My peasmaker of this week, Maarten Erasmus, is a prime example of a food changer who simply took action. He provides orange farmers from his ‘Valley of Happiness’ with a new future perspective by selling the fruit directly to you.
(Please note that this text is translated by Open AI as I write my all my peas in Dutch)
Getting my camper to its destination this week is not easy. I have to go to the heart of the Sierra Nevada. Here, Maarten lives with his wife Selma at a high altitude completely off-grid. The journey costs me a year of my life, but my goodness, is it worth it.
At the top of the mountain, just below the snow line, Maarten and Selma landed 1.5 years ago. They had wanted to live off-grid for some time, and it’s challenging to realize that in the Netherlands. They fell in love with this place, with a fantastic view over the Lecrín valley and the ocean all the way to Morocco. When I reach the top, it’s cold and stormy. Down in the valley among the orange trees, it feels like summer.
The Lecrín valley, also known as the ‘Valley of Happiness’, is famous for having the best oranges in Spain. When Maarten first walks past the old orchards, he notices that many fruits lie in thick layers on the ground. He soon learns that the farmers are struggling. The prices are often too low to harvest, and consequently, there is little money for orchard maintenance.
Maarten doesn’t want to be just another expat who keeps one foot in the Netherlands. He wants to be part of the local community. What if he helps the farmers with selling the delicious oranges? He posts a message on LinkedIn to gauge interest, and the post explodes. He decides to just do it.
When I visit Maarten, the farmers are in the midst of the harvest, and Maarten is busy with the logistical challenge of getting the oranges to the Netherlands. He has no experience with fruit export and still has everything to learn. But I notice a genuine love and passion for the farmers in him. He really wants to help these people move forward and give the Lecrín valley a fruitful future.
So the pallets of unsprayed oranges are flying out the door. The farmers get a fair kilo price that is much higher than at the juice factory, and because there are no intermediaries, the consumer still pays a lower price than in the supermarket. This solution is actually great for everyone.
Maarten’s dream is that local farmers can continue to maintain their old orchards and are not motivated to switch to crops like avocados, which do not belong in this valley at all. He also hopes that by working only with organic farmers, he can motivate other farmers to stop spraying. And he wants to offer consumers a fair price because it’s simply possible.
Despite Maarten’s ambitious goals, he doesn’t let himself get overwhelmed. He wants to grow steadily, first mastering this line of work. But ideally, he wants to send as many pallets to the Netherlands as possible so he can really make a difference for the farmers here. And he’s far from done after that. There are also delicious almonds and good olive oil here. His orange fans would surely like to taste those too.
