Enthusiasm is infectious – A visit to Oberniederhof farm
From luxury goods to a totally different type of luxury. That is to say, to luxury as defined by Petra Tappeiner from Oberniederhof farm: “To feel free, to feel healthy and well and to be able to do whatever it is you love doing.” For Petra, true quality of life means being close to whatever it is you need to live, day for day, that is to say: to be able to be self-sufficient. Oberniederhof farm is an Ark farm and an organic farm. The animals are clearly doing well, you imagine that you can see that content expression in the faces of the cows. They can decide whether they want to be in the stable or outside, they take turns with the massage brush - “They have their own hierarchy, there’s no pushing! - and they proudly show off their horns. “The horns are here to stay. A cow is beautiful just as it was created. Horns are not a problem if cows have enough space.”
Dappled hens cluck at us as we wander around the farm. We have never seen hens like this before. “They are really special”, said Petra. “Many people are aware of the fact that some wild plants and wild animals are threatened with extinction but only a few people know that it’s the same in agriculture with arable crops and domestic animals. We have made it our job to incorporate traditional breeds into the business concept.”
What the pigs, hens, cows and sheep give as thank-you for the loving care they receive is processed. Petra leads us into the cheese store, near the small farm store, and shows us her loaves of bread and small cakes. “This tastes really spicy, just like an Alpine meadow.” She stands there proudly in her blue South Tyrolean apron and we ask ourselves what possessed someone from Berlin (we can still detect a little of her lovely German) years ago to settle in rustic Senales Valley, in the middle of the high mountains. “The same thing that encourages me to do my work here on the farm every day: Love.”
We feel a bit like we’re in a “heimat” film. The setting is perfect, in any case. A wide, deep green meadow, set against tree-covered slopes. Over there, the glacier is resplendent against the cloudy horizon, over here the dark timber of the stables and barn sets the contrast. “The farm is 700 years old. It has already been used as a court, a prison and a little pub.” There are also holiday homes here. Could a holiday down on the farm be any more genuine than here? Petra’s enthusiasm is infectious, no doubt infecting every single one of her farm guests.