Cono Sur vineyards - they are working on producing organic wine with Agroecologia, the organization that Kat and I went to visit in Curico, Chile.
Kat and I took a trip to Curico this past week to get a better idea of Chile’s large fruit exporting business and the slowly growing trend of organic fruit production. We got in touch with Carlos Pino, a professor at the Universidad Catolica de Maule and the boss of a business called Agroecologia, through Chile’s WWOOF list. He teaches a focus of ‘agroecologia’ (agroecology) at the university and he leads projects, consulting jobs, and laboratory tests with the business. He stays very busy and it was wonderful for him to give us the time to do interviews, investigate some of their projects, attend thesis presentations, and work out in the university fields where they are conducting different tests with a variety of vegetables.
Growing organically and sustainably with limited resources has been something farmers in Latin America have been doing for thousands of years and it is only now that larger agribusinesses are interested in this growing trend of organic fruit production driven by the want to make a bit more of a profit. Carlos Pino says that 1 to 5% of Chile’s agriculture exports is engaged in using organic and sustainable growing methods. Those who often ask Carlos for help because that is exactly what Agroecologia provides – they consult businesses that really want to change the process in their growing methods. Carlos Pino was first introduced to agroecology at the University of California, Berkeley over 10 years ago. Essentially, Agroecology uses ecological theory to manage agricultural systems that are productive, but also resource conserving. Agroecologia advises agrobusinesses and large farms on ecosystem management through practices like irrigation systems, compost, and natural pest and weed control.
The first day on the road with Carlos from Santiago to Curico we stopped off at one of the projects his business is working on – Cono Sur – a large wine manufacturer that has hired Agroecologia to begin working on making organic wine. What we saw was a pretty incredible transformation of their soil and plant diversity between the rows of vines. They have created biodiversity corridors by using clovers with an assortment of wild flowers. This helps bring a host of beneficial insects to the alleys that pollinate and help regulate pest populations without harming the vines. They also use geese to help fertilize the grounds and peck out unwanted weeds. Another method they are testing out is a biological control with the use of a beneficial fungus that kills the very distructive and common Meally bug. Carlos also showed us the large tanks of compost tea which they use to inoculate the soil and foilage with microbial life and to add soluable nutrients to the soil and foilage for the vines to use. These methods that Carlos and his crew have established at Cono Sur helped them produce their first organic wine in 2003 without the use of chemicals and they hope to expand their organic operations further in the years to come.
biodynamic apple orchard in los niches, chile produced beautiful worm compost to feed it's trees
While visiting Agroecologia we were able to visit a biodynamic apple orchard that a german company is helping to support. Biodynamic agriculture began in 1924 and was concieved and practiced by a man name Rudolf Steiner – it incorporates cover crops, green manures, crop rotations, and it considers celestial influences on soil and plant development – so seeds are planted during certain lunar phases. In this biodynamic apple orchard they are using cover crops and plant diversity between the rows to help bring about beneficial insects, they have a huge tank full of compost tea, and they have an incredible open pile/worm composting system that they feed to the trees. As a result, chocolate delicious soil is produced. Juan Carlos Cabrera is the man who is in charge of this orchard and he is full of energy and information that he loves to share. The compost system was what really caught my attention. They first use a small open pile method where they combine manure from local stables, food scraps, and straw. Once these piles have throughly composted they then put this compost into bins that are inoculated with worms. The worms then break this compost down even further into a rich humus that is then fed to the apple trees. This orchard is on it’s way to being certified and then this produce will be shipped off to Germany. What Cabrera really likes seeing in the process is how complete it is. He says his team of workers feel good about going home after work with out the worries of chemicals on their clothes and skin, they have become great observers looking for different insects that benefit and also harm the trees. He says that this process he has taken on with this orchard is a long term because trying to work in balance with nature is hard work, but worth doing.
Overall, the trip to Curico was great. Kat and I picked up some good growing tips if we ever want to do something on a large scale but what we really took away is how Chile’s fruit exports function and how Agroecologia is helping to convert the conventional to the unconventional…organic, sustainable, healthy.
