Banana Ecoplantation
The banana ecoplantation is located near the beautiful old city of Puerto de La Cruz, where the green expanse of trees and fruit make the landscape very picturesque and pleasing to the eye. Located on the spectacular green north coast of the island of Tenerife, it faces the coast and is covered by the curves of the Teide volcano.
Generally, the tropical climate characteristic of the Canary Islands gives the opportunity to the fruit to ripen properly, but here the climate is milder than in the rest of the valley because it is located right on the coast, contributing to its unique and inimitable taste and making it a privileged place for agriculture.
The enthusiastic owner Miguel will take you around the 5 thousands plants neatly arranged for the 3 hectares of the farm, explaining his old family story. They started farming in 1818, which makes them the oldest Banana Plantation on the island.
In the past 10 years they have processed from a normal farm to an eco farm, towards a sustainable path with respect to the environment, organic farming and waste. Banana EcoPlantation’s crops are highly biodiverse, following permaculture principles.
They are promoting a self-sufficient reproductive cycle: there are more than 15 varieties of aromatic plants, from pumpkin to oats, barley, basil, scattered throughout the plantation, each of them with its specific role, in order to make the production 95 percent self-sufficient. They rely totally on the cycle of nature, taking great care to the keeping of the insects, as they help in warding off parasites and the earthworms, as they naturally fertilise the soil.
The banana market is not that easy. Each fruit has to be at least 14 cm longer to be sold, hence it is so important to take care of the whole environment. Once the bananas are harvested, they are transported to a cooperative that sorts and sells them. For this special banana is reserved the BIO section.
IS IT JUST BANANAS?
Visiting the Banana Ecoplantation shows how it is possible to grow bananas in a sustainable way, showing visitors who will be able to observe the steps of cultivation first hand. The tour lasts 1/2 hour and takes visitors around the wonderful plantation, during which you can see the intriguing states of banana production and observe the life cycle of the plant and the fruit.
It might seem incredible but it is completely true: bananas can also be used to produce other products. Infact, the farm’s trees are also involved in the production of banana liqueur and banana honey.
You would never see these two special products anywhere else. The banana liquor will delight your palate with a concentrated sweet taste of banana mixed with liqueur, whose strong flavour is smothering from the sweetness of the fruit. It is perfect to end your meals. The banana honey has a taste with which you will fall in love with it at first sample. It has the strong and sweet taste at the same moment, that creates an explosion of taste in your palate that you can’t resist buying a tin.
At the end of the tour, visitors are treated to a tasting of the farm’s products, including fruit, a liqueur and the banana honey.
