I am a part-time farmer with a small orchard in Corzes near Silandro that I cultivate according to organic principles. Is it possible to be a part-time organic farmer? Well, generally speaking, the answer is no because organic production requires a constant presence. It demands a lot but also gives you a lot in return. Due to the fact that my orchard is very small and the adjacent orchard belongs to my cousin and organic producer Reinhard, he has an eye on my orchard as well and looks after it. Moreover, my wife helps during picking and harvest. She’s an elementary school teacher but a passionate farmer deep in her heart as well. My children are 19 and 23 years old. Maybe they will carry on my agricultural activity one day.

In my main job, I’m a bricklayer and run a small company, which also demands a lot from me. In agriculture, I can benefit from my manual skills when it comes to machines and cutting trees. Working in the orchard frees my mind and makes me see problems in the company from another point of view.

In my second job, I can fortunately rely on the cooperative that saves me a lot of work. There is no such collective security in the private sector. There you are on your own with too much bureaucracy. In this sense, I feel very lucky to be able to live and work in two worlds. Even though switching from one job to the next one can be difficult sometimes, I can achieve satisfactory results by multitasking.