At Vineyard Son Alegre we are not merely interested in wine or wine making. Rather, our organic and biodynamic agricultural project aims to redress and rebalance a misguided approach to agriculture here on the island of Mallorca. All our efforts only make sense if this project is carried out over a long period of time, well into the future and possibly over a number of generations. We will not be around to ultimately see this Son Alegre project prosper but we are happy to have laid the foundations on our estate for an alternative and natural approach to sustainable agriculture here in Mallorca.

It is vital to teach the next generation about the importance of responsible ways of agriculture. To this end, we have been in contact with primary and secondary schools in the South-East of Mallorca to invite school classes to come and visit our land and to see with their own eyes the benefits of Natural Agriculture, of our non-ploughing approach and of our rejection of herbicides, insecticides and commercial fertilisers.

A few weeks ago we had the first of those school visits when some 60 pupils from three classes of CEIP Blai Bonet primary school in Santanyí came to visit our farm on the outskirts of the village, under the guidance of a few of their teachers.

We tried to impart to the youngsters the basic principals of air pollution, ground water depletion and the significance of our ecological footprint. We also covered biodiversity and biological communities, mycorrhizae and the symbiotic relationship of host organisms and their parasites, photosynthesis and decomposition, natural pest control and permaculture, the carbon cycle and the water cycle, nitrogen and phosphorus. We talked about global warming, resource depletion, population growth and the ecosystem. We explained how agriculture in Mallorca had to cater for a population of barely 200,000 some 120 years ago, whereas now the island’s population has grown to almost 1,000,000 with an added 15,000,000 visiting tourists every year.

The children were wonderfully curious, interested and inquisitive. They seemed to grasp how we are all part of a beautifully intricate system of interdependence, and how we are better off when we accept the wisdom of give and take. We believe that this visit was time well spent on our part and certainly it looked as if the young visitors were equally happy about their trip.

If you should know someone in primary or secondary education here on this island and would like to suggest a similar school outing for between 25 and 75 youngsters, feel free to contact us on 606.401.408 (Miquel Manresa). Visits are free from our side. Only transport would have to be arranged from the school’s part.