Casa Jaumet

The house is surrounded by centuries‑old olive groves, many of them traditional Pallars varieties being restored, such as llargueta and cua de cirera. Over the years, we have learned how to care for them ecologically, through training, but above all with patience, passion, and work. We manage the crops using agroforestry and regenerative agriculture criteria, aiming to capture as much carbon as possible. Our two small donkeys naturally plough and fertilize the soil, thus avoiding any chemical treatment. We care for the environment so that the olive trees grow stronger and more resistant to pests. Around Casa Jaumet, wild savory, thyme, lavender, artemisia, horsetail, nettles, blackthorn, wild roses, and wild pomegranate trees grow.

We have two greenhouses, several fruit tree fields and a chicken coop with hens and roosters. Our goal is to feed ourselves exclusively with what we produce, although it’s not always possible in every season. Our garden is organic and thriving, as we’ve designed it to grow Mediterranean plants in symbiosis. We treat our crops with natural techniques, placing plant material at the base of the plants, weeding, and using biological fertilizers. We regularly treat the plants with biostimulants such as horsetail and nettle. We absolutely never spray any kind of pesticide or herbicide. We enjoy eating our own lettuce, chard, tomatoes, courgettes, pumpkins, broccoli, cabbage, and aromatic herbs... The taste is exceptional!

Agricultural varieties are part of local gastronomy and a legacy of traditional farming. In Catalonia alone, we have dozens of types of lettuce, escarole, beans, cabbage, tomatoes, pumpkins... However, this agricultural heritage has been displaced from modern markets by the four most productive or marketable varieties of fruit and vegetables. Similarly, some crops have nearly gone extinct due to consumer unawareness. For example, at Casa Jaumet we are working on a plantation of sweet acorn oaks, as this fruit used to be eaten much like almonds today: it could be made into flour and bread. We have also reintroduced nearly forgotten edible plants into our kitchen, such as wild edible herbs. All this helps enrich our diet with nutrients, colors and textures, but above all, it helps preserve culinary culture and biodiversity, which are essential for the food of the future.

Beekeeping was one of the first projects we started when we settled here, because we understand that bees are vital for the environment and for our food. Over the years, we have realized that beekeeping is an unknown and forgotten art, or one that has been desensitized and silenced, and that the honey bought today is not real honey. We have continuously trained in beekeeping techniques that respect the life cycle of these animals, staying at ecological beekeepers' farms, attending courses, trainings, and honey tastings. Every year we have made honey until we became professionals. Currently, we have developed a prototype to commercialize the honeycomb, a part of the honey often reserved only for beekeepers, as it is not found on the market. We believe that honey is a true natural medicine and that bees and ecological beekeeping are crucial for the environment.