From Little Acorns…

From Little Acorns…

LAST UPDATED: 27 July, 2011 @ 11:00 pm
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SWAP: Lola and Armando offer a sandwich in return for a tree

SWAP: Lola and Armando offer a sandwich in return for a tree

An organic farm in Huelva is attracting visitors with a tasty incentive

MIGHTY oaks not only provide the bellota – a staple for the herds that create Andalucia’s finest jamon – they also help oxygenate the planet.

To that end, the eco-aware owners of an organic pig farm in Huelva are offering a free bocadillo de jamon to anyone who visits their finca this autumn to plant an encina (holm oak) or alcornoque (cork oak).

The initiative is part of an eco tourism drive throughout Spain, encouraging travellers and holiday makers to get involved in helping sustain the peninsula’s original woodland and forests.

From indigenous evergreen savins in Burgos, to ash and chestnut trees in Asturias, the thinking behind the ‘Create a Wood’ drive is to make visitors as responsible as the local community for maintaining their surroundings.

Lola Lopez Sanchez and her husband Armando, who produce organic jamon on their farm, Finca Montefrio in Huelva, are keen to encourage visitors.

“The free jamon sandwich is just a little extra enticement,” she laughs.

“But we always like our guests to get involved.”

From gathering acorns, collecting eggs, counting the goatherd, to maintaining the orchard, there are always jobs to do.

JAMON: The pigs remain on the farm for 22 months

The 100 or so pigs remain on the farm for up to 22 months – living for seven months longer than herds in conventional jamon production – before being removed for slaughter, according to strict organic guidelines.

After essential curing with pure sea salt, the jamones are returned to Finca Montefrio to hang and mature in the farm’s cellar for a minimum of three years.

This year Lola and Armando, whose three children Helena, Natalia and Armando also muck in on the farm, will be planting between 20 and 30 saplings, to help sustain the woodland where some of their oaks are over a century old.

“We try and stay in contact with nature at all times, so we’re making goats cheese in the spring and harvesting fruit in the autumn, and our visitors, who are mainly from Holland, Belgium, France and the UK like to do the same when they are here.”

Accommodation on the finca consists of four individual houses, each with their own swimming pool. Prices start at 95 euros per night for a fourbed cottage.

For more information go to www.creaaunbosque.es and www.fincamontefrio.com

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