“I started planting olive trees in 2010, in Artajona, but I got really stuck in 2016.” Except for the olive tree, Ruiz de Galarreta performs all production in the lands of the Bakedano family. “I am alone in the project, but I get a lot of support from my partner,” she said.
Ruiz de Galarreta had agricultural studies and after several years working in an agricultural union he felt eager to start his project. In total, Navarro cultivates about 12 hectares of land. “I work on a small scale and to bring added value to the products I make a direct sale.” It takes out most of its production in nearby markets, consumption and direct selling groups, but it also participates in some peasant networks such as Hazialde and Ekoalde, and it is also related to the loaves of Biolur in Gipuzkoa. For its processing, the olive leads to the mill of La Casa del Oil de Cascante, which has not much chance of doing it in organic in Navarra, and with the apples squeezes in a small area of transformation of Lodosa.
Brew beer with barley and hops of its own production in the small factory it has built in Bakedano. “My goal was to close the entire cycle, that was my bet.” He started working on brewing in 2019 and says he is still studying, but he has already liked it. “Two years ago we started doing guided tours. Inside the factory and on the grounds, we went out to see the hops, I explain the brewing process…”.
Although it is a small-scale production, or perhaps for that reason, Ruiz de Galarreta was clear from the beginning about the importance of diversification, and also of production in the ecological model: “From the beginning I was clear that I want to do things well”.