With the weather turning colder, and the island experiencing a particularly chilling cold spell, I find myself walking down St Julian's waterfront to meet this month's interviewee. Huddled into my coat, I turn into an estate agency's offices and, seated behind a desk, Reuben Cini greets me with a friendly smile and offers me a seat. As I take out my notepad, I cannot help but think that this was a rather particular place to be meeting an organic farmer.
Reuben is a rare and interesting breed indeed: a city slicker during office hours and rural roamer the rest of the time. So how did this lover of urban spaces end up running a farm? The story started seven years ago. Reuben hails from a family of 'super foodies' as he likes to call them and, to put it quite simply, the transition from connoisseurs to producers seemed a logical progression. When he first began this endeavour, the transition was by no means an easy one. For a city boy to put down roots in the countryside with the intent of running a successful organic farm in Malta sounds like a daunting prospect, and it was.
Organic farming is defined as a form of crop cultivation that strives for sustainability, the enhancement of soil fertility and biological diversity whilst - with rare exceptions - prohibiting synthetic pesticides, antibiotics, synthetic fertilizers, genetically-modified organisms and growth hormones. In a landscape and climate that can be harsh and unforgiving, this is no easy task, and yet the farm not only thrives but is also completely self-sufficient and produces a surplus of energy.
The proximity of agricultural holdings, coupled with issues of water scarcity amongst a myriad other factors, makes the cultivation of organic produce in Malta particularly difficult. So it comes as no surprise that Ladybird Farm is proud of its organic credentials. Obtaining that certificate demands dedication and, unfortunately, it comes at a cost says Reuben. The fact that access to insecticides is highly restricted means that your one's crops are, to a degree, left vulnerable. Sadly, a significant proportion of one's harvest ends up being lost to disease and insects, especially compared to its conventionally cultivated counterparts. The quality of the remaining produce, however, supersedesits competitors.
Arriving at the point the farm is at today has required time, getting used to the lie of land and the particularities of farming in general and in that area specifically. The endeavour was originally an experiment in trial and error and the provision of good advice from local expertise was essential. »
«The propensity and perseverance to try new techniques as well as finding the right crop and herb rotations fortunately paid off. The impression I get is that farming is, in essence, a tricky balancing act of trying to find the right harmony between a significant amount of variables - soil, water, environmental changes and market forces chief amongst them.
After having imported and successfully introduced grape vines from Tuscany, it nevertheless required a few years before being able to produce a good, palatable wine. However, despite these setbacks, the lessons learnt have proved invaluable. Ladybird Farm now grows Cabernet, Merlot and Sangiovese grape varieties, producing wines from all of them, and they have also begun producing a dessert Passito wine. Reuben likes to call it a boutique winery, producing some 600 bottles annually.
Today, the cultivation of olives and grapes takes up a significant proportion of the some 25,000 square metres of land that is Ladybird farm, located in Dingli, within an area known as 'Wied Nappa'. Reuben and I exchange a grin at the fact that he grows grapes and makes wine in 'Nappa Valley'similar in name to the famous wine-cultivating region in California. Despite the coincidence, Reuben confesses that he is, however, more of an olive oilman. In fact, he sounds almost like a bit of a perfectionist in this area and it is clear that he is striving to create an amazing product. Looking somewhat downcast,he tells me that the last olive harvest was, sadly, abysmal. The dry winter Malta experienced at the beginning of last year devastated olive production across the country - just one of the risks one has to come to terms with if one wants to take on this kind of endeavour.
Apart from the grapes and olives, the farm cultivates whatever is in season, and Reuben rightly came to the conclusion that the best way of guaranteeing control over where his produce finally ended up was to get it to the final consumer himself. Ladybird Farm now operates three establishments that stock and sell the products it creates: a gourmet food store - (La Coccinnella), a deli and a café. In fact, it seems that Ladybird is one of the few places that runs a 'plant-to-plate' supply and production system.
Reuben makes it clear that, at this point in time, it is impossible for these three places to exclusively sell only the products they create, but that being said, he guarantees the quality of all the ingredients used in the products they sell. The cafés menus change weekly and obviously according to the produce currently in season. The dishes served are impeccably produced, and he can say this with confidence because he admits that, at times, he is his own harshest critic.
So what's next for this intrepid agriculturalist? Funnily enough, although he would like to expand further, because it is a family-run business, one of the things restraining growth is that he has run out of family members! With his father-in-law tending the farm, his wife at the deli, his sister running La Coccinella and his mother at the café, the only person left is his nine-year-old daughter. Reuben's dream, however, is to one day have his own agriturismo at the farm. At the rate they're currently going, I'm quite confident that we will be hearing about it soon enough.
Anyone wishing to try Ladybird's products can visit The Deli in Swieqi, Ladybird Street Café in Gzira or La Coccinella Gourmet Food Store in St Julian's.
