Terra Madre October 2004
We were very fortunate to stay
on a family-owned kiwi farm in the quaint Italian town of
Bricherasio. This farm, AA Turino, was situated in the rolling
hills about an hour southwest of Turin. Aside from harvesting
kiwi, they have a converted barn with guest rooms, a kitchen
which can seat about 100 (their restaurant is open on Sundays)
and a wood-burning oven for baking bread.
This farm is a member of a number of organizations that
we were introduced to Agriturismo and Coldiretti Piemonte.
These organizations marketed the farm and coordinated events
in the area. When we arrived, there was a preschool visit
just ending. The children from Turin had spent the day (from
10-4) at the farm picking kiwi, baking bread and visiting
the grounds. They were served a warm lunch and were just
preparing to leave. They were charged on a per child basis.
The farm is in an Agriturismo book/directory, on a marketing
map, etc
Also, the Coldiretti group organized much of our
stay including the lodging and transportation for the Terra
Madre conference. I don't think we will ever forget Franka she
was fantastic!
The farm is five hectares and is dedicated to kiwi most
of which is exported. They were just starting their two week
harvest when we arrived. Grandpa was up at the crack of dawn
each day, on his Lamborghini tractor, ready to go with his
picking crew. They water the crop from May to harvest about
50 litres every other day. Before kiwi, they grew stone fruits
like peaches and apricots but they changed focus due to inconsistent
yield and work load.
We stayed on the farm with three Fresno couples who were
all involved in peaches. One family wholesaled their peaches,
another marketed their peaches like us, and another had converted
to grapes. We spent time with these couples because all dinners
and transportation were based on lodging.
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