business opportunity

Don’t a great many Northern Europeans, exposed to the vagaries of winter, at some point dream about settling down in the sunny south and live a life in harmony with nature and enjoy all the benefits it can offer, in a climate which favours humans, animals and plant life all year long? Surely there are many, who dream about living among a smiling and welcoming local population, and where providing for everyday living means a harvest nurtured by a sun drenched landscape. Nowhere on the European continent is the climate as ideal for cultivation of crops, needing a lot of sun and warm temperatures, as on the southernmost part of the Iberian Peninsula, or more closely - the area East of Malaga, protected by tall mountains and offering hillsides facing south, where even tropical crops such as Avocado and Mango are grown commercially.

Here you find whitewashed villages, like strings of pearls dotting the landscape, surrounded by irrigated fields on terraces, where the local population harvest their crops for personal consumption, as well as extra produce to sell on the local market place. Among these southern “kitchen gardens” you will also find larger properties, where along with already mentioned tropical crops you might also find a mixture of more traditional ones such as grapes, olives, almonds,  carob bean and citrus fruit, all creating a cornucopia of tastes and aromas, which have long been appreciated by affluent, Northern European customers.

Such a property is FINCA TROPICAL. Located just outside the charming village of Canillas de Aceituno, which is one of the lustrous pearls dotting the hillsides at the foot of the high Sierra Tejeda mountains, it is the centre of an enormous nature reserve, filled with fascinating plant and animal life. The approx 42,000 square meters hillside, facing south, is bordering a waterway, around which an overwhelmingly lush growth of poplar, bamboo, pomegranate and oleanders are fighting for control, but where also many large avocado trees are creating shade and a home for numerous birds, insects and mammals such as fox, badgers and wild boar, whose lives are dependant upon the life-giving nutrients of a rich soil.

About 20 -25 years ago around 500 avocado trees were planted, as well as about 500 mango trees on this property, where there were already around 300 olive trees and 150  carob bean  trees, which with their ancient, sculpted trunks create an enchanting Mediterranean landscape. Furthermore, there are also around 150 vines, the grapes of which form the base for the area’s full bodied Muscatel wine and  pungent raisins.  Another 20 orange and lemon trees, along with several fruit trees, together create a charm, which never fails to make visitors fall in love with this Finca.

The property is connected to city water from Canillas de Aceituno, but additionally has its own water supply from the bordering waterway, from where water is pumped into its own 300,000 litre covered water depot. This depot supplies trees needing much life giving water, which is a necessity during the dry Spanish summer, via an ingenious drip watering system.

Located on this large property is an old farmstead  (Cortijo), which years ago was the framework for a hard working Spanish family’s everyday life - these were the days prior to artificial irrigation, and therefore no crop with high water demand could be cultivated during the summer season. These crops would typically be grapes, almonds and olives. All the crops, which today need to be grown in large quantities to provide income sufficient to survive on, and today’s irrigation makes possible.

The main house consists of a couple of rooms and has adjoining buildings such as stables. The structures need major restoration and it could well be visualised that the solution would be to build a new residence on another part of the property, while perhaps restoring the old farm house and use it as a guest house. Alternatively, the old structure could be put to use as shelter for smaller farm stock such as goats, sheep, chickens or rabbits.

FINCA TROPICAL is particularly appealing to potential buyers, who wish to make the Andalusian countryside into a way of life, living in harmony with nature, and to whom daily work with the all the bountiful crops will be an enriching spiritual and physical experience. The added joy of the breathtaking nature and incredible views, as well as an inspiring milieu interacting with the local population, make this property something very special and unusual.