As part of a trip to Spain, the leader of the Green parliamentary group in the German Parliament, Anton Hofreiter, visited AlVelAl, an agricultural initiative supported by TUI Care Foundation. The project is fighting for local livelihoods and against the climate crisis by training farmers in how to apply regenerative farming practices. Regeneration is about restoring landscapes, recreating biodiversity, stopping soil degradation and producing Andalusian delicacies like almonds, olives, and herbs at the same time – which can then also be offered to holidaymakers visiting the region thus creating local added value and strengthening local employment. During his visit to the project, Anton Hofreiter said: “Tourism has the potential to add to job creation in rural areas and protect an area’s cultural heritage.”
The group was accompanied by the German Consul of Malaga, Arnulf Braun, Dietmar Roth, the project coordinator of AlVelAl, and Jost Neumann, Head of Strategic Programmes of the TUI Care Foundation. Together, the group visited a demonstration farm, Finca La Junquera, with more than 1,200 hectares of arable land – a 2 hours’ drive westwards of Alicante. Farm Manager Alfonso explained that he experiments with different crops to find the best ways to improve soil health while harvesting high quality crops. This is not easy, but if done well, it can yield products that can be referred to as regenerative. Through the work of the TUI Care Foundation, not only the training of 130 farmers and 60 restaurants is financed, but one of the farms is already visited by international guests who are able to learn about regeneration of landscapes, taste the local delicacies, and buy the products on the spot.
Dietmar Roth explains: “For this area, international guests are important because they put a spotlight onto our rural areas. A spotlight onto farms, villages and its people. It is not only about the money they spent here, it is about the mere fact that rural areas are not left alone. We are grateful for Mr. Hofreiter to visit us and put the challenges on the political agenda since we are proud of what we have achieved so far together with the TUI Care Foundation.”
Going forward, AlVelAl, which is an acronym for the three districts that are covered by the project – Altiplano, Los Velez, and Alto Almanzoram, is expanding regenerative practices in the region in an attempt to create new income opportunities. 130 farmers are supported in producing regenerative products, 60 restaurants are trained in how to use the products and communicate it to their guests, and supply chains to hotels are to be established in order to increase the sales and thus the impact of the regenerative products. Food 4 change is the strategy and the TUI Care Foundation is playing its part.
