PROVENCE : The story of Livendulo begins when I went to an architectural work camp in the Alpes de Haute-Provence, to restore a shepherd’s hut at 1800 m altitude. It was an international volunteer of vernacular architecture organized by the French government and an organization from Provence. After each day of work in the restoration of this small architecture in the mountains, we took the vans to see the agrolandscape, the hermitages , churches and the local lavender festivals. From the beginning, the discovery of lavender was linked to self-knowledge and a spiritual experience of my own that I tried to frame in the inherited religious references present in the architectural and socio-cultural heritage of the villages of the Vaucluse region
CASTILE : That first experience in France, both spiritually and in terms of knowledge of this simple flower, were some of the traces that were given to me to follow the path in Spain. This is how I learned about different lavender projects in Castile. I was especially struck by a variety of lavender called lavandula latifolia, or “espliego” from which I was struck by the camphorated and wild smell of it as well as a blue color was different from the other lavenders that I had known in my homeland ,Extremadura (lavender stoechas) and in the mountains of Madrid in Rascafría and Provence (lavender angustifolia)
PORTUGAL : The events that occurred on Earth between 2019 and 2021 made me change course professionally, going from living in urban environments and working as an urban planner and environmental planner, and paying attention to the elderly, to moving to live in rural environments. I started by returning to the family farm and it is there that I tried to carry out an agro-urban project where I intended to provide a service to the community with therapeutic assistance with farm animals, horticultural therapy and therapy through lavender. It was a garden with more than 600 lavender plants that my mother and I had planted in a garden and that witnessed many personal processes prior to my departure from Almendralejo and my family members, a place closely linked to childhood memories. The project could not be carried out due to lack of collaboration with the administration even though the Catalan association Faada had intermediated, That is why when the first confinements were over I prepared to go to Obidos to undertake a life project in the agro-landscape. I was trying on a piece of land for which I gave a deposit, to materialize the project that could not be carried out on the family farm. In this case it was a land with hydro-agricultural protection in front of the wall around this beautiful city. To do this, I had to join the Portuguese College of Architects and present a project integrated into the landscape that was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Landscape. But unfortunately, a series of irregularities came to light in the pre-existing construction that was intended to be applied. Living near the sea in Portugal was very important. Searching for land in Spain to materialize what had not yet been able to be carried out despite the efforts, was the next step
SHOP : On my return to Spain, I began a process of getting to know the lands of the Iberian Peninsula for almost a year. I decided on a green land of the Pasiegos valleys of the north of Burgos and a red earth of the alcarria of Guadalajara, With the knowledge I gained about lavender varieties and the different places where it is grown, I started a business in my hometown, Almendralejo, in Extremadura. It lasted a short time as it was a family premises for sale ceded on the condition of leaving if a buyer left. That is what happened. I saw myself leaving my homeland on January 2, 2022 to do fieldwork in Toledo to open the store there with the intention of carrying out the Brihuega project. Living and working in Toledo was very enriching. It was the place where the business was most clearly defined in terms of specialisation in products of different varieties of lavender from the Mediterranean. My shop was located on Calle Plata, opposite the Museo de Correos. It was only 12 square meters, but in that small space many encounters took place where lavender, the agrolandscape, the history and spirituality of the city was the center. Having had periods of good fairs and markets in the north of Spain from the moment I bought the cabine in the Pasiegos valleys encouraged me to move to live in the north. Also the need to have a suitable place to live for myself and the sheeps that were still in Extremadura, and and the desire to be closer to the sea and the mountains and medium-sized cities such as Bilbao, Santander, etc. At first I planned to have a peasant life in the mountains and to do markets and fairs with my lavender products, but little by little there were convergences to give birth “Livendulo” in the old town of Bilbao, and find the opportunity to offer visitors and residents of the city a non-virtual lavender experience . I have been walking in the north for a year and a half . Livendulo day by day is polishing itself, with the help of the inspiration that is given to me by each person who enters this store, which is a great opportunity to meet , share and learn.
We continue walking in the midst of ” nature” , “health” and “art”
” A bluish spike pointing to the sky, leads us to look inside “
Wellcome to Livendulo
