25 years. Otarra Bioelkartea, of Martutene (Donostia-San Sebastián), has turned this year into a quarter of a century. The project was launched in 1992 with the aim of promoting responsible consumption, and work on the same objective is ongoing. They offer in the shop of the association environmentally friendly, healthy and ecological food. “At the time when the basket was launched, people still didn’t know what was ecological and there was no variety we have today,” says Lourdes Martin, a member of the association. We have talked to him about the evolution of consumer habits in these years.

Small local shops vs. department stores

Martin is clear that consumption and knowledge of organic products have increased considerably, but he also sees the negative side of developments in recent years: “First almost everything was agroecological, you knew it was of good quality. Today, within what we call ‘ecological’, we also have to be very careful.” In fact, in the “bio” or “eco” sections of department stores, instead of local and seasonal products, they often sell products of thousands of kilometers: Pineapple from Costa Rica, apples from Argentina… “Not everything is worth,” says Martin. In this regard, at Otarra Bioelkartea they attach particular importance to the products being not only organic, but also local and seasonal. The association is in direct contact with the producers in the area and the products they bring from abroad – chocolate, coffee, pan-elastic sugar – are fair trade products. On the other hand, they sell everything they can in bulk, rather than bulk: rice, millet, nuts, sugar…

Enhancing the participation of partners

Beyond
the shop offering, in recent years Otarra Bioelkartea has also organised various activities related to organic products and health, such as lectures or cooking workshops.
Now, with the aim of encouraging the participation of the partners of the association, the idea has been put in place that each partner will help in the store at least three hours a year. Although they have not yet achieved everyone’s involvement, Martin welcomes the initiative: “People are collaborating gradually, participating in Otarra’s activity.