Eduardo Weldt

Nancagua

Hi, I’m Eduardo Weldt from Chili and I grow organic apples for Nature & More, together with my sister Daniela. Our farm is called Nancagua and it’s part of the family business Puelche. Thank you for buying our apples!

We grow apples in the southernmost area where apple growing is possible. Our orchards are located near Los Angeles, Chile, about 550 km south of Santiago. Therefore we have large temperature differences between night and day; this causes a beautiful colour in the apples and a perfect taste!

We started Nancagua in 1993, when we began with the cultivation of apples. In 2006 we converted to organic. We grow Royal Gala, Fuji and other apple varieties. Apart from that we also have blueberries and rose hip. The rose hip grows naturally on an island that we own, and is harvested by small independent farmers from the region.

Our farm forms part of our family enterprise "Puelche S.A. Hierbas". My father and mother founded it. Our family has been producing medicinal herbs since 1975 and has more than 100 permanent employees. Me and my brothers and sisters all work for our parents company, everyone in a different area.

Due to this strong family structure, we have a flat hierarchy and make a lot of effort to have good traceability (knowing where the products came from and how they were produced) and sustainability.

Interview with Eduardo Weldt

N&M: Why did you choose organic farming?
Eduardo: “It started with the herbs. Our family business produces dried herbs for medication, tea and children’s nutrition. We discovered that during the drying process, the smallest remains of pesticide on the leaves are concentrated, so you can find them even if it’s only the neighboring field that was treated with pesticides. Respect for the environment and people are our basic values, so we decided to go organic. After that it was a natural choice to go organic with our other products too.

N&M: What were the challenges you met?
Eduardo: “It took us a couple of seasons to find a new balance with nature. One of the biggest challenges was the weed and pest control. We do it by hand, because we don’t use herbicide. Another challenge has been the increased cost of labor, since we needed more people and also better qualified workers. Organic farming involves more knowledge. So we must invest in our workers.”

N&M: Can you give an example of how you train your workers?
Eduardo: “We like to give opportunities to our workers. One example is Roberto. He came to our farm when he was 18 years old, as a field worker. He was always interested, responsible and willing to learn, so we sent him to many extra courses. Today, he is working on a permanent contract as the supervisor of machinery, and he is responsible for the entire irrigation system of our orchards.”

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soil

A healthy soil is the basis for a healthy food chain. Eduardo’s apples are organic so no fertilizer, pesticides or herbicides are used that end up in the ground. As a result, the soil is very healthy and rich in biodiversity. On Nancagua, the soil between the fruit trees is constantly covered by grass and legumes such as clover, plants that act as a natural fertilizer by bringing nitrogen into the ground. The flowers also attracts bees, that help with fertilization of the apple flowers and act as natural enemies for harmful insects.

biodiversity

The organic practices used by Eduardo support natural biodiversity. Insecticide-free farming is beneficial for honey bees and other insects. Birds, bats and small mammals profit from this too! The company has designed wildlife corridors and offers habitat to wild animals in the form of natural areas and green cover on the orchard floor. The company also installed birdhouses all over the area. Some birds play an important role in natural pest control: they eat the “chancho blanco”, a Chilean plant lice. On one of the area’s a large lagoon was created for water collection and irrigation. Different species of fish were introduced and swans, ducks and other birds now swim and forage in it.

Eduardo’s orchards are organic, so certified free of GMO. Organic farming produces healthy plants and fruits without pesticide residues and is beneficial to natural biodiversity. Eduardo’s company has left a large area of the land to nature: a big natural island in the river. Rose hip grows naturally on this area and is processed for different teas. There is a lot of plant biodiversity on the island. The company has also done a project with an indigenous Chilean plant, the soap bark tree (Quillaja Saponaria). It was used as a windbreaker and to reforest some of the parcels. This plant was already used by the Mapuche, the indigenous people from this region, to treat respiratory sickness and skin diseases of children.

society

Eduardo’s family company cares for the personal well-being of their employees. Participation in schooling programs have made it possible that all the workers have finished secondary school. The company offers courses and activities to meet the workers private needs, on subject such as home economics, healthy food, world economy or integration of women on the shop-floor. The company has a flat hierarchy which gives everyone the opportunity to participate in decision making. Comments and ideas of the field workers are always welcome and considered, because they work closest to the fruit.

The company’s growing activities have had beneficial effects for the surrounding local communities. Many people in the area are employed by the company. Before the company came to the area, there was no waste collection. Thanks to the company, since 2004 waste is collected by municipal authorities, which makes for a cleaner and more pleasant environment. In the coming years,
Eduardo’s company will start to participate in the “1 cent for the future” campaign. Nature & More is on the lookout for a suitable project.

climate

Eduardo puts a lot of effort in energy saving. On one of his fields Eduardo has installed a pilot project with solar panels. These solar panels generate the electricity needed to heat the water for the sanitary facilities of the workers. The project is a success, so additional solar panels will be installed on the other fields in 2011! Another project involves hydroelectricity: the company is planning to make use of the 15 meter drop in elevation from the property to the river, in order to generate energy with a small hydropower machine. Organic cultivation has positive consequence for energy use too. No chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides are used. In conventional farming, these inputs are responsible for major energy use; up to 80% of the total. The fruit is transported to Europe by ship, which is the most energy efficient transport method.

For Eduardo’s apples the CO₂footprint was not calculated. The company nevertheless takes great effort to reduce climate impact. In the first place energy savings reduce emissions from fossil fuel greatly (see “energy”). The fact that no chemical fertilizer is used, greatly reduces the emission of nitrous oxide, one of the worst greenhouse gasses. Another thing is waste management: before the company came to the area, the local people just dumped their waste, leading to decomposition and air pollution. Thanks to the company, since 2004 waste is collected by municipal authorities. The company took a lot of effort to spread consciousness among the population about waste collection.

water

Since 2009, all the apples trees are irrigated by micro spray irrigation. This saves an enormous amount of water! And at the same time it increases the production of the apple trees, so Eduardo is very happy with it. The micro-spray-irrigation also makes it possible to have a green cover on the fields throughout the year. This improves soil quality and fertility, prevents erosion and provides a habitat for insects and small mammals. On the fields that are not orchards, drip irrigation is used, which saves even more water.

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