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Earn a lot of money with patience
This gorging is worth around 200,000 euros. This is because each of the 20 pigs that ransack a pile of organic grain is about 10,000 euros. They belong to a particular breed, the Manchado de Jabugo.
„They are the Rolls Royce of Iberico pigs“, says Eduardo Donato. The pig breeder discovered the breed a few years ago. They could actually get him a Rolls Royce. Although, Eduardo wouldn‘t be able to do much with a luxury sedan in this terrain.
Eight kilometres of bumpy forest road lead to what Eduardo calls his „paradise“. And rightly so: The Finca Maladúa is a 700-hectare piece of land in the hills of the Sierra de Huelva. Rolling hills dotted with cork oaks, holm oaks, and olive trees. 170 pigs grunt through the bushes here. Eduardo also has over 30 piglets. But they all have to be locked up. Eduardo opens the door to the barn:
„They are at most one week old,“ says Eduardo. And smiles proudly. The piglets are drinking now. Like small suckers, their snouts hang on to their mother‘s teats, trembling they suck the milk. In three years, their little hind legs will be great rammers - and they will change owners for an incredible 4,100 euros. Eduardo sells the most expensive ham in the world. This put him in the Guinness Book of Records recently.
When the Catalans came to Andalusia nearly 30 years ago, he was breeding normal Iberico pigs. Ten years ago, he began to devote himself to the Man- chado pigs. Unlike a typical Iberico pig, Manchadoes are not black, but brown and speckled with black spots. They are not a popular breed with breeders. Not because of the appearance, but because of the money. A normal Iberian pig can be slaughtered at 18 months - with Manchados the breeder has to
wait three years.
„People want to make money quickly. That‘s why
they don‘t value this pig. In addition, the pig‘s hooves sometimes have a white colour - which means they look like that of an ordinary domestic pig. Consumers want black hooves, the ‚Pata Negra‘. They think that all Iberico ham have black hooves - but it‘s not true! „
Eduardo realised that the Manchado pigs were rough diamonds. To be a delicacy for connoisseurs which is on the brink of extinction. And that he could make a lot of money if he were patient. Pigs mature in time like a good wine, says Eduardo. It‘s worth it.
If maturation isn‘t right, it‘s all in vain
Eduardo, too, has matured well. You wouldn‘t think he was 69. The Andalusia sun, the good Sierra air, and his joy for his new life have clearly done him good. Doesn‘t he feel bad for the pigs when they are picked up for slaughter?
„We ask the pigs for permission rst. Really! This year there was a pig that refused to get in the truck. It broke out. We had to catch it again and again. It told us: No, not today! Now it is still here in the barn. That one over there, with the little ones! We say to the pig: In exchange for getting to live here in paradise, we want to offer you to our customers one day - as a delicious Jamon Iberico.“
But the trip from paradise to the beyond is anything but idyllic in Jabugo too. Guillermo González works as a veterinarian. He knows what goes on in the slaugh- terhouses. He is also involved in the environmental protection organisation „Ecologistas en Acción“.
„The Iberico pig that is taken to the slaughterhouse suffers - from departure to arrival. They are stuck in a truck all crowded together. I wouldn‘t get in there
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