Four projects. One deadline. Every euro tracked and documented. This is the foundation that makes everything else possible.
The Year 1 campaign closes 30 November 2026. Every euro raised goes directly into operations — not salaries, not overhead, not marketing. Four specific projects, in priority order.
The most important question this year is understanding why production has dropped and what it means for the grove's long-term health. That answer drives everything — the organic conversion strategy, the cooperative relationship, and what we can honestly promise to adopters about future harvests.
We're applying for organic certification through the CAECV (Comité de Agricultura Ecológica de la Comunitat Valenciana) under EU Reg. 2018/848. If the previous owner can confirm no prohibited inputs in recent years, we may qualify for retroactive recognition — potentially skipping most of the standard 3-year conversion wait. We're pursuing this actively. Separately, Exagro — the cooperative currently handling the grove — has indicated they will accept transition-period oranges, which changes the financial picture significantly: the conversion period becomes revenue-generating, not revenue-neutral.
Annual maintenance fee (~€281/yr) is eligible for 80% GVA subsidy once registered — effective annual cost ~€56 thereafter.
The farmhouse is now habitable — windows, doors, floors, walls, bathrooms, and a kitchen in progress. Water and electricity are connected. What remains is making it official: obtaining the cédula de habitabilidad (habitability certificate) from the Generalitat Valenciana, and the licencia de primera ocupación from the Ajuntament de Carcaixent. Without these, the building cannot legally be used for guest stays, which is the eco-tourism revenue stream planned from Year 2.
Separately, the connected water supply needs a household filtration system — standard practice for rural agricultural properties where the supply runs through older infrastructure.
Exact administrative fees to be confirmed with local architect. Figures above are estimates based on standard GVA and Ajuntament rates for comparable rural properties.
The EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework opens around 2028. A grove with documented soil carbon records from 2026 has two years of verified improvement to show when that market opens. We need two things: a certified lab baseline now, and our own instruments to collect continuous data ourselves — the kind of ongoing, granular monitoring that backs digital land recovery certificates and makes the data credible year-round, not just at annual inspection time.
In October 2024 the DANA storm dropped 500 mm of rain in eight hours across the Valencia region. The valley below us flooded catastrophically. The limestone hillside shed the water through its fractures and recharged the aquifer — the geology held. The lower terraces did take some damage: debris, downed branches, terrace wall repairs needed, and trees that will benefit from proper post-stress pruning before this season's fruit matures. This is not emergency work — the trees are producing — but it needs doing before the end of the season.
Forest clearing and holm oak planting on the pine section is a Year 2 project. The pine is stable, the ecology is understood, and the priority this year is the grove and the farmhouse. We will plant in autumn 2027.
This campaign is purely operational — physical and legal work on the land. It does not fund website hosting, our own time, administration of the adoption programme, or any marketing spend. Those are covered by tree adoption subscriptions. The two pots are separate, with separate purposes.
Any amount helps. Email us directly — we'll confirm which project your donation funds, in priority order.
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