We are a young couple, Fernando and Daniel, from a small town named Real del Padre, located in San Rafael, Mendoza (Argentina).
This small but beautiful place is known for its agriculture and livestock, its river and landscapes, its people and their job in this wonderful field, and it’s exactly why we are here.
We own 10 hectares of land, of which only 1 hectare is cultivable at the moment. We focus mainly on tomatoes, which is more or less profitable in terms of production and maintenance in our place.
This place is also known for its harsh weather conditions during the summer which are the greatest fear of agriculturists, and we are not exempt from this. Since 2019, when we started this journey, our nemesis has always been the hailing. This is the main reason why we still couldn’t harvest our production for 2 consecutive years.
This time, we need to win this fight to be able to reach our economical sustainability in this field, and for this the solution is the implementation of a hail protection system to save our production during the hail season. We need your voluntary help for finally achieving this goal before summer comes and with it, the hailing storms
What did we achieve so far and what do we need?
• The greenhouse is where everything starts, seeds germinate under controlled conditions, avoiding intense temperature changes during the winter-spring transition, as well as Foehn wind (topical of this area). Onces, sprouts grew up enough and climate conditions are favourable (normally, mid-spring), they are moved to the main land. This greenhouse is an Andean type, underground and surface structure, this gives greater control of climatic conditions during germination. — Completed in 2019
• The reservoir and motor pumps are the heart of the farm. The place where we live has plenty of resources for agriculture, such as water, but unfortunately the access conditions are limited due to the lack of help from the corresponding sector, which is the reason why it has taken us a long time to develop this system. The water is extracted from the main river of the zone (Atuel River) with a motor pump, travels 2km. to a reservoir that stores it. A second motor pump extracts the water from the reservoir directly to the drip irrigation system that feeds the land. — Completed in 2019-2020
• The irrigation system is a powerful type of micro-irrigation with the potential to save water by allowing it to drip slowly to the roots of plants, minimising the evaporation. It consists of valves, pipes, tubing and filters controlled manually. Actually, it covers 2 hectares of land. — Completed in 2021
• The hail protection net is where we are at this moment. This system is practical solution to hail damage made of a high-density polyethylene, flexible, light and strong, which requires of a simple support structure made of unbarked timber, galvanized wire and fastening accessories.
Our goal
• To cover 1 hectare of land with hail protection net.
• Timeframe: Before summer (within 2 months approx.)
The hail protection net is the most effective system against the hail and it is the goal to achieve. If we make it, we will ensure the next harvest. With your help, small or big, we will have the opportunity to keep exploring the wonderful field of agriculture.
Know more about our story and help us to spread the word. Thanks for reading.
