- In recent years, the Berastegi City Council has launched different dynamics for local development, in cooperation with the citizens. In 2019 they created the brand "Berastegi, a favorite town", but did not want to remain in the brand, and now they have given continuity to the dynamics and have started concrete work in three areas: the culture of grazing and cheese, local products and the link to the local heritage. “When we started the project in 2019, we received the offer of anthropologist Josu Ozaita to conduct a study on local grazing, because she saw the potential,” explains Mayor Amaia Azkue Eizagirre. They accepted the offer and put their hands on it.
One of the objectives of the first line of work is Berastegi’s historical and current linkage with grazing and cheese. To do so, they have interviewed the current pastors of the village and also the elderly to gather their testimonies. “We started with the objective of documenting, but we’ve seen that the topic gives up a lot, and in the end, we’ve decided to pick up what’s in a book,” Azkue explains. With a view to the fall, the publication of this work is expected, which has already been carried out at the moment in the field and is in the process of correction with the collaboration of Ozaita and the Zura communication group. In addition to looking at the past, the book’s objective will be to pay attention to the current reality and encourage reflection around the future.
In Berastegi, the small model of grazing predominates, which is complementary in most cases. “In most cases it is a hobby, but as we have seen in the study, even though quantification is very difficult, it has a huge impact on the economy,” the mayor explains. In addition to the food provided by pastors to the population, they have also wished to attach importance to the work they do to keep the grasslands and landscapes in perfect condition. Once the book has been published, the next step will be to create the pastors' table. “It will be a group of pastors of the people, to decide what path we will take and what steps we will take in Berastegi.”
Local products and local heritage
Along with grazing, local products and the heritage of the people are other two lines of work that they have in common around local development. “The first job will be to meet and listen to local producers,” says Azkue. To start working around local products, you first need to know what is produced in the village, how and how much, and for now you are working on it. Once this data collection is carried out, a worksheet shall be drawn up. “We are also with the school’s dining room project, we have a place where we can channel it, but of course we have to analyze the possibilities we have before,” he added.
Finally, among the initiatives to enhance the heritage of the locality, three tours have been marked and approved in recent months, and it is intended to carry out cheese tertulias for the future: a world-cafe adaptation to create a reflection group on the heritage of the locality and launch a dynamic.