“EcoVillage Farms” is a non-profit service that connects farmers and small food businesses with consumers by coordinating weekly eco-deliveries across the city. The story of ECOVILLAGE FARMS started with the pandemic, when markets were closed and small producers were left without income.
Then Katalyst Kitchens and Eco-village Moldova, 2 organizations that develop villages and rural entrepreneurship, decided to launch a service that could help householders sell their vegetables, and consumers could have daily baskets of fresh food produced in the countryside.
“We work with small farmers from the village of Râșcova and help them sell their products. Once a week we make healthy baskets with products from the farmers’ gardens and deliver them to everyone who wants them. Imagine if you had a grandmother in the countryside, who would send you a weekly basket of vegetables, greens and fresh fruit, that’s what “ECOVILLAGE FARMS” development director, Valeria Śvarț, said to Klumea.org
These are some of the households from Râșcova with whom ECOVILLAGE FARMS collaborates. By the way, anyone who wants to can go to the village, help them pick and receive a 20% discount in return.
The sale of these baskets is based on annual subscriptions, which guarantee a weekly health bag. Even couriers make eco deliveries, using bicycles to move around the city.
FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS, FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK!
At the same time, the ECOVILLAGE FARMS team have their own agricultural land, which is in its third year of ecological conversion. On the 2 hectares, only natural products are grown without a hint of chemistry.
You should know that Râșcova is a unique place in Moldova, where organic potatoes are grown. Compared to other crops, the potato is very difficult to grow without chemicals, because you need a complex system to take care of it. However, Valeria told us that they have already found some solutions to effectively fight the pests:
- Choosing the early period for planting. If you plant the potatoes earlier, the beetles will not be able to attack them.
- Crop rotation – never plant in the same place, because the larvae overwinter.
- Do not plant potatoes in the place where nightshades – tomatoes, peppers, eggplants – grew.
- Cover the soil with mustard, which is the best natural antibiotic for the soil
- Hand pick each beetle off the plants
Organic farming is not as profitable as conventional farming because it has a very small local market.
However, regenerative agriculture does not kill the earth, it takes care of biodiversity so that we remain in a living system.