Tenerife Cave Mushroom Farm Wins Agrojoven Award

The 'Setas La Bruja' initiative, recently honored with the Island Council's Agrojoven Award for Business Initiative, stands out as an innovative farming project in the Canary Islands. Led by Florencia Fernandes Nicoletti, the project involves growing edible mushrooms in a unique setting: an old cave in Charco del Pino, Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife, which was once used to extract 'jable' (volcanic sand).

Florencia and her husband, Irian Salazar Armas, run this family business. They have transformed a 500-square-meter cave, over a hundred years old and previously used for 'jable' extraction and later for growing potatoes, into an ideal space for mushroom production. The cave's underground environment naturally provides the steady humidity, cool temperatures, and dim light that oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus Ostreatus) need to thrive, a variety that is increasingly in demand.

The mushroom production process has four stages: preparing growing bags, incubation, fruiting, and harvesting for direct sale. The project also includes 75 square meters of outdoor facilities, currently under development, which will be used for preparing the growing material, storing mushrooms, and conducting research. Their main goal is to offer a "zero-kilometer" product – meaning it's freshly picked and sold directly to local markets, guaranteeing its freshness and quality.

Florencia Fernandes Nicoletti, originally from Argentina, moved to Spain at the age of nine. After initially training in Early Childhood Education, she decided to venture into agriculture, inspired by the idea of revitalizing her family's old cave. The project's name, 'Setas La Bruja' (The Witch's Mushrooms), connects to nature and tradition, hinting at healers and the special qualities of mushrooms, both in ancient remedies and their vital role in recycling nature.

Beyond the business's success, Florencia emphasizes the importance of agriculture in society, both now and in the future. She believes that the farming sector needs to be revalued in education, noting that new generations often lack contact with where their food comes from and how it's grown. She also advocates for creating support networks among young farmers, seeing this as crucial for ensuring new farmers enter the field and for the long-term health of rural areas in the Canary Islands. The project began with trials a decade ago, and the company was officially established almost two years ago. Florencia sees it as a legacy for her children, Mateo (11) and Lía (8).