The land for doing business or for a dignified food and life?
- The experiences of Arbona, Senpere and Cambo have been an example of this in recent years. But in Hego Euskal Herria there are also similar cases; in Uribe Kosta, for example, the Otxantegi Herri Lurra project in Berango resists the urban projects that they want to carry out in this plot. “Urban planning is an obstacle to agriculture, and this is just one example,” he said. Since last year, the communal garden has been in operation in the lands of Otxantegi. Once again life vs. capital.
A group of young people from Berango began the project with the objective of responding to the current eco-social crisis, with three pillars: promoting food sovereignty, claiming the right to housing and building alternative models of leisure. “In food sovereignty, last year we started building the communal garden on the grounds of Otxantegi, because we believe that in the current crisis the primary sector must be strengthened,” they explain. Eucalyptus and pine plantations and urban plans designed for large companies and large landowners hinder the implementation of agricultural projects in Uribe Kosta, so it was decided to recover the land and implement gardens and other initiatives in them.
“In this environment the primary sector was strong at one time, but today there is not too much relationship, so our intention is to bring the vegetable garden closer to the kaletarras,” they say. By asanbalas they decide what and how much they sow and perform work in auzolan. “We spread the harvest among all members and made donations.” A dozen people work hard in the orchard, but in some auzolans, 30 people have been gathered.
Establishing relationships and network
The Aguirre Lipperheide family is most of the land surrounding the tower house of Otxantegi. They own the seventh part of Berango's surface, and project members have denounced that they want to earn 30 million with the urbanization project. “They have been with this project for about 20 years and the Berango City Hall gives them a favorable deal,” they reported. From Otxantegi Public Land it is said that although the City Hall sells the urban plan as a plan to guarantee the right to housing, little is really being done to solve the housing problem. “We claim the right to housing, but we are against this urban model,” they say.
On the other hand, they claim that Otxantegi is an important space of leisure and citizen network. “We have made initiatives to recover the Basque country of the region, book presentations, alternative parties…”. On 23 December, for example, the winter solstice will be held. At the end of November a resistance was organised which prevented them from being evicted, but their colleagues are looking with concern at the future of the project. “We are clear that we will continue with resistance,” they say.
