Manifesto — Why I’m opening a 500m2 urban farm in Barcelona?
Last year whilst buying some veggies for a dinner party with friends, I realised how poor the quality and freshness of the produce at supermarkets really is, and couldn’t help but wonder why?
This set me to thinking (and I’m sure I’m not alone in this) about just how absurd the globalised fresh food production and supply system is. It is commonplace to see fruit and vegetables that have traveled thousands of kilometers to reach our plates, which we then have to rinse off due to toxic pesticides and chemicals sprayed onto it. All this damage to the planet and our own bodies for what? Bland imitations of what fresh fruit and veggies can really be!
This realisation set me off on a journey to improve my own access to quality products, and to start a small farm at home. My first obstacle was space: living in Paris meant I had very little space to work with (approximately 1m2 to be precise). Following some research, I came across ‘hydroponics’, a technology that not only allows plants to grow without soil, but more importantly for me, it’s stackable so I could produce a lot more using my small floor space.
This is how it all began. Following a few youtube tutorials and a brief sketch, I built my own homemade hydroponic system with my grandfather. A few months and many mistakes later yielded my first crop: a small cucumber! While hardly enough for a salad it was as tasty as it was rewarding.
This trial made me realise that, after finishing a SASI Master@HEC, my job at the time was not enough to satisfy my newfound passion, despite loving the company and my colleagues. So I made the decision to quit and forge a new path.
My experience (and yield) showed me that I had a lot to learn and as I looked further, all of the signs very quickly pointed towards Israel. That was settled then: off to Beit Herut I went.
I spent 3 months with Livingreen where I learnt an awful lot about all things hydroponics and met some extraordinary people, among them my business partner and co-founder Josh.
It was there that I came into contact with Antonin Cohen, founder of Harmony, an amazing company based in Barcelona with a 500m2 basement going unused. We share a passion for growing, technology, and finding a solution to the absurd food-sourcing system we have today. Thanks to his generosity and sharing of our vision, he proposed that we use this space to establish an urban farm here in Barcelona and we leapt at the chance. A true ‘gift from the sky’.
A year on from that visit to the supermarket, my vision of hyperlocal, fresh and organic food is becoming a reality. The work on The Basement Farm is underway with the aim to provide fresh produce to the thriving Barcelona culinary scene and its inhabitants. With our contribution to a more sustainable agriculture system, we hope to be a part of the change that the world so desperately needs. This is only the beginning…
This is why I’m opening a 500m2 farm in Barcelona! If you like this subject or you just want to have a chat feel free to drop us an email at hello@thebasement.farm
Special thanks to Pierrick, Moti, Yaniv, Idan, Tiran, The Family and La Team Reverse who helped me along the way ❤