Greek Tortoises: A Responsible Farming
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Throughout the last five entries of our blog, we have introduced you to the ATALAYA BIO badge, addressing some of the most curious features of the Testudo Graeca Graeca and its relationship with our brand. We spoke of a Mediterranean species, which finds its ideal habitat on our farm and has fascinating adaptation mechanisms, but which is still a considered "vulnerable" species by the IUCN.
Usually, we associate farming to intensive crops without any ethics at all, aggressive with the environment and highly industrialized, intimately linked to the disappearance of species. ATALAYA BIO was born from a nature conservation project, seeking out to make it economically sustainable, but without renouncing to our origins. We are committed to sustainable agriculture, prioritizing the most traditional processes, and guaranteeing the protection of the natural space of the Natura 2000 Network in which we grow.
We want to demonstrate that farming does not have to be synonymous with "habitat destruction",insecticides, pesticides and harmful practices for people and the environment, because a responsible farming with best practices facilitates the creation and conservation of the habitats of the autochthonous species.
The Greek tortoise lives, hibernates and reproduces on our farm. It uses the sandy-loam lands from the terraces of our aloe vera to lay their eggs - as well as other species that inhabit the farm, such as partridges. Our activity provides them water, food and shelter, feeding on the adventitious herbs that we leave on the farm (called by others as "weeds), and protecting themselves under our aloe vera plants when the sun hits the most. In addition, we avoid plowing in the spring the terraces of new plantation of aloe vera, in order to avoid damaging the buried eggs, and we have introduced ocular inspections of the plot in fall-winter, as a preventive action before plowing, which helps us to avoid the mortality of wintering specimens. Also, we don’t forget the annual census of Greek tortoises in our farm, carried out by the Testudo Project in collaboration with the Ecology Department of the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche.
When we talk about Greek tortoises we refer to wonderful species, which live in a delicate balance between vulnerability and strength, contributing to enrich the environment where we grow our organic aloe vera. Not in vain, a Greek tortoise are represented in ATALAYA BIO logo, a project in which we seek to make compatible the search for excellence in aloe vera products with the conservation of a protected natural space of the Natura 2000 Network. Definitely, our organic aloe vera products are the most natural in the market.
We hope you have enjoyed this series!