Horses have been re-introduced to pull harrows and other cutting gear to keep down weeds and grasses – removing the need to spray between the vines with herbicides.
Elias Vellejos has four hectares of merlot vines and is one of the famers making the transition to organic cultivation.
Elias had grown vines before but lost them all in a disastrous flood which destroyed his vineyard about 25 years ago.
"After that I planted tobacco and maize. I still grow tobacco but when we started to work in the co-operative, I saw others were planting vines so I decided to do that as well.
"The expectation, when we started 10 years ago, was good but we have achieved a lot more than we expected.
"This is a family business. My daughter, Maria, and son-in-law, Luis, work with me," says Elias. "I have difficulty working now so they mostly take care of the vineyard. The idea is that they will take over one day.
"Before I started on the vineyard and fair trade, I had to sell the tobacco once a year and then try to survive for the rest of the year. With the vineyard, we are paid monthly so it has become easier for me."
For his daughter, Maria, the improvements to the vineyard mean a more secure future for her daughters, Maria (19), Noelia (15) and Tamara (7).
"I hope they achieve more than we have achieved so they can study," she says.
Thanks to the hard work of the whole family, there is now even enough for Elias to take his wife, Adriana, on a short holiday once a year.
"Even though I still have to be careful with my money to make it go round the year, now it is a lot easier for us," says Elias.
Around 65% of agricultural land in the Curico Valley is used for wine production. The remainder is used to grow fruit and olives.
The main use of the Fairtrade premium earned on the wine is to provide grants and scholarships to pay for university and school fees for the farmers' children.
