Tag: animal husbandry

  • Grădina cu Struti Ostrich Garden

    Two ostriches in an enclosure

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    Place: town of Întorsura Buzăului, Covasna County

    Mr Bogdan Platon started the ostrich farm 5 years ago. In the beginning, he was interested in breeding ostriches, but he didn’t know anything about them. He bought some ostriches from other farmers, but it was very difficult in the beginning.

    Ostrich chickens

    When an ostrich lays an egg, he must steal it because the ostriches don’t take care of the eggs when they live in enclosures. However, the males are very protective and fast, but he has found a way of taking them. The eggs weigh about 1.7 kg. Next, he puts the egg in an incubator such that the egg is stored at the same temperature as the mother ostrich would have provided. After hatching, he keeps the chicken together with the other chickens. He told us that the first 3 months of the chicken’s life is very critical, and mortality may be high. All the chickens were khaki brown with lots of dark brown spots. In the wild, this is useful for hiding them against predators.

    Various ostriches

    As they grow older, they are released into the enclosures. There, two females and a male share space and the owner lets the male make both females pregnant.

    When the ostriches are ready for slaughter, he must isolate the selected ostrich in a corner of the enclosure and make it enter a trailer. Next, he drives to a slaughterhouse where a slaughterer slaughters the animal and divides up the meat. He sells the meat and the eggs to anyone who wants to buy it.

    There are no veterinarians he can call if the ostriches are ill.

    The ostriches are very curious, and they follow what he or anyone else is doing. He let an ostrich bite his hand, but he told us that they don’t bite hard. Instead, they have very strong legs, and we could see that they looked powerful. Besides, their feet looked powerful.

    Sometimes, males in adjacent enclosures may start fighting and they may destroy the fence separating them.

    Some of the enclosures had a rudimentary roof, protecting the ostriches against rain and snow.

    A trough at the base of the fences was filled with cereals which the ostriches were eating when they wanted.

    They stay outside all year, and they don’t mind cold weather like -25°C. He showed us a photo of one of their faces on an ice-cold winter day, and its hair was pointing in all directions.

    Lots of enclosures were located next to each other and each one had a grass cover.

    There were tables with parasols located along the long edge of the enclosures where guests could be served. We were served a delicious meal consisting of soup with ostrich bones, ostrich meat with polenta and a dessert.

  • lu’Mazăre farm

    A donkey being milked

    When we arrived at the lu’Mazăre farm, we were welcomed warmly by the friendly couple Mazăre Gheorge and Ana. Having showed us a duck pond where there was watermill in the past, we were invited inside their kitchen. Both being very hospitable and agreeable, we were served coffee, tea, bread, smoked cheese, cheese with cumin, cold cuts, cakes, donkey milk and palinka.

    Besides, their daughter-in-law and her son were also present, while her husband were working as an administrator for a company. He also does all the paperwork for the farm and when Mazăre Gheorge and Ana retires, he will go on running the farm.

    They have a cattle farm, but they also have donkeys, sheep, pigs and various kinds of poultry (chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, etc.) They sell both cow and donkey milk to a local milk processing company, but they also make all kinds of milk products.

    The farm was in a valley, and it was surrounded by rolling hills covered by forests. Mr Mazăre had always tried to expand the area of the farm, while his neighbours instead spent money on expanding their houses.

    When we went outside, we could see some ducks and geese wandering around the farm. Next, Mr Mazăre  made a young donkey rise so that his wife could feed him cereals. Next, we entered the barn where the pigs were residing in two enclosures, a group of young pigs in one of them and a sow with her piglets in the other one. The sow was let out of the barn and allowed to walk of the meadows next to the farm. We walked around the meadows where we could see some grazing cows and sheep. At the same time, we could hear a donkey braying.

    The owners led us to the donkey which was the mother of the young donkey which Ana had fed. Now, she started milking the donkey by hand. She put a bucket with cereals on the ground and the donkey could eat while she was being milked. In fact, it seemed like it didn’t affect her at all. She just accepted what was happening to her.

    We could see some geese and ducks enter a pond where they were swimming. Unfortunately, they left the pond when we were approaching.

    We were told that the dairies pay a higher price for donkey milk than cow milk, and the cows are milked by machine.

    In addition to the farm in the valley, Mr Mazăre had bought meadows on the hills surrounding the farm. We went by car to a farm; next we walked on meadows from which we could see his cows on other meadows. Mr Mazăre has brought an aggregate and a milking machine up to the cows and he or his wife are milking them by machine where they are.

    The landscape around the farm

    Summer 2024 was hot and dry, and they also had to bring feed and water to the cows. There are sources on the hills, but they were mostly dry during the summer. Anyway, he led us to a spring from which fresh water was flowing.

    To prevent bears from hurting the cows, they are surrounded by electric fences.

    When Mr Mazăre was a boy, he had to look after the cows, walking up the hills to the cows. Besides, people were living on the hills to avoid flooding, but they gradually moved down to the valley.

     

  • Kovács Mihály -Pig farmer

    A mangalitsa pig eyeing the photographer

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    We met Mr. Kovács at a parking space because the road from there to his farm was only passable for a 4WD. Having entered his car, he drove us up a hillside, sometimes feeling that we were moving more sideways than straight ahead. Having arrived at his farm, we could see a haphazard collection of fences, enclosures, buildings, a silo where a man was working and lots of mud. Fortunately, he gave me some simple plastic covers for my shoes, else I couldn’t have entered his farm.

    A man letting cereals fall into a tractor.

    Mr. Kovács has one assistant, a man who has grown up on a farm and is used to handling animals.

    Mr. Kovács has about 350 pigs and 500-600 poultry consisting of hens, chickens, guinea fowls, geese and pheasants. He was raising mangalitsa pigs as a hobby for 15 years, then it turned into a full-time job since he likes working with animals and being in nature.

    He’s running an organic farm cultivating organic cereals for pigs and he got an official license in 2021. There are only 3 certified breeders in Romania since there are very strict requirements for pig farmers, and he had to build a wall down to solid ground around his farm.

    When he wanted to start his farm, people from the nearby village had made an illegal garbage dump which had to be cleared first, and he had to remove 50 trucks of garbage. Next, he hired a company to find water which was located at 89 m depth.

    All the pigs are living inside a pen with an electric fence to keep them inside and bears outside. They must be inside the enclosure because they can be dangerous to people. Besides, bears can attack the pigs. They are free to walk where they want inside the enclosure, parts of it being turned into muddy fields by the pigs.

    The piglets were kept for themselves in a shed.

    Curious piglets

    There is a 180-year bloodline of the mangalitsa pigs, no artificial insemination is done, instead letting the pigs breed by themselves. The farmer shouted for the pigs to arrive, but only the small ones came, while the big ones were satisfied with eating acorns somewhere else.

    In hot summers, the pigs prefer to stay in mud baths.

    A meat processing unit, where mostly mangalitsa pigs and game meat is used to make cold cuts, is located in the city of Sepsiszentgyörgy/Sfântu Gheorghe a short distance away.

    Some male pigs are castrated when they are 2-3 months old, and they will be slaughtered when they are 24-28 months old, while the rest are used for breeding.

    Some hens and other poultry were inside fences, while a group of geese were wandering aimlessly wherever they wanted.

    Honking geese

    I have visited another man, Mr. Sándor Huba , who is also raising mangalitsa pigs.

  • Szász Rózsika and Arpad – farmers

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    Having visited Zita Tofalvi in the morning, later we went to visit Rózsika and Arpad Szász because they also live on the high level plain above the town of Corund. Both of them grew up in this area, but he worked for many years as an electrician in mines before getting a pension. Then, they lived in Corund before buying this farm.

    The farm is located in a beautiful place, surrounded by wildflower meadows and deciduous forests, a neighbour was passing on a horse-drawn cart, songbirds were singing, a cuckoo was calling and no cars were passing. A rural idyll!

    Since they were expecting us, we were served a wide selection of their home-made cheeses and bacon, while we got pancakes with urdă cheese  with mulberry jam as dessert.

    Having eaten, we were free to have a look at the farm where a group of hens, normal ones and Transylvanian ones with naked neck, together with a rooster went around pecking until they got fed cereals by Ms..Szász, who also had to tempt one hen and her chickens inside a coop with tidbits. One single guineafowl, which I was told, was used as an alarm in case birds of prey were approaching, was also roaming freely, but some poultry is taken by foxes or birds of prey anyway.

    Three pigs were also being raised at the farm and they need to weigh about 220 kg when they are slaughtered. That is, they weigh much more than pigs, which are raised commercially, when they are slaughtered. While the pigsty was being cleaned, the pigs were let out one by one and they seemed very happy, eating grass and walking around the courtyard freely.

    The Szász couple had 6 cows, all of which were grazing on a communal meadow, while a cowherd was looking after them, They were milked in the morning, then they were let out and they would walk with cows from nearby farms to a communal meadow and come back in the evening. During our visit, Mr Szász followed them home the last stretch, but when they reached the barn, each cow knew which cubicle to go to. Finally, both husband and wife milked them, while one male calf just had to suckle his mother’s teats. Having finished, he was hardly controllable and he was let out such that he could jump and run as much as he wanted, looking very happy.

    Besides, the cows on this farm go outside twice daily to drink water from a spring in winter, making them in good shape and ready to go grazing in spring.

    Having finished milking the cows, Mr. Szász brought the fresh milk inside the kitchen where it was poured into a container through a filter. Since they got milk twice daily, Ms. Szász had cheese mass in various stages on the way to become mature cheese. She grated cheese mass made the day before and put it in warm salt water, then she formed the grated mass into a clump, which she rolled into a sausage on a bench and tied it into a braid, She formed other parts of the grated mass into a flat piece which she extended, finally turning it a rose, showing us she is a real artist.

    Regarding sharing of work, he does the repetitive task of churning butter, while she does the demanding task of making cheese with more or less complex shapes.

    Some of the cheeses were mixed with oregano, cumin or walnuts and some cheeses were smoked in a small smokehouse next to the farm.

    They also have a wood-fired bakery oven where they bake bread filled with mashed potatoes once a week.

    They had three dogs and three cats, but unfortunately one dog had been taken by wolves the preceding winter.

    Since winters are harsh and long in this area, they have to collect a lot of hay in order to feed their animals throughout winter. They only use cow dung to fertilise their fields because they can’t afford artificial fertilisers.

    They grow potatoes and vegetables in a small garden near the farm, they have pear, apple, walnut and plum trees and they make rose hip and mulberry jam.

    The pigs looked far from weighing 220 kg, but when they do, there will surely be a busy time after having slaughtered them. Then, the whole carcass will be turned into sausages, cold cuts, hams, etc.

    All in all, it seemed like they took very good care of their animals and that that both man and animals were living in harmony.

  • Sa Tiria farm and guesthouse

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    Sa Tiria is located on land where members of the same family have been cultivating fruits and vegetables besides raising sheep and pigs for more than 100 years. About 12 years ago, they decided to build a guest house together with an on-site restaurant, all of excellent quality.

    The area of Sa Tiria amounts to about 150 hectares, including the guest house, houses for the family, a garden, a barn for the sheep, a pen and a small pool for the pigs, olive forests, fields where they cultivate vegetables and fruits, meadows where the sheep can go grazing and fields for cultivating fodder for the sheep, in particular, in dry periods. The property also covers a large area of sparse trees with Mediterranean scrub.

    There is also an abandoned quarry, where granite was extracted some decades ago, at the foot of the hill behind the farm.

    The farm and guesthouse is located between the hill and the country road, while the sea is located about 1 km in the opposite direction.

    Both the interior and the exterior of the guesthouse look very attractive, while it is surrounded by an ample parking space and a rich diversity of local trees and flowers. The guesthouse is managed by the sisters Carla and Linda, while their brothers Lucio and Salvatore take care of the farm. Their parents live next to the guesthouse, but leave the daily running to their children.

    The on-site restaurant is large, high-ceilinged and airy, while a modern and functional kitchen is located in an adjoining room. An environment filled with fragrances of local dishes and where all the meals for the guests are made.

    Every morning, one of the sisters would prepare a delicious breakfast of bread, home-made jams from strawberry trees, quince and plums together with yogurt and various sheep’s cheeses and cold cuts, fruit juices, home-made pastries and of course tea and coffee. A well-assorted selection of fresh, organic fruits was always available. While not cooking, they seemed to be always busy cleaning the premises. Besides, they were knowledgeable and always willing to share information about places worth seeing, spectacular beaches and anything else which could interest their guests.

    The wholesome and ample dinners were also made from local ingredients and using local recipes. Starters were followed by various pasta dishes, while the main course could be e.g. roasted lamb or piglet accompanied by boiled vegetables, mixed salads, olives and roasted potatoes, followed by local cheeses, fruits and pastries. To drink, a bottle of wine was available together with water and a glass of myrtle was offered at the end of each meal.

    The fine rooms were located sequentially next to the restaurant, while a terrace extended along the whole building. Comfortable garden furniture was outside each room such that it was possible to relax outside the rooms in the balmy evenings or any other time of the day, sensing the scents of the abundant Mediterranean vegetation on the property.

    One evening, we followed Carla for a walk around the farm. The sheep were outside eating hay provided by one of her brothers. All or most of them were pregnant and they didn’t produce milk, but there was a room where the sheep could be milked after they had born lambs because, in general, they produce more milk than is required by their offspring.

    We also paid a visit to the pigs, which had a large pen all for themselves and a little pond where they could cool themselves on hot summer days. Like many pigs, they looked at us curiously and expectantly, waiting for a treat.

    Having stayed for four days at this welcoming place, we said goodbye to Carla and continued our journey along the south coast of Sardinia.

  • Håøya nature workshop

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    From the beginning of June to the middle of August you can go by boat from Aker pier in Oslo to Håøya, an island in the Oslo fjord, in about an hour. Having disembarked, follow the gravel road until you reach a fence which you follow till you reach a wooden construction. On your right, you can see a clearing about 50 metres away. Proceed to the clearing and you’ll arrive at Håøya nature workshop, a cooperative consisting of a cook, a dairy technologist, and a goat farmer. The building in which they work and sell their products have no running water and no electricity, meaning that this is really a work of passion.

    Due to changing use of this lovely island, former meadows have gradually been turned into forests and in order to counteract this, the goat farmer Helge Haugen has brought his Kashmir goats across the fjord from Sætre and let them graze the northern part of the island the last two years. In fact, Helge started breeding goats because he bought an overgrown farm and needed goats to open his property. Having worked with cheese for many years, the cook Yngve persuaded Helge to start a temporary goat farm on the island in order to produce goat cheese. However, the goats had never been milked, and the first trials started in February this year. After a lot a of work, most of the goats are willing to be milked by both female and male volunteers. Having finished the milking, the milk is brought about 50 metres to the house inside of which is a small dairy where rennet is added to the milk in order to separate the curd from the whey. The curd is laid in small, cylindrical containers with holes such that the whey can flow out and be collected in a bucket. Once a day, the whey is used to bake bread in a wood-fired oven. Since the milk is not heated, their cheeses are unpasteurised and very tasty.

    The cheeses, having about the same size as an ice hockey puck, are for sale at the house of the cooperative, and to select restaurants and shops. Customers can choose between freshly made or mature cheese besides having them covered with crushed juniper needles, cuckoo flower or charcoal.

    Having an appointment with Yngve, he readily showed me the dairy and their products and willingly let me taste their cheese, bread and apple juice., a wholesome meal indeed. Having talked about their enterprise, we walked to the milking house, that is the wooden building I passed earlier. Helge, being a practical person, had built it on his property, freighted it in parts to Håøya and assembled it. The goats walk up a ramp, then they will put their heads through some openings in a wall in order to reach what they like, while they are being milked at the same time. After milking, they are allowed to walk down a second ramp such that more goats can be milked. Unfortunately, milking times were early in the morning and late in the evening, while the arrival and departure times for the boat required that I had to stay one night on the island in order to see it.

    While the female goats and their kids are free to go near the house of the workshop, the male goats consisting of two bucks and some which are castrated are living on their own in two separate areas on the northern part of the island from April to October. There, they are welcome to graze whatever they find in order to open the landscape. I entered their enclosures and tried to find them without result. Anyway, Yngve told me that they had seen them by going near the island by boat and calling for them.

    Having returned, I found the goats and the kids on a meadow, busily eating grass and leaves, while some of them were ruminating or sleeping.

    Visitors arrived occasionally at the house of the cooperative, tasting the products and buying whatever they wanted. Approaching the time for the boat’s return to Oslo, I had to say goodbye to Yngve while he was preparing to receive another group of guests.

  • Farm and guest house Terra Noas

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    Having visited the Old Stone Mill, we followed Roberto Atzeni to his family-driven farm and guest house, Terra Noas, which is situated in a place called Sa Meliana, surrounded by lovely hills and forests.

    The parents of Roberto, Nicolò Atzeni e Liliana Zucca, bought the lands in 1989. Today, the guest house consists of a large hall for meetings and receptions, some rooms for the guests, a big kitchen for making bread and sweets using the flours made at the Old Stone Mill, a wine cellar and a classroom for receiving children at their educational farm. In fact, this enterprise has been offering educational activities at the farm since 2002 and they include, but are not limited to the following:

    • Grain – from seed to flour
    • From grapes to wine
    • The animals of the farm
    • Organic farming
    • Mediterranean flora and fauna
    • Milk – from fodder to raw milk and cheese

    By letting children experience these educational activities, they learn about life at a farm, about cultivation of edible plants and production of, for example, milk, and they get to know how agriculture is practised in this area.

    Since animals like sheep, cows and horses are being raised at this farm, there are various buildings for the animals like a shelter for the sheep, a milking room, a stable for the horses, a pigpen with a shelter and a cowshed with a pen.

    In fact, having visited the guest house, we followed Roberto to where some the animals were living, amongst others: sheep and lambs, rabbits, chickens and Limousin cattle.

    Roberto and his family butchers their animals themselves and turn the meat into various courses, while milk from the animals is sold to a cooperative called Cooperativa Allevatori Ovini.

    The Atzeni family also do organic cultivation of olives, grapevines and various vegetables and they are producing olive oil, pickled olives, wines like Cagnulari, San Giovese and Vermentino besides vegetables like tomatoes, courgettes, eggplants, peppers, chili peppers, etc.

    Naturally, all of the vegetable and animal products are used in the kitchen of the guest house in order to prepare typical Sardinian courses for their guests.

    It is clear that this is a multi-functional enterprise well managed by competent persons who are capable of recognising the richness of their territory.

  • Farm and guest house Archelao

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    The visit at the farm and guest house Archelao started with having lunch where I could taste various typical dishes from the traditional Sardinian kitchen, among others pasta, olive oil, red wine, meat, cheese, fruits, vegetables, conserves and sweets, all of them prepared at the nearby farm and kitchen.

    After lunch, which was kindly offered by Mr. Sandro Dessì, we were shown around the farm, starting with the citrus grove and the fruit grove from which the guest house receives fruits for making jams of pears, apples, oranges, apricots, plums, etc. Even though the cultivation is not organic, they try to limit the use of pesticides. If their fruit trees are attacked by insects, they ask for help from a body whose purpose is to help agriculturists in Sardinia (LAORE). Some of their employees will arrive, identify which type of insect is degrading the plants, and advise which type of pesticide to use in order to eradicate only the harmful insects, and not the useful ones. In addition, Mr. Dessì tries this approach only in case of a strong infestation, and most importantly, only apply pesticides to flowers or fruits which have just appeared. Thus, when the fruits are reaching maturity, the residues of the pesticide, which in general disappear about 10 days after having been applied, are negligible at the time of harvest.

    Afterwards, we went to the enclosures where their animals live like calves, donkeys, pigs, and some horses. According to Mr. Dessì, the breeding is entirely organic, feeding them only barley, wheat, beans, peas, and maize all of which is bought from other farmers and milled at Archelao. We also passed a field on which were grazing sheep and goats from which the farm gets milk for producing fresh, aged, and semi-soft cheeses.

    We also visited a small slaughterhouse in construction, highly wanted by Mr. Dessì such that the animals are slaughtered at the farm and avoiding unnecessary transport.

    Next, we were shown the storerooms where the products of the farm are conserved and transformed by storing. In addition to wine, cheeses, hams, fruits, jams and olive oil were stored in the same room. A peculiar characteristic of this environment was the aroma of the fruits, which according to Mr. Dessì would pass their aromas to the hams and the cheeses, giving them a certain sweet and fruity taste.

    This farm, like many others in Sardinia, receive children and the main purpose is to let the youngsters approach and become aware of life at a farm through educational itineraries and personal experience. Knowledge of the life of farmers is diminishing and Mr. Dessì and his collaborators hope that educational and fun activities at a farm will lead to that this knowledge will not be forgotten, but rather appreciated.

    Some of the educational itineraries which are offered by this farm include:

    • The colours of nature
    • Leaves
    • Discovering tastes and smells
    • Irrigation of the fields
    • Fighting parasitic insects
    • Animals at the farm
    • The milk cycle

    At the end of our visit, we passed a building in construction, making the farm seem to be expanding, in particular due to the enthusiasm of Mr. Dessì and his collaborators, all of them capable of running and bringing forth an enterprise this large in a creative way.

    In other words, Archelao has convinced us. A particular gratitude goes to Mr. Dessì for his hospitality and availability. He has shown to be an attentive entrepreneur, not only regarding the farm and guest house, but also to his collaborators, really trying to do sustainable development as an alternative to the capitalist market and ever-growing consumption.

  • Farm and guesthouse “Casa Atza”

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    Casa Atza is located in the village of Bauladu about 10 kilometres from Oristano. The family, who is owning it, received us warmly and after the introductions we decided to go to an enclosure within which they were raising a group of Sardinian cattle just a short drive from the guest house. Upon our arrival, Mr. Jose Atza opened the gate and let us enter the enclosure where there were some Sardinian cows, a calf which was suckling, and a docile bull. Jose and his wife told us that some of the animals are slaughtered, while some of them are used as dairy cows, whose milk the wife uses to make a typical cheese called Casizolu for this area.

    Having returned to the guest house, Ms. Atza described the complex procedure for extracting must from cactus pears, a dense and dark syrup with a sweet and spicy taste and intense fragrance. The must, which is obtained by prolonged cooking (about 9 hours) of the pulp and juice of cactus pears, is mainly used for making various types of sweets.

    She also told us that the must of cactus pears has replaced the must of grapes whose recipe according to some elderly persons has been known for at least 100 years.

    The cactus pears are collected in September at a time when they are mature, then they are peeled, squashed and cooked such that the seeds are released from the pulp, while the juice is extracted by means of gravity.

    Having extracted both the pulp and the juice, the second and very long cooking at low heat will take place. During the cooking, ingredients like dried orange peel and wild fennel are added. In fact, she uses oranges which are collected from their own citrus grove which is about 140 years old. The oranges have a very rough and uneven skin, but they are very juicy and sweet.

    When the must has obtained a certain density, the cooking is stopped and the must is left to cool off before being bottled and conserved in a cool and dark place where it has a shelf life of 2 to 5 years. Each September the women of Bauladu collect cactus pears in order to make must for another year.

    We really appreciated the generosity of Ms. Atza who had made typical and very tasty pastries based on the must of cactus pears.

    She also prepares other Sardinian sweets with nice names like ziddinas and pardule besides sweets based on almonds for visitors at the guest house. They also offer meat from their own cattle, extra virgin olive oil and the cheese called casizolu.

    Casa Atza was founded in 1993, it is known for the hospitality of their hosts, it is surrounded by beautiful scenery, the guests are meant to feel as part of the family, and our stay was indeed pleasant.

  • Farm and guest house “il Giglio”

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    We arrived at Massama having passed an antique church and going towards Siamaggiore, we came to the farm and guest house “il Giglio”.

    We were met by Antonella Anna Maria Orrù who led us to a rustic and exquisite hall, actually a 19th century country house, entirely and finely restored. The wooden ceiling was quite high, while the walls were made of stones and concrete. Wide and tall windows let daylight enter the building and there were decorative baskets containing carved pumpkins on the tables.

    After having eaten a delicious lunch consisting of traditional Sardinian courses prepared by Antonella and her employees, she followed us to her organic citrus grove where she was growing mandarins and oranges called Washington Navel whose fruit trees had recently been pruned due to the presence of parasites. Actually, Antonella started organic farming of fruit trees, olive trees and citrus trees in 2010, and she didn’t hide the fact that she finds it very difficult because of parasites and parasitic diseases which she can’t control by means of insecticides or herbicides, neither can she use artificial fertilisers. Obviously, growing these trees organically leads to a lower yield, but the quality and the intensity of the tastes of the organic products are superior to the conventionally grown ones. The organic cultivation is controlled yearly by an external institution, samples are taken for analysis and a certificate is issued when everything is found to be okay.

    After our visit to the citrus grove, we followed Antonella to the farm where they are raising animals, but we stopped along the way in order to have a look at another fruit grove where they were cultivating pomegranates, apples, pears, peaches, figs, and so on. A part of the fruits are turned into jams which are served at the guest house, while most of them are sold to shops which are selling organic produce in Oristano.

    In addition to jams, this farm also produces cold cuts and pickled vegetables which are used in the restaurant of the guest house together with olive oil, vegetables and meat prepared using tried and true techniques.

    When we arrived at the farm, we could see horses, donkeys, cows and surprisingly an albino donkey. Antonella told us that her father Giglio, whose name has been used as a name for the farm, initially bought some dairy cows and gradually turned to cows for meat production.

    Having visited the farm, we thanked Antonella for her hospitality with whom we had passed a pleasant afternoon.

    As can be seen from their facebook page, this farm and guest house arrange lots of activities, including receiving children for learning about farms, preparation of many types of typical Sardinian products, workshops and last, but not least an encounter between man and bassett hounds.

    A recipe using, among other things oranges to make a cranberry pound cake, can be found here.