The valley of Araitz, in the north of Navarre, is in a spectacular place in the shadow of the Mallos. There they have created the brand and the project “Araizko Zaporeak” with the objective of boosting the valley. Faced with the eviction of the peoples and the loss of this activity due to intensive agriculture, the citizens met and created the Commission “Araitzen lan eta bizi”. “The trend towards intensive agriculture that has prevailed in recent years has led to the emptying of most farmhouses and leaving all land in the hands of a few. This model is not viable for the future of these peoples,” explains Maider Agirrebarrena, a member of the project and councillor of Araitz.

Land Exchange

One of the main intentions of the initiative is to create a land exchange for the valley. Given that the majority of the population is old, they want to study the possibilities of land that could exist for young people in the future. The idea is to make an inventory of their lands. “We want to encourage young people to approach him, to give him the opportunity to start working here,” says Agirrebarrena.

The Zaporeak initiative of Araitz also aims to give a push to the baserritars of the area, collecting the products that are produced in the area. This idea is also organising the Araitz product fair to be held at the end of October. The project also aims to promote tourism in the valley. After the same logo or brand, initiatives in favour of the valley have therefore been gathered.

Recovering the old cable system

On 25 June the festival of the Zaporeak Designation of Origin of Araitz was held. In it was presented the logo that the artist Juan Gorriti made for the project. The day was used to launch the grass cable that had been standing for about 45 years. “There was a complete system of cables to flush grass down the Malloas. With the people of that time, we managed to start one of them,” explains Agirrebarrena.

The day of the festival started a cable about 500 meters long, although it is believed that there is another about two kilometers down from Malloeta. “It would be nice if we did a day later to get that going, too,” says the councilman. Meanwhile, slowly and slowly, but they will continue to work. “The valley has been somewhat abandoned for years. Now the key is to use resources, to start to revive the valley.”