LIVE PASTURE, EXTENSIVE CATTLE RAISING AND RESPONSIBLE VISITS BETWEEN CÁCERES, MONFRAGÜE AND TRUJILLO.
The pasture is much more than a beautiful landscape. It is a living system in which soil, pastures, water, livestock and people have been related for centuries. At the El Baldío estate, between Cáceres, Monfragüe, Trujillo and Plasencia, this relationship is being cared for today with a very clear aim: to conserve biodiversity, maintain extensive livestock farming and demonstrate that another way of managing the land is possible.
In this context, the project for the design, implementation and promotion of agrotourism experiences at El Baldío was born, an initiative shared between Fundación Global Nature (FGN) and Verdehesa that takes a step further within the program Naturaleza Pastoreada: to open the farm’s door to groups and visitors, so that they can understand on the ground all that is involved in producing food while caring for the landscape and the life it hosts.
Pastured nature: when extensive livestock farming becomes an ally of conservation
The Pastoral Nature project has been working for years to demonstrate that well-managed extensive livestock farming is an essential part of the solution to rural abandonment, biodiversity loss and climate change. At the El Baldío farm, we are experimenting with regenerative grazing models, studying how the soil responds, measuring the improvement of pastures and assessing the role of livestock as a great ally in maintaining the mosaic of habitats in the dehesa.
El Baldío is not a tourist attraction, but a real farm where native livestock breeds, innovative management and conservation projects coexist. There, rotational grazing systems are tested, the condition of the ponds is evaluated, flora and fauna are monitored and the effects of livestock management on vegetation cover, the water cycle and carbon storage are analyzed. All this makes the farm an open-air laboratory ofenormous value.
El Baldío: a living pasture managed by Fundación Global Nature
Fundación Global Nature manages El Baldío with an integrated vision, which combines maintaining the productive function ofthe farm, reinforcing its role as a biodiversity refuge and moving towards a model of extensive climate-smart livestock farming.
The presence of cattle and sheep in extensive farming, the use of adapted native breeds, the care of the ponds, the monitoring of amphibians and pollinators or the improvement of the holm oak groves are part of the daily life of the farm. This work has generated very valuable knowledge that, until now, had barely emerged from technical reports and meetings between specialists.
Opening El Baldío to agrotourism means precisely this: to translate that knowledge into exciting experiences that bring the general public, educational communities and professionals closer to the reality of a livestock farm that is committed to sustainability.
Why bet on agritourism… and why do it with Verdehesa?
Fundación Global Nature decided to promote an agritourism project in El Baldío for several reasons: to raise awareness, directly showing the role of extensive livestock farming in the conservation of the dehesa; to demonstrate possibilities for diversification, using agritourism visits as an example of a complementary source of income that other livestock farms can replicate without losing the focus on agricultural production; to put a face to the territory, allowing those who consume agri-food products to understand what is behind them; and to share knowledge, opening the farm to schools, universities, companies and interested members of the general public.
To shape and develop this agrotourism project, the Foundation relies on Verdehesa, as a tourism company that works around the dehesa, extensive livestock farming and cultural landscapes of Extremadura. Our task is to design and create the visit experiences at the El Baldío farm and convert the daily reality of the farm into concrete proposals for different types of public.
A partnership with purpose
FGN brings the El Baldío farm and its management model based on extensive cattle ranching and regenerative grazing, the technical knowledge accumulated in conservation, research and land management projects, and a solid track record in biodiversity, climate and rural development initiatives. Verdehesa, for its part, brings experience in the design of tourism experiences based on science and the territory, knowledge of the different audiences, tourism markets and marketing channels, and a sustainable tourism approach in which interpretive quality, safety and respect for the environment are essential.
Both entities had already collaborated previously in the creation of a scientific ecotourism experience, which provides a shared knowledge of the territory and a very careful way of translating science and livestock management into the language of the traveler.
The FGN-Verdehesa alliance thus makes it possible to translate a conservation and livestock management project into a real and marketable agro-tourism product, without losing sight of the values that give it meaning.
In addition to all this, there is a young, committed team, with a large presence of women, who share clear values: animal welfare and respect for the rhythms of livestock; responsible consumption, explaining what it means to choose products from extensive livestock farming; and the conservation of nature and local culture, understood not as something from the past, but as a way of life that is still very much alive in the dehesa.
In addition, 10% of the income generated by these experiences is invested in the conservation projects that FGN promotes in El Baldío, thus closing the circle between visitation, knowledge and direct support to the territory”.
The importance of creating agritourism products linked to the primary sector
In Spain, and especially in rural areas with a strong agricultural presence, agrotourism is consolidating as a key tool for diversifying the rural economy, preserving traditional trades and knowledge, reinforcing local pride and identity, and bringing visitors closer to a reality that normally remains hidden behind the door of a shed, a farmyard or a fence.
The strategies and guides promoted by the State Secretariat of Tourism and SEGITTUR focus precisely on this: the primary sector has enormous potential to offer immersive experiences around agriculture, livestock and food production. It is not just about “seeing” animals or crops, but about understanding the processes, participating in small tasks and connecting with the people who sustain these territories.
The El Baldío project is framed within this vision, but it is grounded in a very specific landscape: the dehesa.
A real opportunity between Cáceres, Monfragüe, Trujillo and Plasencia.
The territorial environment of the estate is one of the great strengths of the project. Between Cáceres, Monfragüe, Trujillo and Plasencia, a very powerful destination for nature and cultural tourism has been consolidated, with the Monfragüe National Park as an emblematic area and monumental cities such as Cáceres (World Heritage Site), Trujillo and Plasencia.
However, there is still very little structured agritourism in this area that allows visitors to visit private pastures with native livestock, learn about the day-to-day life of an extensive farm and understand on the ground concepts such as regenerative grazing, animal welfare or ecosystem services.
The new experiences designed at El Baldío fill this gap:
- offer three complementary products to the classic visits to Cáceres, Trujillo and Monfragüe,
- provide new stops for foreign travelers and for agencies looking for genuine proposals far from the massified circuits,
- and reinforce the enhancement of local cultural identity around extensive livestock farming and the dehesa as a cultural landscape.
From idea to reality: methodology, products and FGN-Verdehesa alliance
A methodology adapted to a real livestock operation
The design of the agrotourism experiences in El Baldío has not been an improvised process. A specific methodology has been followed, based on the most recent best practices in the creation of experiential tourism products and on the frameworks promoted by SEGITTUR and other organizations specialized in tourism and the primary sector, and then adapted step by step to the reality of a pasture cattle farm. The whole process has been collected and organized in the El Baldío Agrotourism Operational Manual, which serves as a roadmap for design and management and is also conceived as a living document, constantly being revised and updated as experience is accumulated, new groups are received and opportunities for improvement are detected.
This work has gone through, among others:
- Analyze the context of the farm and the destination (access, environment, existing tourism offer).
- Define target audiences (educational groups, adult audiences, agencies, international travelers…).
- Evaluate available human resources (FGN team, Verdehesa guides, livestock farmers).
- Study the facilities and areas to be visited on the farm (access, parking, reception points, safe routes, ponds, sheepfolds, etc.).
- Designing agritourism products: what is done, where, for what duration, with what capacity, and what key messages are conveyed.
- Establish a pricing, communication and marketing strategy, and define legal, safety and sustainability requirements.
The result is a model that is not only useful for El Baldío, but can be a reference for other farms and livestock farms interested in opening up to agritourism in an orderly, safe and coherent manner.
Three experiences to get to know the dehesa from the inside
This process has given rise to three agro-tourism experiences that complement each other and allow visitors to approach El Baldío from different perspectives:
- proposals designed for educational groups, which combine curricular content with direct experiences in the pasture;
- experiences aimed at an adult audience, in small groups interested in understanding how an extensive farm works and what differentiates it from other livestock models;
- and seasonal formats (such as days linked to key moments in the livestock calendar) that allow you to experience the farm at particularly significant times.
Each of these experiences is designed for the visitor to: see and hear, but also participate in a simple and respectful way; better understand the role of livestock and pasture management; and take away a more complete picture of what it means to produce food while caring for the land.
And now… how do you live these experiences?
In this post we wanted to tell you where the agrotourism project was born in El Baldío farm, what are its foundations and why we believe it can contribute both to the territory and to those who visit us.
In the other blog post we invite you to go one step further:
you will discover what each of the three designed experiences is like, step by step, what is done in them, who they are designed for and how you can book your visit.
👉 Agrotourism experiences in El Baldío, a pasture to live it.