Imagine a long field, with just over two hectares, on top of a mountain range between São Brás de Alportel and Faro, covered in aromatic herbs. No greenhouses. This is the scenario that the company Aroma Days offers to all your visitors. In addition to marketing their products, the couple Laura and Nuno Dias promote «a charming tourism». This year alone they have received 3000 visits.
Guided by Vítor, the tour guide on duty, the Dutch group visiting the Aroma Days it goes through the company's plantations, all of which are organic. As what they are seeing is explained, there are those who take pictures, those who smile and even those who try to smell (and eat) some plants, such as the stevia.
Bertrans Cor Heland is delighted. «This place is one of the most incredible things I've seen in the Algarve», he reveals to the report from Sul Informação. In Holland, this tourist says that «all you find are greenhouses». With a smile on his face, he explains that "everything fits together perfectly in this place, be it the climate or the landscape".
In the long plantations of the Aroma Days there is literally a little bit of everything – basil, thyme, echinacea, or even chilli cayenne. The products are sold directly to some hotels in the Algarve, such as Conrad, or are sold in stores throughout the region. One of the most innovative presentations of the products is the sale of aromatic herbs and spices in test tubes, which have already become a kind of brand image.
The scenario presented by the company is handled by a team of five people, who now, in addition to selling what they harvest from the land, receive visitors in a «charm tourism», as Nuno Dias nicknames him.
“This is an area in which we are going to invest more and more – we want people to visit us and come to us”, explains the entrepreneur. To this end, the Aroma Days works with tour operators, but also wants to start betting on receiving visits from schools. Anyone who wants to, individually, can also visit the plantations, just make an appointment.
This current "bet on tourism" comes after the "initial bet" on "returning to the land", which led to the birth of the company in 2013. The land where the plantations are located was owned by a grandmother of Nuno Dias and was the point of departure. Laura, on the other hand, left her "comfortable and well-paid" job as a banker.
“I didn't feel happy”, he recalls, as he follows the visit of the Dutch tourists. One of the most interesting and surprising places is a space, under a tree, with a wooden bench and a stage, also made of wood, which has already had… Fado concerts. Victor Rita, who guides the group, proudly reveals that the visits, essentially by foreigners, «have had a feedback very good".
“People always take something from here – whether it's knowledge, a product… or a smile,” he adds, with a smile on his face. In this sense, Nuno Dias has a story “which for us is very gratifying”. As the company's plantations are at a height, access is difficult and arrival is complicated. Even so… «not long ago we had a lady who told us, after visiting us, that the place deserves to come here», he says proudly.
Despite this positive opinion of the tourist who visited the Aroma Days, complicated accesses are, for Nuno Dias, a problem. «If we could only tar the part of the ascent and descent, before arriving here, we would be able to double the visits», guarantees the entrepreneur.
Therefore, the founder of Aroma Days points the finger at the Chamber of Faro and to its president Rogério Bacalhau. «The Chamber finds it easy to have construction materials. We made a proposal in which we ensured the labor. The answer was that there is no money to even plug a hole. Furthermore, we are never invited to anything by the Chamber of Faro», he says, indignant.
“We work a lot with senior tourism. There are some tour operators who, upon seeing the ascent and descent, do not accept to come because, due to loose stones, someone could fall”, he adds.
Oblivious to these issues, Victor continues to guide the Dutch group through the terrain of Aroma Days. In addition to tourist visits, he tells the Sul Informação, a Aroma Days It has also received visits from chefs who use the company's aromatic herbs in their dishes. «Since we work with intermediaries, in this case the transport companies Bafrutal and Delicifrutas, the chefs work without knowing who we are, but some have already come to visit us», says Nuno Dias.
“Since all our products are organic, they don't always look the best. But when we have a chef who visits us and says that just by smelling he can tell if those are our herbs or not, it's excellent», he adds proudly.
It is now within doors that the visit ends. At a table, overlooking the mountains, there is tea, made, of course, with the herbs of the Aroma Days, and cakes. On shelves to the side, products are displayed, both in test tubes and in sachets.
Between conversations with the Dutch tourists who have just guided you through the smells and flavors of the Aroma Days, Victor Rita takes the time to speak with the report from Sul Informação. Proud and with a smile on his face concludes: «we don't want to stop here. Our goal is to grow even more».
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Photos: Pedro Lemos|Sul Informação
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