Yeimar
Andres
Maria
Text: Eva Breukink; Photography: Studiorootz | Berber van Beek
Farmer Yeimar runs Di Nos Tera Organic Farm together with her husband Alfredo, his cousin Andres, and her mother-in-law Maria. Who would have thought that six years ago? Back then, Yeimar was still working as a housekeeper.
But it’s not that surprising. Yeimar comes from a farming family. She grew up in South America, where her father grew vegetables and kept chickens. It didn’t seem like her thing—until she met Alfredo.
“I never wanted to be a farmer, but now I truly enjoy it. We learned traditional farming methods from our parents, and now we’re discovering which modern techniques we can use.”
Yeimar’s mother-in-law lives in Bándariba, while her father-in-law, with his new family, lives in Bándabou. Alfredo Sr. runs a small shop and plantation in Santa Cruz with his wife Lidia and son Ivan. It’s a warm-hearted Portuguese family with deep farming roots.
So, Yeimar and her husband did something they never imagined: they rented a plot of farmland next to Maria’s house, cleared two of the three hectares, and started working the land.
You can feel the love and respect for nature the moment you step onto the family farm, Di Nos Tera Organic Farm. Not far away, traffic rushes by, but inside the gates, there’s a peaceful silence. Out in the field, Yeimar and Andres are busy pulling weeds between young plants.
The farm supplies one supermarket, so quality is everything. They grow familiar vegetables like cucumber, okra, cilantro, and green onions—plus yardlong beans and tayer leaf.
“We plant what our buyer asks for. That way, we know the harvest will sell. We also avoid growing too much of one crop, or we flood the market.”
Tayer leaf thrives in sheltered areas because its leaves discolor in direct sun. During the hottest months, many plants’ leaves turn yellow, reducing the yield.
“We want to cover half the farm with shade netting. It still lets in light but protects the leaves from harsh sunlight”
Nearly five years in, they now make a living selling to the supermarket. Once they commit to something, they go all in. If there’s extra money, they reinvest it—like when they bought their first hoses and drip system regulators. This saves both time and water.
All crops are hooked up to an irrigation system. The plants get precise amounts of water from drippers. The system runs from two wells through a water tank, pipes, and hoses. Groundwater is pumped into the tank using solar-powered pumps, then flows to the fields through large pipes.
“We open or close a valve every so often, so one section gets watered at a time. Meanwhile, we can work on something else.”
Being efficient with water fits perfectly with the philosophy of Di Nos Tera Organic Farm. The family has a goal: to run the farm 100% organically—and they’re almost there.
Sometimes they have no choice but to use a chemical pesticide during an infestation. But they also make their own blend to fight fungi, bacteria, and pests. They soak neem tree leaves in a bucket of water. They also keep the plants healthy with natural fertilizers.
It all starts with the seed. They look for the best varieties suited to Curaçao’s climate, often importing seeds to get crisp green cucumbers and papaya trees that yield the tastiest fruit.
“It’s not just a matter of putting a seed in the ground and hoping for the best. With cucumbers, for example, if you plant them too close together, the young plants rot and won’t sprout. Celery seeds, on the other hand, are simply scattered and then watered. We got that foundational knowledge from our parents and ancestors.”
They spend all day outdoors on the farm. The “canteen” is under a large ficus tree, where it’s nice and cool. That’s where they have coffee, eat, plan the day, and rest in the hammock—before heading back to work.
The workshop is also outdoors, under a big tamarind tree that provides shade and doubles as a handy spot to hang tools and supplies. This is where they fix equipment, mix organic pesticides, and dose vitamins for the plants.
It’s also where they prepare the next day’s delivery—washing, removing weeds and sand, and bundling vegetables. The crates are covered with wet burlap sacks to keep the produce fresh until morning, when the delivery goes out.
“We do almost everything together, as a team—planting, weeding, harvesting. We know exactly what we can expect from one another. This isn’t a 9-to-5 job. We work until the job is done, sometimes until 10 at night.”
Her mother-in-law Maria has deep knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants and herbs. She passes down that traditional wisdom to her son and daughter-in-law. Maria tends to the herb plants—like Flor de Jamaica (hibiscus) and lemongrass. These are healing and delicious as tea.
The farm is home to various trees and herbs that help treat many ailments. They grow naturally, just like everywhere else in Curaçao. Friends, relatives, and acquaintances who want advice on what to take for a specific illness get it for free.
It could be anything: mango leaf tea for stomachaches, ‘yerba di hole’ for fever, moringa for the flu, guava for insomnia. Soursop is known in herbal medicine as a “natural chemotherapy,” and the bitter “stone breaker” helps dissolve kidney stones.
Yeimar, Alfredo, and his half-brother Ivan Gonçalves from Santa Cruz Plantation all support each other. They search online for modern farming techniques and innovations. If one of them needs seeds, the other shares. If one orders hoses, he orders for the others too.
And of course, they often ask Alfredo Sr. for advice. “My father-in-law dug many wells in his life. He showed us where to drill on our land. We always turn to him when we’re unsure about something.”
What unites them is their deep love for growing fruits and vegetables.
“When you harvest something you planted yourself—the pride you feel—it’s amazing. Locally grown produce tastes so much better. Those bananas, so sweet. Imported cilantro barely has a scent, but Curaçao cilantro—you can smell it from far away. Dushi”
This campaign is co-financed by the Ministry of Economic Development (MEO).
