Impresiones del alumnado de Environmental Geoscience, Geology y Earth Sciences de diferentes universidades británicas -University College London, University of Leicester,

Cardiff University, University of Exeter- después de la visita a la Finca El Mato Tinto realizada el 15 de septiembre de 2017 en el marco del proyecto “Campus de Hidrología para el

aprovechamiento agrícola”

- 0 - It has been a very unique experience to visit and learn about the farm as well as the aims of the project being run here. It certainly has been very interesting learning all about the different permaculture techniques used to grow the wide variety of crops here. I am also interested to learn about the project here which aims to introduce others with a variety of ethnic and educational backgrounds to the work taking place here and also letting them work here to get a better understanding of the agricultural practices taking place in a unique location which is this case in Tenerife. I am amazed to see the amount of dedication and hard work taking place here. I wish all the staff here the very best in continuing to maintain the permaculture farm and hopefully further success in their work.

- 0 - The concept of cultivating the soil intrigues me quite a lot. In fact, my father has been working on a project that has this similar concept. He thinks that the traditional way of agriculture should be changed with traditional agriculture after decades and decades. The soil’s organic matter content has decreased dramatically which results in less productive crops and barren soil. People try to fix this by adding more and more fertilizers. But this is not going to change the situation as long as the soil is not healthy. So in order to have healthy soil the first step is to increase the soil organic content, which my father believes should start by unplowing the land after collecting and cutting the crops. This way whatever is left of the crop will be recycled and turn into organic matter to be further used as nutrients for crops. And this is what I see you have been doing and the results are amazing. One more thing my father believes is the combination of using animal faeces stool as fertilizers. He has been placing cows in fields toe at the left over crops where he needed more nutrients. I see that here you put chicken in cages to fertile soils where you need as have been using soils of the animal cottage to put into fields as well. Your project has started 21 years ago and has producing so much crops and I believe the soils organic matter must be much higher than before. I believe I can see my father’s success in his project just by looking at your achievements here!

- 0 - This farm has surely left a lasting impression on me. Before this visit I wasn’t aware so many species of fruit producing plant could co-exist and I find it impressive that, as a result of the

climate and location in which certain plants have been placed, that the harvesting of this fruit can occur all year round. The way in which the topography of the ground has been altered in order to maximise the user of rain water in watering crops is also impressive. From this visit I learnt not only a lot about permaculture but the alternative ways to manage water, which I found particularly interesting. The way the farm showed the co-existence of several animal species in one living place I also found quite amazing. I found the tour very informative!

- 0 - I thought that this was a very interesting place and you could tell that the people here were very passionate about what they were doing. The variety of plants and their ability to coexist in the same small area was amazing and something I hadn’t realised was possible to that degree! The different systems in place to reuse the water and organic matter are very clever but also simple and easy to understand. It makes the most of nature! I hope that other people can learn about the principles of this place and implement similar techniques in the future.

- 0 - This culture is very touching and shows a true intelligence. Every living creature in this farm grows in fraternity, following the same principles that we teach our children: «truth, devotion and purity» or «the strong protect the weak». Obviously, this is a long-term investment that comes with struggles –nothing is perfect. I am glad to have witnessed a market that redefines the problematic «consumerism» of mainstream economics. Here lies the beacon of hope for our generation.

- 0 - I was very impressed by the range and number of different species of fruit and veg. that the permaculture farm achieved, especially considering they do not use any artificial fertilisers, pesticides, etc. It was interesting to learn they harvest produce throughout the year and have never failed to produce the boxes. In comparison to the UK, the growing season is much longer. I think the permaculture farm could provide inspiration to all farmers, whether commercial o farm holdings, to change the way they grow crops and make use of the natural environment, to produce very fertile soils and efficient use of water.

- 0 - Mi impresión general de la visita ha sido bastante positiva a pesar de que mi sentido común me obligaba a esperar lo que finalmente he encontrado. Me da mucha felicidad encontrar a seres humanos implicados en desarrollar cada día una actividad de divulgación tan bonita y tan armónica que deja en mal lugar a cualquier predicador de cualquiera de las religiones que los humanos necesitamos para dar valor a nuestra existencia. Lo que se ve en esta finca es el verdadero cristianismo; respeto a la naturaleza y a nuestros amigos los animales. Más que la finca en sí, lo que valoro de este proyecto es el capital humano capaz de transmitir a los demás la idea de la economía circular. En cuanto a la finca en sí, creo que es difícil opinar ya que se ve que está en un estado de crecimiento y con varios proyectos interesantes para su desarrollo futuro pero suficiente para valorar la visita como muy buena y práctica.

Creo que para los estudiantes ha sido de igual forma interesante ya que con anterioridad a la visita ya han aprendido muy bien el ciclo del agua en la isla de Tenerife y todo aquello asociado al consumo de agua y energía así como el conocimiento de nuestra geografía asociada a la física y a la humana. Felicidades por el hermoso proyecto! Gracias y hasta pronto.

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IMÁGENES

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Desde la Asociación para el Desarrollo de la Permacultura ¡GRACIAS!

www.permaculturatenerife.org