From seeing the tree to seeing the forest

When organizing the Festival of Eskola Txikiak, the fathers and mothers of Larraul received the note from the Coordinator of Eskola Txikiak: in the reusable plastic forests that symbolize the festivities, the logo of the Coordinator will be placed, not that of the annual festival, so that those who do not use this year will take advantage of it at the festival of the following year. “And how are we going to organize the rest to make it as sensible as possible?” the question arose. We were already in March, we woke up a little later for fear of starting to focus on the environment and patches, we headed to Kutxa-Ekogunea in search of a more general approach. They immediately contacted us with “Ekolider”.

Ekoliders, collaborative ideas and advice

Ekoleadership rak is a Kutxa program to train young people in the development of sustainability projects. Each of the four Ekolider groups works their project and receive training and mentoring in Kutxa-Ekogunea. Dafne Mazo, Zuhaitz Akizu, Mikel Uranga and Nerea Zenigaonaindia contacted us and committed to adapting their project to the Small Schools Festival. We met in Larraul with Dafne Mazo to learn about the place and the explanations of the festival. Since that meeting we have worked in the email chain on the improvements that will be made to the party. From Ekolider we have been offered a more comprehensive vision, a barrage of ideas and concrete contacts, and the Larraul Parents Association has decided what to apply by evaluating the positive and thin aspects of each improvement. Below are some of the possible questions and answers that arise in the organization of this kind of party.

Consume the local, the base of the party

It was the first base we set when we started organizing. We bought everything we could from citizens' companies: t-shirts, meat, posters and triptics, design, crafts material, pastries... When it comes to organizing popular food, we went to Euskolabel, who shares this base, and to Kaiku to refute milk. In addition to staying in the village the richness generated by the festival, it was clear that we will not get the support and service that the citizenship offers in return (contributions for the party, commitment to work that Sunday and possibility to ask for more gender that same day, for example).

Hospitality improvements

Thanks to the collaboration of Kutxa-Ekogunea, the tablecloths, dishes, forests and decks that are installed in popular food will be “real”, not plastic. Our hospitality service rents and takes care of carrying and cleaning dirty packaging. In addition, instead of using foil, it has been decided to collect the snacks in paper covers. The coffee cups that will be served in the txosnas will be paper, and we are thinking that the spoons will be wood. In order to reduce the glass, canyoning beer will be extracted, but in the case of soft drinks this is not feasible, since once the barrel is opened it is paid in full and there is often a lot left over. For this reason, it has been decided to serve soft drinks from a large plastic bottle. To reduce plastic, instead of selling a lot of water bottles, it has been thought of signaling the people's sources and boosting tap water consumption. We have not dared not to sell bottled water because everyone has their habits and their fears with drinking water. Cider bottles will return to the cider and the bottles of txakoli and wine will be picked up in the bar (at the party consumer tickets will be returned in exchange for empty bottles).

Organic will be cured in the local composting box

Large quantities of waste (dishes and the rest are genuine) are not expected in popular food, especially plastic and organic. As reservations are closed beforehand, we will be able to calculate exactly the food so that it does not exceed too much. All waste shall be collected selectively and organic shall be cured in the composting box of the village orchard. We have met with the Tolosaldea Commonwealth to agree on the organization of the garbage throughout the day, and they have told us that they do not have containers to collect the organic and that if we collect them they do not do so separately either. We have participated in the collection of organic matter and in the preparation of a fertilizer in the compost of the locality.

Transport proposals

There are many villages that take out the bus for the Festival of Small Schools. In order to thank them for their efforts, we wanted to give them preferential treatment: the bus will go to the town when they go to the party and leave the bus in the nearest car park. The road to Larraul will be cut and buses will be installed from the parks of the industrial estate of Asteasu and from the train station and buses of Villabona-Zizurkil. The use of electric buses has been studied, but no hire company has been found. The ad has been hung on the car sharing website blablacar.es. And from the crossing of Asteasu we will order the path that comes; if it is good time, people may prefer to go up or down on foot (it is 2 kilometers) rather than go up the bus.

Local toilets and if available

Instead of bringing plastic booths, we have realized that there are many public toilets in the village and we have preferred to signal them well (next to Pediment 2, at Education School 8, at School 2 small and 1 large). We have received information from dry organic baths (see Net Gertu number 2215) and are considering installing a pilot experience.

Workshops and decoration with recycled materials

To decorate the facade of the Cultural Center where the school is located, the students have made a canvas in the school, and among them they will make a colorful mosaic. These canvases have been made with plugs, corks, caramel covers and fabrics that have been taken from home. On the same day, workshops will be held for children between the ages of 8 and 12 (organized by Ekolider, with the help of the Ekometak group in which the educational project is being worked, and by the parents of Larraul): brooches, keychains, portfolios... In the court of the workshops, the placement of slides that generate energy for the creation of music and atmosphere is being studied.

Communication, as imprinted as possible

We have measured the circulation of the leaflets and reduced that of the posters because we have seen that their effectiveness is questioned (it is a loyal client that picks up this festival and receives news from the school and the media). All the letters and invitations have been made by email to avoid having to print. Ekolider has developed a user guide to make the party more sustainable and we have hung it on the website of the Fiesta.

T-shirts for another case

By the time we approached the subject, we had already pulled out the t-shirt and the colorful jersey. Ekolider has warned us of the importance of its composition (being cotton, using organic inks...).