“From the garden to the table”
A fascinating story.
pepeRaf is a young and dynamic family business that, based on the experience of three generations, is committed to the continuity of one of the most exquisite and natural products on the market: the Raf tomato.
We are farmers and we grow our products using traditional techniques, but without neglecting new technologies as a means of dissemination and marketing to be closer to you.
After many years supplying the most important and demanding tomato marketers in Almería, collecting awards and congratulations, we have decided to go one step further and bring our product directly to your home or business.
Our history
Pioneers in the cultivation of Raf Tomato.
1950
The pepeRaf family began to cultivate the predominant varieties of ridged tomatoes (Marmande and Muchamiel) in the area of La Cañada and El Alquián, beginning an adventure that has lasted until today.
1960
At the end of the 60s, the seed company CLAUSE began to distribute the Raf tomato variety in Almería, and the pepeRaf family began to cultivate it, acquiring, year after year, all the experience that supports us.
1970
With the need to guarantee productivity, the greenhouse revolution begins in Almería and with it a real technological evolution in the world of intensive agriculture. At the same time, "long-life" varieties begin to be introduced on the market, suitable for commercialization abroad, but far from the benefits of the Raf tomato.
The pepeRaf family resisted change and continued to grow Raf tomatoes using traditional methods, adding new cultivation techniques in a controlled manner. So in the late 1970s we began to experiment with mesh structures instead of plastic to protect the crops.
1980
The first major crisis of the Raf tomato arrives. The long-life hybrid tomatoes “longlife” replace the Raf tomato in the markets, since they produce more kg and can be sold abroad because they are more resistant. This, together with the lack of information for the consumer, means that at the end of the 80s practically 90% of the tomatoes grown in Almería were of the “longlife” type.
1990
The Raf tomato boom begins. When everything seemed lost, in the midst of economic growth in the country, many people began to consume top quality products, and the Raf tomato re-emerged as a gourmet product, with consumers discovering the great difference between the Raf tomato and other tomatoes.
Prices are skyrocketing due to low production and strong demand, and the remaining farmers are trying in vain to revive the Raf tradition on their farms. As it is a crop with special techniques and different soil and water requirements, the new generations cannot grow it.
2000
The second major crisis of the Raf tomato has arrived. Faced with the strong demand for the product and the fact that there are very few families who can and know how to grow it, the large seed companies begin to market hybrid varieties of Raf tomatoes, invading the market with products that are very far from the qualities of flavour, texture and shape of the Raf tomato. Today, very few Rafs are the authentic ones from the CLAUSE house.
Today
pepeRaf continues to grow the authentic Raf tomato and will continue to fight for its survival as it has done for all these years.
The pepeRaf family
We are a family of farmers.
The working family of the Almería countryside has been, and should continue to be, the great pillar of our intensive agriculture (“The great garden of Europe”). As if it were an army of ants, the basis of our agriculture was based on thousands of small farms, which under a family hierarchy exploited natural resources in a sustainable way, with no other objective than that of survival.
Thus, our grandfather “Juan El Veguero” was able to keep his family united and strong around a small tomato garden, providing them with the necessary resources for their own prosperity. A concept of life that was later perpetuated by his middle daughter “Paca La Veguera”, who together with her husband “Pepe”, have managed to keep alive until today.
It was in the late 60s when “Pepe”, a restless, combative and nonconformist man, saw clearly the need to reinvent the concept, opening it up to new technologies, and so he became one of the first 4 farmers in Almería to lend his farm for the development and implementation of a new variety of tomato, El Tomate Raf. And as if it were love at first sight, a love-hate story began that only he has been able to maintain until today.
Commemorative plaque for the 40th anniversary of Raf tomatoes awarded to the founder of pepeRaf.
"Among other awards, our father, Pepe, received a plaque of honour in 2007 in recognition of his dedication to the Raf Tomato, which as a pioneer in its cultivation he collected during the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Raf, organised by the Clause seed company itself."
The concept of a “farming family” has long since given way to large farms, cooperatives, wholesalers, hybrids… For too many years, overproduction and yield have taken precedence over quality and flavour…
With “Pepe and Paca” now retired, it is up to the new generations to reinvent themselves so that this model of a farming family can continue over time, offering an authentic and unique product. And this reinvention is called pepeRaf.
Our future
We are committed to sustainable cultivation of Raf tomatoes.
We want to be as close as possible to our consumers and to be able to continue offering this very special product. The new generations of pepeRaf will continue to fight to maintain the family tradition, as well as introducing new lines of research and development.
The future of pepeRaf must maintain intact the values that have made our agriculture a sustainable and respectful way of life.
One of these future projects is the “ecoRaf Project” that will allow us to produce authentic, natural and completely organic Raf tomatoes.
The environment
We are in the Bay of Almería, the birthplace of the Raf tomato.
Our farm is located in the central plain of the Bay of Almería, between the towns of El Alquián and La Cañada. Due to the underground water runoff, its geology and the special climate of this valley, it is the only place in Europe where the authentic Raf tomato can be grown naturally.
Bathed by the Mediterranean Sea, some areas of the Bay of Almería have the capacity to accumulate groundwater from the Sierra Alhamilla, which after passing through several layers of the subsoil remain stagnant in wells with a unique concentration of mineral salts. Waters that are practically useless for any crop, but which are the true secret of the authentic Raf tomato.
With the magnificent Cabo de Gata in the background, our land is located in a strip of air currents, which provide an optimal temperature for the development of Raf timate cultivation.