Joshua Parfitt
NO ONE understands more than the Spanish that potatoes, particularly patatas bravas, were made for sharing.
But Dutch resident Herman Sinnema, in Pedreguer, has this year donated 3,000kg of ‘solidarity potatoes’ to help 70 families in Javea struggling to pay their bills, according to La Marina Plaza.
The potatoes, enough for more than 15,000 portions of chips, are donated through the charity arm of the Nuestra Señora del Loreta church in Javea.
The carbohydrate-rich tubers are sold in the Sunday market outside the church in Javea port, with the proceeds going towards the school fees, food, transport, health and electricity bills of the town’s poorest families.
Sinnema, 73, also uses his 4,000m² plot of land to teach volunteers about organic farming.
Alongside potatoes, he also grows blood oranges, tangerines, strawberries, cabbages, broad beans, kidney beans, aubergines, onions and chili peppers.
Around 90% of all his harvest is given away to support charitable causes through the charity arm of the local church.
