To mark the beginning of spring, March saw the addition of winter escarole and new shoots, and the installation of wire and net structures to support the peas, encouraging vertical growth and light exposure. Alongside wild radish, young garlic, spring onions, chard, mustard, escarole, and lettuce hearts, these are all short-cycle crops that complete their growth in just a few weeks.
The orchard of Casa RIA
A living space for food-based learning and research
The orchard of Casa RIA is an open-air classroom where learning happens through doing, in direct contact with nature. Each week, data is collected on crops, climate, soil, and water to build an open knowledge base that helps to understand the rhythms of the seasons. Periodically, the orchard’s produce is delivered to A Cantina and incorporated into its dishes.
Promoter
Casa RIA
Fundación
Collaborators
La Finca de Los Cuervos
A Cantina
Year
2025–ongoing
Location
Santiago de Compostela
Launched at the beginning of 2025, the orchard is a project by Fundación RIA that combines research and outreach on food production and care for the land. This initiative functions as an open laboratory, where various contributors bring their knowledge and experience to enrich the process.
The team from La Finca de los Cuervos manages the orchard and plans the growing seasons. As a result, fresh produce from the orchard is regularly delivered to A Cantina, where it complements supplies from the local market and features in its meals.
The orchard is located in the grounds of Casa RIA, next to the Belvís park – an area just outside the old town walls with a long agricultural tradition that historically supplied Santiago de Compostela. While no longer dominant, this activity lives on through urban gardens and the landscape of terraces and stone walls.
Following an initial phase of soil recovery, the orchard of Casa RIA aims to reactivate productive land use in the urban centre, promoting sustainable practices adapted to climate change and highlighting the link between production and consumption.
Through systematic data collection and visual documentation, the project builds an ongoing investigation with field notebooks, technical crop sheets, and biophysical studies analysing factors such as soil, climate, water, and wildlife. In parallel, outreach activities will be organised using materials aimed at different audiences, to share the knowledge generated. The orchard’s programme includes hands-on and educational sessions, along with tastings in collaboration with A Cantina.
First harvest
After the land was prepared, the first crops were planted in the orchard of Casa RIA. The season began with a bed of 210 peas and, throughout February, 200 lettuce hearts, 60 additional peas, and several brassica varieties — mustard, cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli — were added, along with spring broad beans.
Aromatic and fruit-bearing plants were also placed along the orchard’s edges, recovering the traditional structure of a Galician kitchen garden.
