- Alavés Txema Pérez de Arriba studied engineering and for many years worked in the automotive world. Again and again, though, he thought: “Start a life and work project in rural areas,” he says. In the town of Delika, on the side of Amurrio, the parents of their partner had the marriage and when their retirement coincided with the dismissal of Pérez de Arriba, a new opportunity opened. “In the farmhouse they had vineyards and we started to work for them to move to the ecological model. At first, the idea of completing the production of txakoli was to start producing shiitake,” he says. A production that was born as a “complement” with the time that would become the main project.
The initial idea of the producer was to start making vegetable baskets together with viticulture, but in several organic farming courses he realized that with the idea of starting this activity there were many people who could have more opportunities. “We already had the habit of eating mushrooms and we also ate shiitake. This is how we came to produce,” he recalls. Many said at the beginning that Euskal Herria was not the ideal place to produce shiitake, but as he was convinced, he started doing tests, starting with a few kilos, but gradually, increasingly.
After several problems with the vineyard, eight years ago they decided to install it completely in the production of shiitake. “At the moment I am the only member of the project, but the partner also helps me a lot, and when we are with a lot of work we also hire another worker,” he explains. A special room was built for the production of shiitake, where there was a good point of humidity. He works with an eco-label. “It was clear from the beginning that it did not use preservatives or similar. We pick them up and distribute them quickly, so we don’t need them,” he adds. It produces about 350 kilos a month for sale in ecological stores nearby and in hospitality.
Need to bring rooting from the outside
“Getting a good substrate for the growth of the fungus is the most difficult part of the process, and to do so in organic you also need certified woods,” explains the manufacturer. Because of the difficulties in gaining traction, they are now coming from the Catalan Pyrenees. “There they have a nice project, they work on the wood that they take from the native forests for four months and then send it to us.” Then, the mushrooms grow in the facilities of the Delika farmhouse in seven days.
The shiitake is sold for the moment in fresh, confectionery, canned and cream in Delika2. But their intention is to offer them in other ways, like dehydrated or dust. The producer is satisfied with the response of these years. “Gradually we are creating the shiitake culture,” he says.