Families, schools & the curious
We open a hive together: how bees live, why we pollinate half the planet, and how honey is born. Includes a tasting straight from the comb.
Next dates: 8 Aug 2026, 22 Aug 2026, 5 Sept 2026
Uruguay's first pistachio plantation
Retoños del Edén
Organic pistachios, lavender, calendula and bees: a project for generations in southern Uruguay.
Hi! I'm Meli, a worker bee at Retoños del Edén.
I know every flower on these five hectares. Coming along? Let me show you how an Eden gets planted.
Meli stays by your side for the whole journey.
Our story, told in flight
- 2025
The soil says yes
We test the earth and the news is sweet: pistachios can grow here. The fields are plowed and six hundred holes are drilled, one by one, each waiting for its tree.
- Late 2025
600 pistachios, the country's first
At year's end, 600 pistachio trees go into the ground: Uruguay's first commercial plantation. Organic and certified to the European standard from day one: no chemicals, everything by hand. Six hundred is the most this land can care for well, and that's where it stays.
- 2026 to 2029
While the pistachios grow
Between the rows, lavender blooms for oils and soaps; calendula gets its own corner for tea. The hives arrive (my family!) and the second clay house rises, soon available to rent. The third one is already a dream with a floor plan.
- ~2030
The first harvest
A pistachio tree takes about five years to bear its first real fruit. Patience is like honey: slow, and worth every drop.
The pistachio, our star
A stubborn, generous tree that is brand new to this country. Everything we learned loving it, right here.
Tap the pistachio to crack it open
- A pistachio tree can live for centuries. Ours, 600 in total, are just getting started.
- There are male trees and female trees. The wind plays postman between them.
- The shell splits open on its own when the fruit is ready. Here we say it smiles.
- It is a cousin of mango and cashew: tropical family, dryland heart.
Small but mighty
- Plant protein
About 20 grams per 100 grams: more than two eggs.
- Filling fiber
Close to 10 grams per 100. A snack that actually satisfies.
- Good fats
Mostly unsaturated, like the ones in olive oil.
- Green inside
Lutein and zeaxanthin, the antioxidants that care for your eyes, give it its color.
A pistachio year
Every season has its job. Pick one and I will tell you.
June to August
The long rest
The tree sleeps and collects cold: it needs hundreds of chilly hours to wake up strong. No good winter, no good harvest.
September to November
Flowers on the wind
Males and females bloom separately, with no showy petals: the pollen travels by wind, not by bees. I supervise anyway.
December to February
The kernel fills
Under strong sun, the green kernel slowly fills its shell. Below, the lavender blooms, shading the soil and keeping my family busy.
March and April
The harvest
The shells split open to say they are ready. Picked by hand, dried in the sun, and the best seeds go back into the ground.
What can you make with pistachios?
- Artisan ice cream
- Sicilian pesto
- Pistachio cream
- Cold-pressed oil
- Cake flour
- Sea-salt roasted
- Granola & bars
- Sauces & fillings
Lavender, the downstairs neighbor
While the pistachios grow, the lavender works: it covers the soil, feeds bees and already yields its first products.
Why between the pistachios?
- It protects the soil
Its roots hold the earth and its shade keeps moisture between the young rows.
- It feeds my family
Blossoms full of nectar right when the hive is at its busiest.
- It harvests early
It gives oil and soaps years before the first pistachio harvest.
From blossom to soap
Follow the path, step by step.
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The spikes are cut by hand early in the morning, when the oil is at its peak.
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Steam passes through the blossoms and carries the essential oil away with it.
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A few golden drops for every armful of flowers. Pure, intense, concentrated.
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The oil is blended with plant oils and rests for six weeks until cured.
The bees, the humming heart
We are 60,000 workers per hive and without us there is no farm. Bee tourism starts here, in my neighborhood.
The circle that binds us
Tap each station of the circle.
Flowers
Lavender, calendula and native bush take turns blooming almost all year.
Play: pollinate the farm
Tap the flowers and send me to work.
0/5 flowers pollinated
What comes out of the hive
- Lavender honey
- Native bush honey
- Beeswax candles
- Propolis
A flight over the farm
Five long hectares sloping gently to the east. Tap each stop, or just let me guide you.
Tap the dots to discover every corner
The whole perimeter is hugged by a belt of eucalyptus trees, with beeches along some stretches.
What this land will give
All organic, all from here. The first things arrive with the flowers; the pistachios make us wait a little longer.
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Pistachios
Uruguay's first, certified organic to the European standard.
↳ The pistachio, our star -
Lavender oil & soaps
Distilled from the rows that bloom between the pistachio trees.
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Honey
Made by my family from lavender, calendula and native bush. My masterpiece.
The worker bee exam
Three short questions. Get them all and you earn a place in my hive.
Who carries the pistachio pollen?
How long until a pistachio tree gives its first real harvest?
What grows between the pistachio rows?
Learn with your hands
Workshops on the farm
Real ecotourism and bee tourism: half a day among hives, lavender, clay and pistachios. Small groups, unhurried pace.
Adults & teens
We harvest lavender between the pistachio rows, distill essential oil, and everyone takes home their own handmade soap.
Next dates: 15 Aug 2026, 12 Sept 2026, 3 Oct 2026
All ages
Plant your own tree in the country's first plantation, name tag and sponsorship included. Come back anytime to see how much it has grown.
Next dates: 29 Aug 2026, 19 Sept 2026, 10 Oct 2026
Gardeners & growers
Living soil, mixed cropping, zero chemicals: the foundations of organic growing certified to the European standard, applied on a real working farm.
Next dates: 26 Sept 2026, 17 Oct 2026, 31 Oct 2026
A full day of natural building: we mix clay from the land, raise a wall at house 3, and you learn why these houses breathe.
Next dates: 6 Sept 2026, 4 Oct 2026, 1 Nov 2026
Demo: bookings are not charged or confirmed for real yet.
The world of bees
The hives live in the northwest corner of the farm, sheltered by the eucalyptus belt and a few steps from the lavender. That is where you put on the suit, we lift out a frame, and you see up close what almost nobody gets to see: the queen, the workers, honey still warm inside the comb. Catalina explains why without these bees there would be no pistachios, no lavender, almost nothing.
At a glance
- Duration
- 2 h
- Up to
- 12 people
- US$ 25
- per person
How the day goes
- Welcome and mate
We meet at Casa de Barro 1, share a round of mate and go through the three rules for staying calm around a hive.
- Walk to the hives
We follow the circular path to the northwest, between the pistachio rows and the flowering lavender. Ten minutes, shaded almost the whole way.
- Opening the hive
In full suit and with the smoker we open a working hive. We look for the queen, study the brood and work out who does what in there.
- Pollen, wax and honey
A frame is passed from hand to hand, we smell the warm wax and taste unfiltered honey straight from the comb.
- Closing by the tajamar
We finish beside the pond talking about calendula, bloom times and why the bees decided to stay on this farm.
What's included
- Beekeeping suit and veil for everyone, in child and adult sizes
- Tasting of honey taken from the comb that morning
- A small piece of wax comb to take home
- Mate, cold water and biscuits
- Small group with two of our team present at all times
What to bring
- Light coloured, long sleeved clothes: bees get nervous around black
- Closed shoes, the path is bare earth
- Hat, sunscreen and your water bottle
- If you have a known sting allergy, tell us before you book
- Who it is for
- From age 6, always with an accompanying adult. No experience needed: for most people this is the first open hive of their life.
- Languages
- Spanish and English. Ask for English when you book and Stefan guides the group.
- Meeting point
- Casa de Barro 1, right by the entrance gate. Shade and plenty of room to leave the car.
Next dates
- 8 Aug 2026
- 22 Aug 2026
- 5 Sept 2026
US$ 25 per person
Lavender & natural soaps
The lavender grows between the pistachio rows and it is not decoration: it calls in pollinators and throws pests off the scent. We cut by hand, load the copper still and wait together for the first drops. With that floral water, olive oil and calendula from the farm you make your own bar of soap, wrapped in paper so it can finish curing at home.
At a glance
- Duration
- 3 h
- Up to
- 10 people
- US$ 45
- per person
How the day goes
- Welcome and mate
We start under the eaves of Casa de Barro 2 with mate and a calm walk through everything we are about to do.
- Harvest between the rows
We cut lavender by sickle among the pistachios, at the hour of the day when the oil is at its most concentrated.
- Distilling in copper
We load the still and watch the first drops appear. While it runs, we explain how the lavender looks after all 600 trees.
- Make your soap
We blend olive oil, floral water and calendula petals. Everyone shapes their own bar and picks the scent and the mould.
- Table of scents
We close with a smelling flight: fresh lavender, dried lavender, pure essential oil and our own honey for comparison.
What's included
- All the raw material: olive oil, floral water, calendula and moulds
- Your bar of soap wrapped in paper, ready to cure at home
- A small bottle of lavender hydrosol from that same batch
- Sickle, gloves and a basket for the harvest
- Mate, water and something sweet mid morning
- The printed recipe so you can repeat it in your own kitchen
What to bring
- Clothes that are allowed to get stained: calendula dyes and never apologises
- Closed shoes for walking between the rows
- Hat and sunscreen, the harvest happens in open field
- A box or cloth bag so the soap travels home without being squashed
- Who it is for
- From age 14. No experience needed: we work from a pre made base, so nobody has to handle caustic soda.
- Languages
- Spanish and English. You get the recipe in both languages.
- Meeting point
- The covered porch of Casa de Barro 2, at the end of the entrance track. Follow the wooden signs.
Next dates
- 15 Aug 2026
- 12 Sept 2026
- 3 Oct 2026
US$ 45 per person
Plant your pistachio
There are 600 pistachios on the farm today and yours becomes one more, with its tag, its number and its place on the map. Stefan explains why a pistachio takes seven years to give its first harvest, and why it is worth planting anyway. You dig, you plant, you water, and you leave with the row and number written down so you can come back whenever you like.
At a glance
- Duration
- 2.5 h
- Up to
- 8 people
- US$ 60
- per person
How the day goes
- Welcome and walk
We follow the circular path and look at the rows: the oldest ones, the trees planted last winter, and the spot where you will plant today.
- Male, female and wind
Ten minutes of theory at the foot of a tree: why pistachios need a partner, and why the eucalyptus belt matters so much here.
- Preparing the hole
We dig, mix the soil with compost from the farm and check together how the drip line reaches your row.
- Plant your tree
You plant, you water, you hang the tag with your name. We note the row and number on the plantation map.
- A toast in the shade
We finish with homemade lemonade by the tajamar and the obligatory photo hugging a 40 centimetre sapling.
What's included
- Your pistachio sapling, already adapted to the soil and climate here
- Engraved tag with your name and the tree number
- Three years of sponsorship: every spring we send you a photo of your tree
- Tools, gloves and compost from the farm
- Lemonade, water and biscuits
- Free entry to the farm whenever you want to visit it
What to bring
- Work clothes, there is real digging involved
- Closed shoes, boots if it rained in the days before
- Hat and sunscreen, the plantation has no shade
- Camera or phone for the first photo with your tree
- Who it is for
- All ages. Younger children plant with help and get their own small tools. No gardening knowledge needed at all.
- Languages
- Spanish and English, depending on the group.
- Meeting point
- The entrance gate, next to the wooden sign. From there we walk together to the nursery.
Next dates
- 29 Aug 2026
- 19 Sept 2026
- 10 Oct 2026
US$ 60 per person
Growing organic
Four hours of real farm, no slide deck. We look at the soil with a spade in hand, count earthworms, work out why calendula belongs between the rows and what we actually do when a pest arrives and nothing synthetic is allowed. Catalina also opens the European certification folder: what gets recorded, what gets audited and how much paperwork it really is.
At a glance
- Duration
- 4 h
- Up to
- 12 people
- US$ 50
- per person
How the day goes
- Mate and introductions
We start with mate and a round of introductions: what everyone grows, on how much land, and the specific problem they brought.
- Soil pit: the ground from inside
We dig a pit between two pistachio rows and read the profile: roots, worms, structure, colour and smell.
- Cover crops and mixed planting
We walk the rows and see lavender, calendula and green manure at work among the 600 trees.
- Pests without chemistry
Real cases from last season: what worked, what did not, what got expensive. We brew a plant tea together.
- The certification folder
In the shade by the tajamar we open the actual records, the audit reports and the first year mistakes.
What's included
- Field notebook with the recipes, tables and forms we use
- Light garden lunch under the eucalyptus
- A sample of compost and plant tea to get started at home
- Spades, auger and everything needed for the soil pit
- Email follow up with Catalina for three months afterwards
What to bring
- Field clothes and closed shoes, boots are better
- Hat, sunscreen and plenty of water
- Your specific questions and, if you can, photos of your soil or crop
- A bag of your own soil if you want us to look at it together
- Who it is for
- Made for people who already have a garden, smallholding or farm, or are about to start seriously. From age 16. No technical training required, just a willingness to get your hands in the dirt.
- Languages
- Spanish and English. The field notebook comes in both.
- Meeting point
- Casa de Barro 1. Park in the shade by the gate and follow the smell of mate.
Next dates
- 26 Sept 2026
- 17 Oct 2026
- 31 Oct 2026
US$ 50 per person
Building with clay
A full day raising a wall at Casa de Barro 3, the one still under construction. We take the earth from the land itself, test it with the jar test, mix it with sand and straw and lift it onto the wall. By the end of the day you will have a wall that did not exist that morning, hands in a hopeless state, and a clear idea of why these houses stay cool in summer and warm in winter.
At a glance
- Duration
- 7 h
- Up to
- 10 people
- US$ 80
- per person
How the day goes
- Coffee and a tour of the three houses
We start early with coffee and biscuits and walk through the finished house, the lived in one, and the one we continue today.
- Getting to know the earth
Jar test, ball test and ribbon test. You learn to read whether a soil is fit to build with or not.
- Treading the mix
Clay, sand and straw on a big tarp. It is mixed with your feet and it is usually the part everyone enjoys most.
- Raising the wall
We lift the mix onto the wall of house 3, between the timber posts. We work in pairs and you watch it grow hour by hour.
- Fine plaster and closing
In the afternoon we try a finish plaster with sieved sand and lime, and talk about how a clay house is maintained over the years.
What's included
- A long homemade lunch under the eucalyptus, plus coffee and biscuits in the morning
- All materials: earth from the land, sand, straw and lime
- Tools, buckets, tarps and gloves
- A handout with the three soil tests and the mixing ratios
- A small clay brick made by you, to collect once it has dried
What to bring
- Old clothes head to toe: clay never fully washes out
- A complete change of clothes and a towel
- Rubber boots or trainers you can ruin without regret
- Hat, sunscreen and the willingness to stand up most of the day
- Who it is for
- From age 16. It is a physical day: lifting, treading clay and working in the sun. No building experience needed, just a good attitude.
- Languages
- Spanish and English, and German if needed: Stefan explains the technique in all three.
- Meeting point
- Casa de Barro 3, the one under construction. Take the circular path from the gate, five minutes on foot.
Next dates
US$ 80 per person
Book:
Your booking
- Pick a date
- Number of people
- Your name
- Your email
- Total
Done! Demo booking created
This is a demo: nothing was sent and nothing was charged. In the final version, an email with all the details would land in your inbox.
Sleep among lavender and bees
The clay houses are built from the earth of the land itself: cool in summer, warm in winter, ecological always. Staying the night is part of the journey.
Ready
Clay House 1
The very first house of the project, finished and lived in. Living proof that clay is the future.
Clay House 2
Under construction near the ring. Made for guests: coming soon to Airbnb.
Planned
Clay House 3
The next of the clan, on the southern stretch. The clay workshop helps raise it.
Clay House 1
The first one of all: the house that proved clay holds up.
In numbers
- 2 Beds
- 3 Guests
- 45 m² Floor area
- 1 Bedroom
- 1 Bathroom
Catalina and Stefan raised it with earth dug from the land itself, mixed with straw and water, without buying a single brick. The walls are almost half a metre thick and you feel it the moment you step in: in January it stays cool inside with no air conditioning, and in July it holds the heat of the stove until the next morning.
The thatched roof falls in one long curve over the veranda. That is where the yellow hammock lives, along with two beehives leaning against the railing and a table where breakfast tends to run far longer than planned. From the chair you look straight down the pistachio rows toward the pond.
Around the house there is gravel, agapanthus that flower violet in December, and the steady hum drifting in from the north west, where the big hives stand. The house is lived in, so it opens to guests on selected dates. If it lines up with your trip, it is the best place to understand what all of this is about.
What is inside
- Kitchen with fridge, gas burners and kettle
- Full bathroom with hot water shower
- Cotton bed linen and sheep wool blankets
- Veranda with hammock and a table for breakfast outside
- Lavender from the farm, cut the day you arrive
- Ten minute walk to the lookout point
What makes it special
- Wood fired clay stove Built by hand from the same earth as the walls. Three logs carry it through the night.
- Its own solar power Panels and batteries in the shed. The house has never been connected to the grid.
- Rainwater harvesting The thatch feeds a thousand litre tank that supplies the vegetable beds and the shower.
- Hives on the veranda Two boxes at the edge of the deck. You can look closely, with a borrowed veil and a calm hand.
Clay House 2
The house we are raising with guests in mind.
In numbers
- 3 Beds
- 4 Guests
- 60 m² Floor area
- 2 Bedrooms
- 1 Bathroom
The second house is being built for visitors. Sixty square metres across two bedrooms, the same clay from the land and the same curved thatch, but with the veranda turned toward the pond to catch the whole sunset. It sits near the ring path, halfway between the hives and the eucalyptus belt.
A gap the exact size of a bee box was left in the north wall. A real colony will live there, with a pane of glass on the living room side: from the sofa you watch the comb grow, layer over layer, without a single bee loose indoors. The entrance stays outside, facing the lavender rows.
On the other side, among the eucalyptus, sits the wood fired hot tub. At night there is not one artificial light for kilometres: you get the full Milky Way, and from the water you hear the frogs down at the pond.
The build moves forward through the clay workshops. Every wall that goes up carries visitors handprints, so if you come to a workshop you will be able to point at your own stretch once the house is finished.
What is inside
- Open kitchen with a polished clay counter and wood oven
- Bathroom with shower and a basin cut from creek stone
- Two bedrooms: one double bed and two singles
- Long veranda with two hammocks facing the pond
- Lavender rows ten steps from the door
- Walls of clay from the land, raised during the workshops
What makes it special
- A beehive built into the wall A box set into the north wall with glass on the inside. You watch the comb from the sofa while the bees come and go outdoors.
- Wood fired hot tub under the stars A wooden tub heated by fire, tucked among the eucalyptus. It takes two hours to come up to temperature and is worth every minute.
- A window to the sky above the bed A skylight in the large bedroom, right over the pillow. No curtain, on purpose.
- Solar power and rainwater Same as house 1: its own panels, plus two tanks collecting whatever falls on the thatch.
Clay House 3
Still on paper, out on the southern stretch of the ring.
In numbers
Planned figures
- 4 Beds
- 6 Guests
- 75 m² Floor area
- 2 Bedrooms
- 2 Bathrooms
The third house exists for now as a hand drawn plan that lives on the kitchen table, complete with mate stains and pencil corrections. It goes on the southern stretch, a hundred metres from the lookout, facing the side where the land drops away and opens up.
It is the largest of the three: two bedrooms, a loft for kids and an L shaped veranda that follows the sun from breakfast to the last light. The idea is that this becomes the house where the three families of the project gather whenever there is something to celebrate.
It will go up like the others, with clay from that same southern stretch and straw from the farm, over workshop days. If the weather plays along, the first walls rise next spring. The figures below come from the draft design and may still change.
What is inside
- Two bedrooms plus a loft with two beds for kids
- Large kitchen with a clay bread oven
- Two bathrooms, one of them with an outdoor shower
- L shaped veranda facing north and west
- Clay from the southern stretch and straw from the farm
What makes it special
- Raised during the workshops Every clay workshop day adds another course of wall. The house is quite literally built by the people who came to visit.
- Skylight above the stairs A glass opening at the highest point of the thatch so daylight reaches all the way down to the ground floor.
- Two rainwater tanks Twice the roof area of house 1, so twice the water stored for the dry end of summer.
- A hundred metres from the lookout The only house where you get the full panorama without leaving the veranda.
Write to us
Workshops, stays, pistachios, press, or plain curiosity? We love mail almost as much as nectar.
Where we are
Southern Uruguay · 34°42′00.4″S 55°03′39.4″W
Who we are
Catalina Marzorati and Stefan Strauß, plus some 60,000 bees with strong opinions.