Urtzi Ugalde is responsible for marketing a beer brand. It's not just another piece of the gigantic multinational, it's a partner of the cooperative they've created with six other people. Its product is being produced on the basis of horizontality and food sovereignty: Boga beer.

Four years ago, they started brewing. These first steps were taken in the gaztetxe Kukutza of Bilbao, driven by the hobby and desire to produce with its own means. The capacity at their disposal was then 50 litres per square metre. “We put it for sale at some parties and bars, we drank it among friends and we think it was generally well received. Over the years we have brought together experience, ideas and effort, and that is the fruit of today’s Boga cooperative.”

Now, however, the Mungia plant has a production capacity of between two thousand and four thousand liters. Using PhD in chemical engineering and environmental science specialists in the group, they have built the plant by their own means and with their own design. “It has been a huge challenge, but we have achieved it with enthusiasm and a lot of work.”

The beer they produce in the country is not the same as the beer produced by the multinationals. They do so by giving priority and naturally to the raw materials of the Basque Country, without pasteurization or additives that may be harmful. According to Urtzi Ugalde, “compared to industrial beers, this gives the consumer a taste and a differentiating body.”

Cooperative, the most fair and effective

It has been clear from the outset that they had to be cooperatives, because it gave them legal tools to create a more democratic project. “After all, we workers are responsible for the management of the company. This model is the most fair for workers and the most effective for the project.”

There are seven partners: three workers and four collaborators. Day-to-day decisions are taken by a council made up of three working people, but to deal with more important issues an assembly is made open to all.

Crowdfunding

The implementation of the Mungia plant has required considerable investment, both in terms of work and in terms of money. To cope with it, they have received financial support from more than a hundred neighbours, hotel owners, associations and comparisons, through joint guarantees. “This network of bogists is the real treasure of the cooperative.” They have also benefited from the credit granted by the financial cooperative Koop57.

They have managed to bring the Boga yellow beer to ten bars and shops in Bizkaia. They also participate in popular festivities and cultural initiatives from many corners of the Basque Country, which will gradually expand to more places. “Our goal is to double the number of shops with the fall.”