement of intentions, an approach to crop management and rhythms that culminates in calm harvests: “When we start planting tomatoes, we go about it a gentle pace... If they ripen later, it doesn’t matter.” Maria and Lourdes left chemical fertilisers behind a long time ago, and they irrigate very little, and by means of decantation, which means that no engine is required. What’s more, they take the packaging of their vegetables seriously, ensuring that it has as little impact as possible.

Before we leave the farm, we ask them what living the good life means for them. The answers come thick and fast, like a rushing stream. While Lourdes considers it essential to enjoy peace of mind, to like what you do and for your work to be acknowledged with a decent salary, Maria aspires to be creative: what makes her happiest is reinventing herself and thinking up new projects to implement on the farm.

In the heart of a hamlet that furtively observes the arrival of newcomers, finding two courageous women farmers who never give up is a cause for admiration.

— BCN Smart Rural Editorial —