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INPRIMATU
Caserío Garroko
Project driven by the village house, reference in biological culture
  • In 2011, the biological cultivation project began at the Garro de Lekorne Farm: “The land belonged to the Consistorial House and the project was created by the elected offices of the same and the Public College,” explains Argitxu Ithourria. They started with the objective of promoting biological cultivation, and about 85 local and nearby partners are part of the cooperative that manages the estate. On a daily basis, five people work. They produce and sell vegetables close to families, canteens and restaurants. By agreement with the City Hall, farmers can use the land of the town.
Garazi Zabaleta 2024ko otsailaren 19a

Currently they produce about 40 horticulturists in the Garro Farm, in the outdoor gardens and in the greenhouses: “Greenhouses are not, however, greenhouses,” the manufacturer said. Exploitation of 9 hectares of land in a biological model. In addition to the orchard, in 2018 a fruit area was planted on the farm, mainly apples and pears. And in 2020, they began to produce small plants for the garden in order to develop autonomy. “They used to make us a plant producer here, but that was over, and we thought we started making our typical plants.” Besides for them, currently they also produce plants for another six nearby farms.

Direct selling and automatic fruit and vegetable machinery

The members of the Garro Farm sell their vegetables directly through fairs and baskets, but also through the automatic distribution apparatus of vegetables that are in operation on the farm itself. “In France this form of sale is highly developed: it is a machine with boxes and the consumer chooses the vegetables he wants to buy, pays by card and opens the boxes,” he explains. On the other hand, through the Iparlab distribution project, created a couple of years ago, they also sell the product to canteens and other dining rooms.

Looking back, Ithourria has positively valued the project: “Here too there are people who are going to buy to overcome, but in general the habit of buying the native and the biological is embedded in people’s lives.” But as far as the farming profession is concerned, Ithourra is concerned: “Our profession is becoming more and more difficult: the climate is changing, there are more diseases, there are more constipation… To produce the same thing today, more money is needed, and I believe that cultivation will become more technical.”