Regions-Originale: Farmer Maria Gapp

The Gapphof in the idyllic Reith is home to 16 cows and 19 young cattle, some rabbits and chickens – and to farmer and host Maria Gapp. "Isn't that a lot of work, all by yourself?" we ask Maria. "Yes," she laughs. "But I can manage!" Maria speaks with a sparkle in her eyes and a strong dialect. She is slim, fit – her actual age does not show. Maria is a woman who knows how to tackle challenges. When her husband passed away 13 years ago, she faced an immense challenge: the farm, the animals, the guest accommodations, the family – she now had to handle all of that on her own. But Maria has succeeded: the Gapphof is firmly in her hands.
Maria originally comes from Upper Austria, where she grew up on a farm herself. She has loved working on the farm since she was a child: "Even as a child, I always enjoyed going to the barn with my parents," she remembers.

Sometimes it would be nice if objects could speak. Because then the Gapphof would have many exciting stories to tell us. It actually has quite a bit of history: Already in the 12th century, the farms in the hamlet were mentioned in writing. Since 1634, it has belonged to the Gapp family and has been passed down from generation to generation. That makes 11 generations and over 380 years. A heavy legacy, considering how much the ancestral farm and its inhabitants must have experienced over all these years.
"Back then, inheriting was a bit different," Maria says. Instead of simply inheriting the farm, the young people had to buy it from their parents. The reason? There was no such thing as a pension back then. "But really stopping working on the farm is probably something you can never do!" Maria chuckles knowingly. Anyone who has learned to work hard from a young age will still do so in old age.

Many of us would complain about Maria's workload: Most of the time, she works more than 16 hours a day. She gets up at 4 AM because that's when the cows need to be milked. In summer, this marks the beginning of a long day: Fieldwork, gardening, and haymaking need to be done, the stable and guests are waiting, firewood needs to be prepared, fences need to be mended, cows need to be driven to pasture and brought back to the barn, cheese and all the other products need to be made, everything needs to be cleaned – and so much more. The work never runs out. By 9 or 10 PM, the workday is over in summer. "Then you just collapse into bed!".

And then the weather likes to play tricks on her: On warm days, she turns on the hay ventilation to dry the hay. But if she hears the thunder rolling in the middle of the night, she has to quickly get up and climb onto the roof to replace the roof tiles. So that all the hay doesn't get wet and all her hard work isn't in vain.

Winter is a bit more relaxed – if you can say that. The day ends "early" at 7 PM. Sometimes, Maria has time to go skiing and enjoys it all the more.

Over the decades and centuries, quite a bit has changed at the farm: "In the past, there were farmhands and maids. Today, there are only very few people at the farm because it is no longer sustainable to pay someone," Maria explains. "You have to be glad that family members help out." Fortunately, Maria's son has a profession that allows him to take time off on short notice to assist her with field work in the summer. The farms in Tyrol have always been small-scale. "In the very past, one could make a living from it." Unfortunately, that's no longer the case today. High maintenance costs – for example, for machinery – force many farmers to have a secondary occupation.
That’s why the working day of many farmers in Tyrol is a tough one. At 5 o'clock in the morning, it’s off to the barn to take care of the livestock before heading to the office, and in the evening, the farm awaits again.

Maria has subsequently decided to offer guests from all over the world a vacation on the farm.
"Why do all this when it's so much work?", we ask her. The answer is very simple for the farmer: "You are much more rooted in everything because you have to work hard for it. This way, you have a close connection to what you have created all your life and what has been passed down from generation to generation.

One aspect that Maria particularly loves about her work is experiencing life through the seasons: "You experience the seasons, and because of that, you can perceive them more profoundly!", she exclaims. She feels the change of seasons as intensely as hardly anyone else. "In spring, you already look forward to what will bloom and grow first; you see everything turning green. It goes from one to the other – you can enjoy everything much more consciously!"
It is also very typical for her the difference between the different places in the region during the various seasons – especially in spring. "In Leutasch, you can still go cross-country skiing in March and April, while in Reith, we are already finished with fertilizing the fields."
But you are also dependent on the weather: "You have your workshop outside in the open air!", she knows. The weather extremes nowadays often make it difficult for her. One must learn to adapt and subordinate to the weather, which applies not only to the fieldwork.
She also enjoys working with animals very much: "Every cow grows close to your heart!", she knows. "Some you prefer more, some less, but I have often shed a tear when one had to leave! But that's just how life is on the farm: You can't keep them all."

From the milk of her cows, Maria makes her own products: She prepares yogurt, fresh cheese, curd, and a "herb Rollino" several times a week. She not only has her own products available for her house guests but also supplies hotels and businesses in the region. In summer, hikers can even refresh themselves with cheese from Gapphof at the Nördlinger Hut.
"Yes, that is indeed a very labor-intensive job," admits Maria. "But I enjoy it!" And it is important to her that businesses and supermarkets offer regional products and, above all, support the local farmers. "Some businesses in our area show that it is possible!" It is indeed possible to offer many products from small farmers and thus support local agriculture. Maria hopes that this awareness will be further developed and that in the future more hotels and supermarkets will offer farmers' products.