Seven Directions Custom Tours Announces Guided Farm Tours in the Land of Enchantment
Santa Fe, New Mexico (PRWEB) July 02, 2013 -- Seven Directions Custom Tours launches new Creative Rural Agritours | Farm Journeys in the Land of Enchantment to complement its already established custom cultural and sustainable tours and “Adventures with an Expert” hiking expeditions.
“New Mexico truly has the most captivating agricultural history,” says Patrizia Antonicelli, founder and owner of the company, “and today its heritage is still alive and widely respected.”
During the long days of summer, farms along the Rio Grande river region are rich with bounty and offer a picturesque setting against the New Mexico’s exquisite and varied landscapes. Now visitors can enjoy a day on a New Mexico farm, guided by an expert who knows the farmers and farms of the region intimately. Each tour is unique, offering a diversity of immersion experiences from traditional practices to more recent advances in sustainability and resource conservation.
These new custom farm tours from Seven Directions are not the typical garden-variety agritourism. Rather than a quick stop to pick up a basket of apples, or a playful stroll through a corn maze, these creative rural journeys are aimed at giving visitors a more intimate knowledge of farming in traditionally pastoral landscapes that have been cultivated for hundreds of years. Long before the current pueblos in New Mexico were built, ancient people hunted and lived along the Rio Grande River. Nearly a thousand years ago, native people began agricultural settlements and later, the Spanish colonies developed agricultural practices that can still be seen in use to this day.
Seven Directions works directly with local food and cultural experts, farmers, and sustainability leaders to give visitors a rich experience. This collaboration supports the local economy, ensuring that the culture that has protected and lived in these landscapes will continue.
Farmers with experience in organic and sustainable agricultural practices, both old and new, join visitors and tell their stories. On many farms, the ancient hand dug acequias―or irrigation ditches―are still used to irrigate the fields. Visitors will have the opportunity to see some of these canals introduced by the Spanish conquistadors in the early 1600’s and hear how the mayordomo―a respected role often given to elders in the community―takes charge of ditch cleaning and water distribution among the different farms that share an acequia.
Each farm visit is unique, depending on the season and farmer. Visitors can learn about unusual practices developed by Rudolf Steiner based on the phases of the moon and soil amendments that act like homeopathic healing for the land. Or, a trip may include wandering a market garden edged with medicinal herbs. Visitors can choose to spend a morning or afternoon visiting a community-supported agriculture (CSA) site growing a diverse array of vegetables and flowers for farmer's markets. Guests of these tours can also learn how products, like balsamic vinegar, that are traditional to other countries, are being crafted by masters in New Mexico.
Along the fertile valleys between Santa Fe and Taos, a tour might include an orchard where guests taste the fresh flavor of summer peaches or the crisp mouth-watering apples of fall, some varieties grown since Spanish colonial days. They will also learn how organic farming benefits everyone while strolling through a rich bio-diverse field patrolled by free-range chickens and turkeys. Or they may want to enjoy a fun adventure with alpacas.
Visitors may also enjoy the youthful energy of a market farm on Pueblo land where student interns talk to guests about their learning experiences and traditions. At one site, visitors will witness how solar energy and biomass are supporting sustainable agriculture.
All the sites are run by well-respected small farmers who are caring for their lands and making a living growing local food. These family and community-scale farms offer a striking contrast to the agribusiness farms that are the source of most foods found in the supermarkets.
Additional options include a lunch on site, with fresh produce and locally-made fare, a cooking experience with traditional Native American hornos, or a visit to a winery where local grapes are cultivated. Or they can choose to learn about food preservation and ways to prepare raw foods straight from the fields. Overnights can be spent in charming casitas on some farms' properties or Bed and Breakfasts and country inns.
Sightseeing is included when a tour travels near beautiful or iconic sites. Stops along the way offer a glimpse into the amazing scenery that has given the state its reputation as the land of enchantment.
“The great thing about agritourism,” says Sharon Leach, a guide and former director of Sustain Taos, “is that farmers engage with the community in new ways, have the opportunity to show off their fields while also teaching about the importance of local food systems, soil building and water conservation.”
With Seven Directions tours, the farm is not just a stop along the way, but a place to slow down, get back to one's roots and sample some of the most nutritious foods―fresh from the fields. By sharing how they care for the land and providing food, farmers offer a rich understanding of community sustainability.
For further information and media inquiries: Patrizia Antonicelli – Tel.505.820.3305
About Seven Directions Tours:
Offering over 9 years of experience in the Southwest, Seven Directions | Cultural and Sustainable Tours http://www.sevendirections.net has established itself as one of the finest sustainable tour operators in the Southwest and caters to a wide-ranging audience looking for hands-on experience that can put them in touch with the landscape and the people. Seven Directions Tours caters to large and small groups, and individuals.
Patrizia Antonicelli, Seven Directions, LLC, http://www.sevendirections.net, 505.820.3305, [email protected]
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