From Office Stress to Rural Peace
Traffic jams, clock-watching, and stress are being swapped for nature, animals, and peace of mind. A growing number of Canary Islanders are deciding to trade their city offices for a small plot of land in the countryside, seeking a higher quality of life. Many studied university degrees completely unrelated to the primary sector and began their professional lives far from the fields, but have ended up parking their studies and investing in agricultural and livestock projects. For many, this change hasn’t improved their finances, but it has made them feel happier and more fulfilled.
Pilar Carballo: A 112 Operator’s Radical Change
Pilar Carballo knows exactly what it means to live with stress etched into your very being. For 18 years, she worked for the Canary Islands emergency service, 112, the last eight as a management secretary, until one day her body and mind said “enough” and she hung up the phone for good. “I had a peak stress moment and told myself: I need to make a lifestyle change, I can’t stay here,” she recalls. In reality, the seed for that change had been planted long before: in 2000, she had bought a small piece of land in Arafo, Tenerife, so her four children could have contact with nature and they could raise a few chickens for the house.
From Family Hobby to Ecological Farm
What began as a family pastime ended up becoming a vital professional project. “I had a few chickens and I saw that we had a surplus of eggs, but people started asking me for free-range eggs, farm eggs… and that’s when I saw there was a market niche.” And so, little by little, La Jara Ecological Farm was born, initially focused on chickens and the production of organic eggs. This Canarian woman’s path took an unexpected turn when, already integrated into the agricultural sector, she encountered the Canary Island Hair Sheep, or Pelibuey, a native breed in danger of extinction. It was love at first sight. “I had never seen a sheep in my life, but when I saw that one, it was like falling in love. I said: I want to have sheep,” she confesses with a laugh. From that point on, there was no turning back.
Conservation and Resilience
Today, she raises specimens of this breed as well as the Palmera sheep, of which there are barely 200 left in the entire archipelago. She runs a farm of about 12 hectares, and the Canary Islands Institute for Agricultural Research has supported her project from the beginning by entrusting her with a flock. The road has not been without difficulties. Earlier this year, she suffered a dog attack that killed 14 of her animals, a hard blow that, however, did not curb her desire to move forward. “It doesn’t stop me at all. Right now, the sheep are about to give birth and I continue with the same excitement as at the beginning,” she states.
Diversifying with the 3D Theory
Besides livestock farming, Carballo has bet on diversifying her business with unique products in the Canary Islands, such as sponges and artisanal soaps made with Palmera sheep wool. “I always say that to start a business in the primary sector you have to apply my theory of the 3 D’s: Diversify, Differentiate, and Dignify. Only then can you make a business like this profitable.” Although she acknowledges that working the land demands long hours and sacrifices, the personal satisfaction is incomparable. “The difference is that now I work for myself. Before, I gave my time to a company that gave me a salary; now my effort translates into my own company, a salary, and, above all, the satisfaction of doing what I love,” she points out.
The Reality of Rural Stress
Carballo left an important position with a good salary for a life connected to nature. That said, she warns that the romance of the countryside should not hide the harsh reality behind it. “There’s what I call rural stress: bureaucracy, paperwork, regulations… We are not hippies; we are primary sector entrepreneurs who pay taxes and comply with controls like any other company,” she clarifies. No one in her family had been dedicated to agriculture or livestock before, but today Carballo proudly identifies as a farmer. Her four children have taken other paths—one of them linked to agriculture abroad—and she doesn’t know if any will continue the project, but she isn’t worried. “The important thing is that this sector is attractive to any young person, that it is seen as a profitable and dignified business, not as slavery,” she affirms.
Rubén Castellano: Journalist and Goat Herder
The bad reputation plaguing the sector leads most people to label anyone who considers linking their future to the land as “crazy.” Rubén Castellano experienced this firsthand. A year ago, he encouraged his boyfriend to start a farm, and now he combines his work as a journalist at RNE with caring for goats and cultivating fig and olive trees. Their adventure began in La Palma, and three months ago they moved to Tejeda in Gran Canaria. There, the neighbors nicknamed them “the two half-crazy young guys who bought a farm.” “It strikes me that people always say the countryside lacks young people, but then when you get into this, no one understands or supports you,” the young man complains.
Finding the Perfect Balance
Castellano doesn’t regret a thing. The stress from his job as a journalist disappears the moment he sets foot on his farm. There’s always some task to do, which prevents him from “overthinking” the problems of the day and allows him to disconnect from his responsibilities in the newsroom. He works more hours, but he does so willingly. “Time flies by, I’m concentrated on the task, and before I know it, the day has passed,” he says. The path, just as for Carballo, hasn’t been easy. The dream for this Canarian and his partner Alejandro is to open a cheese dairy; they currently have 30 goats and aim to have 80. They hope the project will become profitable in about three months, as until now they’ve had to raise the animals from when they were kids. “We couldn’t buy adult goats; it was impossible because with the war in Ukraine and the rise in input costs, many Canarian farmers reduced their herds,” he explains.
Alberto Arencibia: From Robotics to Potatoes
In the same vein of young Canarians who have changed their life’s course toward the countryside is Alberto Arencibia, a 28-year-old farmer who left behind his training in robotics and mechatronics to follow in his family’s footsteps and bet on the primary sector. Although as a child he wanted nothing to do with land or livestock, the routine at the factory where he worked eventually exhausted him, and five years ago he decided to make a radical turn. “In the end, it was always the same thing. I reached a point where I told myself: I’d rather put effort into something of my own than repeat the same task every day,” he recounts.
Overcoming Obstacles with Grit
With effort and countless hours of work, Arencibia has carved his path in agriculture. He started by helping his father with small productions and today manages six hectares spread between Moya and Gáldar, where he mainly grows potatoes and carrots, plus other seasonal products like peppers or tomatoes. To get his project off the ground, he has had to face multiple obstacles: the lack of farms with available water, the bureaucracy to access grants, and the high cost of machinery. “I had to fight a lot, even for the grants, and that takes a lot of your time and energy,” he laments.
A Life Without Holidays, But With Purpose
His is a job without set hours. He admits to having worked up to 21 hours in a row and, on average, works about 14 hours a day. He has three permanent employees, but the workload remains immense. “There are no holidays or vacations here; there’s always something to do,” he admits. Even so, he assures that the effort is worth it. “It’s not the same working for someone else as it is working for yourself. The will is different. At first, I wanted nothing to do with the countryside, and now I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he admits. Arencibia doesn’t hide the economic difficulties: sales are irregular, prices often don’t cover costs, and uncertainty is constant. But he also finds motivations that push him to continue: independence, the satisfaction of seeing his crops grow, and the practical application of what he studied. “My knowledge of robotics and mechatronics helps me every day. From repairing a piece of machinery to designing improvised solutions. That has saved me a lot of money and trouble,” he explains.
No Regrets, Just Fulfillment
Despite criticism from some friends who call him “crazy” for dedicating himself to the land and the difficulties in balancing his family life, this Canarian is clear: this is his path. “There are good days and bad days, but I have never regretted it,” he states firmly, echoing the sentiment of a growing movement finding true wealth not in a paycheck, but in the soil of their islands.
