Young woman manages organic farm near Bucharest
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Near Bucharest, Romania, 28-year-old Andreea Despa manages a five-hectare organic farm with a team of six people.
They grow vegetables and deliver them to customers in the capital city. Andreea, who holds a master’s degree in ecological agriculture, explained that the farm prioritises manual labor because it is certified organic and prohibits the use of pesticides. The farm relies on natural pest control, welcoming ladybugs as allies and viewing white butterflies as threats to crops.
Andreea noted that Romania ranks third in the European Union for the percentage of female farm managers, at 38 percent, after Latvia and Lithuania. The farm accepts that crops sometimes fail due to pests or weather, and sells imperfect vegetables alongside the rest of their harvest.
Andreea’s team delivers baskets containing six to seven types of seasonal vegetables to 15 fixed locations in Bucharest every week, for 52 weeks each year, as part of a program run by the social organisation Ateliere fără Frontiere, which supports vulnerable people through employment and sustainability initiatives.
