Etxauzia Castle has several centuries of history. Bertrand Etxautz (1599-1617) was a noble of Baigorri, bishop of Baiona and Henri IV. He was a man close to the king. Then the property has changed: In the 19th century, the owner of the Castle of the Hendaya Abbey, Antoine d’Abbadie d’Trawl, bought it for his brother Jean Charles d’Abbadie. In the last century, his nephew Henri d’Abbadie d’Land (1897-1968) became a filmmaker. Known as “Harry” d’Abbadie, he was director and film actor in Hollywood, with Charles Chaplin: “Chaplin arrived three times in Baigorri, at the peak of popularity in the city halls in Etxauzia. There are pictures of him in the castle. Harry acted as a Basque in Hollywood. He was a high-level filmmaker, but he is very unknown to the Basques. He’s buried in Baigorri,” says Ion Ansa. II. During the World War, the German Nazis stayed in Etxauzia. After Harry's death, there was a pretty dark time for the castle.

The current owner of the house is Ajit Asrani, an American of Pakistani origin who has been arrested. He lives in Miami. In France there is a large market around castles, so the project drivers want to recover money for the people of Etxauzia. Negotiations with the owner are taking place on that basis.

National Citizens' Project

While the objective is the acquisition of the castle, it is not the only objective, but the essence of the project. Although the cost of the castle is considerable, the promoters of the initiative do not want to “institutionalize” the project: “It’s not just about buying a castle, even if it’s a nice fantasy. The castle is a lever to develop the project behind it,” says his interlocutor.

They want Etxauzia to be a workshop association that pursues the development of the region and its environment through collaboration and solidarity between companies. The interior of Iparralde has its peculiarities: it has preserved the Basque country, compared to the coast and the city; it has developed in recent years a characteristic character of economic cultivation; it has been a territory of emigration; and today, unfortunately, it is. Young people have to leave. From generation to generation, however, thanks to the popular initiative, including the Basaizea Association, Baigorri’s neighbours have maintained their Basque identity. When they heard that the current owners wanted to sell Etxauzia, what better than encouraging the desire for the project! Baigorri's are brave.

The project is being organized around the national idea, that is, taking into account the whole of the Basque Country. Culture is a sign of identity, but actors say that the economy has to be a motor. They intend to make it a meeting point for companies organized as a resource centre. It is a network dynamic that works on unitary communication and the defense of collective rights. A training centre for citizens has been set up. Groups working on issues of economy, heritage and history are already under way.

Aware that the work of the community must be sustainable, the project is planned in two phases: Management phase until the acquisition of the apple and its subsequent acquisition. They have walked above Garazi and Baztan and now “after placing the project in the region, we want to explain well the idea of a national vision to move forward. The community throughout the Basque Country must have a place in the project. Being a beautiful castle has to attract people through the motto ‘because we were’, but to remain, we have to inform people of the necessary means.” The project starts from the idea that the motto “a Basque one euro” has been a great benefit of EUR 100,000. Now, after a phase of reflection, they move on to a new one. It is a project in which several new employees work more professionally.

Benefits of community members

Step by step, the first has been to create a new web: etxauzia.eus. It is the same as at first, but now the section offers more equipped: Work is being done in Economics, Diaspora, Culture and History. The benefits of the project are well explained to community members, including details of the new fundraising campaign: “In the first campaign, 2,000 people gathered in the project, we now want to expand that figure as much as possible. To do this, we want people to feel part of the project, it is not about ‘give me money and goodbye’. We want the donor to be part of the project.” The castle shall be managed by the Management Board. As a non-profit association that benefits from tax deregulation. In the words of Ion Ansa, “decisions are made in a general and comprehensive assembly through statutes, the castle and the project are already owned by the Basque community”.

Cooperation agreements are being concluded. There are few associations or initiatives that have surrounded them: Other projects such as Albaola, Labrit, Olatukoop, Udalbiltza, Hendaiako Abadia Gaztelua, Eusko Ikaskuntza, UPV, Errigora, San Agustin, Lekuona and others have supported Etxauzia and support for collaboration. Tabakalera de Donostia-San Sebastian has been the chosen place to present the details of the project. This April they will do the same in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Bilbao and Pamplona. On 30 June, the association will make known the amount of the collection and the concrete project to be carried out. According to the head of communication, “it is time to go beyond the admiration of the Baigorri region and the pastor of Urepel”. In his words, the main projects of Euskal Herria are in the South, many of them in the CAV, where they work the most. The Basque Commonwealth has just been born in Iparralde, although there is a great deal here. There is still the most empty relationship between the two parties: “We go further. Baigorri, a region of Basque emigration, is a suitable place for this project. We want Etxauzia to be the principal seat of the eighth territory of the Basque Country: the Basque diaspora, a space open to all the Basques of the world. The mother house of all the Euskal Etxeak, the portal of the Basque Country”.