Katharina: jewelry and freedom
Katerina is German, she has lived here for 30 years, alone in her finca, with her little dog Lili.
She arrived here with her then-young daughter (she is now 24 and studies biology in London).
Katerina sells jewelry and natural stones first in a store in Los Llanos (one of the 2 main towns of the island) and since covid, she has restarted her business and sells in the markets or at the invitation of friends who own restaurants or guest rooms.
Katerina feels freer this way: no more hours, no charges to pay.
She would like to sell her finca which requires more and more work to buy a small house that she would rent and live in a van.
Ambra: travels and explorations
Today, at the market, I met… AMBRA
An Italian woman in her forties who has lived on the island of La Palma for 13 years. I chatted with her and she told me a part of her life, here is the summary.
And she agreed for me to share it with you!
She is originally from Milan and is the eldest of three children.
She was born when her parents were 18 years old and developed a relationship with them that was more of friendship and complicity.
She always felt out of step with her friends who loved fashion and appearances. At the age of 18, she left her family to travel the world for 15 years.
She lived in Hawaii, Australia, traveled extensively in Southeast Asia.
She has now lived here for 13 years and in the summer she goes to Corsica to work in an ecological campsite to guide campers.
Ambra speaks Spanish, Italian, French and English.
She lives with her partner, originally from the island, in a finca (a sort of farm-plantation). During the covid episode, they found themselves with stocks of avocados that they could no longer sell.
She then drew inspiration from what she had learned in Australia: creating her own natural cosmetics. Now, she extracts the oil from avocados to make creams, balms and soaps which she sells, among other things, on the markets.
She and her partner plan to build an ecological house.
A Belgian-French or Franco-Belgian also resident on the island is helping them there.
Sania: Textiles and energy!
Sania is Slovenian and sells textile items in markets:
- Scarves
- Hats and berets
- Favorites
- Crazy accessories: feather earrings, metal necklaces that are modular and look like snakes.
I didn’t get a chance to talk much with her because she was busy setting up her booth. But I was amazed by his energy and determination.
She travels the roads and markets in her van with her 5-year-old daughter.
In the summer, she migrates to another island: Ibiza where she spends her season.
She told me that billionaires who come to spend their vacation sometimes spend 3,000 euros on the market.
Having a credit card terminal is essential.