The Lur eta Murmur radio programme which is broadcast every two weeks at Radio 97 Bilbao is one of the projects of the Bizilur association. It addresses issues related to food sovereignty and grass-roots movements. “In 2015 we made the first issue, but the origin of the project was closed in 2013 at Tas-Tas Irratia in the Lekil lum program that made Bizilur – good land, in the languages of the Tzotziles and the Celtzales. It was the first seed of what we do today,” explains Miren Saiz of the Alzugaray association. Along with the jump to Radio 97, another change occurred: the Basque issue was chosen, although throughout the program several interviews are held in Spanish.
The Bizilur Partnership for Peoples Cooperation and Development puts life and sustainability at the centre, and food at the centre of life. The aim of the programme is to publicise the work in progress and to discuss alternatives to food sovereignty: “From the popular movement, from associations, from municipalities and other areas, we share the initiatives that emerge in favor of food sovereignty.” To the extent that these projects and projects are models, it is important to disseminate them and make them known, according to the drivers.
Among the initiatives presented, those created in the Basque Country predominate, but there are also many that look beyond our borders. “The lines of feminism and internationalism are very important in the daily work of Bizilur, and in the radio program we also try to balance it and unite it,” says Saiz. Among the radio programs of recent months, interviewing a member of the Chilean peasant movement has echoed the struggle that has taken place in Chile during the last year. On 25 November, a member of La Vía Campesina and the Labrego Galego Union were invited during the campaign that was launched. In addition to the projects created, Lur and Murmur publish research and mobilizations on agriculture and food.
The program can be heard live every two weeks on 97 radios in Bilbao, on Thursdays at 15:00 noon, but it can also be heard on the Arrosa Network and broadcast on several local broadcasters. Creators are pleased with the trajectory and the response of these years, as although it is difficult to measure the number of listeners, they perceive that the different agents of the popular movement are increasingly in contact with them.
The last session of this year was 99, so the hundredth will be held in January: “At first we thought we would make a party, but otherwise we would have to celebrate it,” says Saiz. In any case, congratulations to the members of Bizilur and Lur and Murmur, and they will continue to put microphones on the murmurs of the earth for many more years.