Bringing idle land back to work
We are a community land-farming cooperative. Owners with unfarmed land pool it, and farmers work it together. Everyone wins: the land, the people who contribute it and the people who farm it.
About us
Cooperativa de la Terra de Llevant is the farming arm of Cooperativa d'Artà 1979. It is a separate legal entity with its own tax ID, devoted to the land: bringing abandoned farms in eastern Mallorca back into a living, professional agricultural holding.
The two cooperatives work together: they share premises and services, and the produce of the land reaches the shop and the table of Cooperativa d'Artà.
What we believe
«We do not inherit the land from our grandparents: we borrow it from those who come after us.»
Diversity
A field growing only one thing is a fragile field. We want terraces full of life, crop rotation, old trees and livestock grazing between crops. The more diversity, the better the land copes with drought, pests and change.
Native breeds
Mallorcan cattle, the black Mallorcan pig, Mallorcan goats, donkeys and horses: breeds shaped by this island, its droughts and its pastures. Raising them keeps a living heritage that disappears if no one cares for it.
Mallorcan cattle
Hardy, frugal and at home in the scrubland. The vaca mallorquina is an endangered breed that grazes where no machine can reach, clears the undergrowth and helps prevent wildfires. In 2026 we already have 15 cows grazing eastern Mallorca: every grazing cow means a safer forest and a living landscape.
Bees
No bees, no almonds, no fruit, no flowers. We look after 60 bee colonies (2026) and the nectar-rich scrubland flora, and the Ermita's honey is the best gauge of the health of our surroundings.
Organic farming
Living soil before quick harvests. Compost, cover crops, fewer chemicals and more observation: farming as our grandparents did, with today's knowledge.
Local varieties
Almond, carob, fig and olive trees and vegetables selected over generations by local farmers. Growing them preserves flavours, and seeds ready for the climate to come.
Our members
A cooperative is its people. Every member who brings land or their hands makes everything else possible. We decide together, in the general assembly, and what we earn stays in the town.
Young people
No young people, no farming. The land bank opens the door to those who want to start without land or capital: land, tools and a community to support them in their first years.
Nature
We live beside Llevant Natural Park. Grazing, keeping up dry-stone walls and farming is also caring for the landscape, the water and the wildlife around us.
Local produce
Every local purchase keeps a farm, a farmer and a landscape alive. From farm to table, with no middlemen and with real names behind it.
We sow today what the next generation will harvest.
What we do
Our corporate purpose (article 4 of the bylaws) includes, among other activities:
One unified farm
We pool land and equipment and farm them as a single holding.
Production and sales
We grow farm produce, process it where needed and sell it, including direct sales.
Better farming
Shared techniques, machinery and agricultural works, and upkeep of rural infrastructure.
Renewable energy
Self-consumption and energy-community projects linked to farming.
Services and training
Technical advice, training and grounds maintenance for members and third parties.
Rural life
Agritourism and nature activities compatible with farming and the environment.
The land bank, made simple
Picture two neighbours. Maria owns an almond orchard she can no longer look after. Joan is a farmer who wants to work but has no land. In the cooperative, Maria brings the land and Joan brings the work. The cooperative organises everything and each of them gets their share.
Contributing member
- Grants the cooperative the use and enjoyment of the land. Ownership stays with them.
- Receives a yearly rent: the usual rent in the area for similar land, or the amount agreed with the board.
- If there is a profit, receives a share in proportion to the value of the land contributed.
- Can also work in the cooperative and be a contributing and working member at the same time.
Working member
- Works on the farm even without owning land.
- Receives monthly advance payments on account of results (not a company salary, but it works in a similar way).
- If there is a profit, receives a share according to the work done, valued at the collective-agreement wage.
- Is registered with Social Security, as the law requires.
How it works, step by step
Application
You apply in writing to the board, which has up to three months to reply.
Valuation
Land is valued at average local prices. If there is no agreement, an independent expert can do it.
Capital
Each member makes a compulsory capital contribution: one amount for land contributors, another for working members.
Farming together
The cooperative farms all plots as one holding and sells the produce.
Sharing out
Rents and advances during the year; at year end, profits are shared out by land and by work.
Key rules
minimum membership for both land contributors and working members (bylaws, art. 8), renewed for 5-year periods unless you give 6 months' notice.
no one may contribute the usufruct of land worth more than one third of the whole holding (law, art. 137.6), so no single member controls the cooperative.
if farming the contributed land makes a loss, working members are guaranteed at least 70 % of the local pay for the same work, and never less than the minimum wage (law, art. 138.5).
hired labour may not exceed 30 % of the yearly hours worked by working members (law, art. 116).
Sources: Balearic Law 5/2023 of 8 March on cooperative societies (arts. 135–138) and the cooperative's bylaws. This summary is for guidance only and does not replace the legal text or the bylaws.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my land?
No. You grant its use, not its ownership. If you leave, the land is yours again; the cooperative may only keep using it until the end of the minimum period, paying you the average local rent.
What if the land is leased?
A tenant can also contribute it for the remaining term of the lease, and this is not grounds for eviction.
Who decides on works on my land?
The board, which proposes compensation and hears you first. Major works and improvements need the votes of members representing at least half of the contributed assets.
Can I pass it on to my children?
If you leave for a justified reason, your contributions can be transferred to your spouse, parents or children who are members, or who join within three months.
Do I need to be a farmer?
Not to contribute land. To be a working member, you work on the farm. Many people are both.
From field to table
The land we farm ends up in the shop, the food trucks and the kitchen of Cooperativa d'Artà. Here is the whole journey.
Farms and production
Cattle in the woods
15 cows (2026) grazing the scrubland and trails of eastern Mallorca with GPS collars: they clear the undergrowth, keep firebreaks open and return organic matter to the soil.
Bees
60 bee colonies (2026) among olive groves, scrubland and almond orchards: they pollinate the crops, give us honey and tell us how healthy the surrounding nature is.
Ermita de Betlem
About 6 ha of the old Binialgorfa farmstead (olives, figs and almonds), under an agreement with the Diocese of Mallorca: restoring dry-stone terraces, a kitchen garden, vines and medicinal plants.
Sa Duaia
Public land near Cala Mesquida that we manage and look after. Our local-produce food truck is there too.
Can Canals
Public land we manage to bring back into production and keep its landscape alive.
In the Cooperativa d'Artà shop and online shop you will also find our member producers, such as Ses Terres (organic jams, spreads and oil) and Na Franca (Artà wines).
Where to buy
Cooperative shop
C/ de les Parres, 82 · Artà
Mon–Fri 8:30–14:00 & 16:00–19:00 · Sat 8:30–13:30
Seasonal Mallorcan fruit and vegetables, local produce and farm supplies.
More information →
s'Ermita food truck
Ermita de Betlem · Llevant Natural Park
Daily 10:00–17:30
A stop on the trail for hikers and cyclists. Closed in bad weather or strong wind.
More information →Sa Duaia food truck
Camí de Cala Mitjana · Cala Mesquida
Daily 10:00–17:30
A viewpoint with local produce, from farm to table. Closed in bad weather or strong wind.
More information →Online shop
cooperativaarta.com/tenda
Delivery across Spain
Local, fresh, seasonal produce in one click.
More information →Food
Sa Bàscula · Artà
The cooperative's restaurant: home-made cooking with local produce, native breeds and full traceability. Mon, Tue, Fri, Sat & Sun 13:30–21:30 (closed Wed & Thu).
Experiences at Ermita de Betlem
Tasting menu paired with local wines, with the hermitage's own olive oil and honey, in the middle of Llevant Natural Park. Booking required.
The landscape
Eastern Mallorca: mountains, dry-stone terraces, olive groves and the sea beyond.
For public bodies
This website identifies Cooperativa de la Terra de Llevant as a separate entity for calls, grants and public procurement. To request documents (bylaws, certificates, accounts), please write to us.
Company details
| Name | Cooperativa de la Terra de Llevant, S. Coop. |
|---|---|
| Type | Community land-farming cooperative society |
| Tax ID (CIF) | F56905425 |
| Balearic Cooperatives Register | 07BA 724 |
| Registered office | C/ de les Parres, 82 · 07570 Artà (Mallorca, Illes Balears) |
| oficina@cooperativallevant.com |
The cooperative family
Llevant is the land; Cooperativa d'Artà is the shop and the kitchen. Discover them.
Cooperativa d'Artà →
The town's farming cooperative since 1979.
Online shop →
Produce from our land delivered across Spain.
Food · Sa Bàscula →
The restaurant: from farm to table.
ADS Península de Llevant →
Shared animal health for the herds of eastern Mallorca.
Els Pics d'Artà →
Cycling, running, hiking and riding club: climb the peaks, taste the land.
Get in touch
Do you have idle farmland, or want to farm in eastern Mallorca? Write to us and we will explain how to join the land bank.
Email the cooperativeoficina@cooperativallevant.com