The Elikunea project is part of the participation process of the Azpeitia City Hall around the Plaza de la Azoka. As a follow-up to the process, three young people from the region have been in charge of setting up the Artixara Small Cooperative Society and carrying out the Food Space. “The aim is to promote local food at an affordable price and to raise consumer awareness about sustainable consumption,” explained Xabi Izagirre of the Uranga cooperative in the presentation video of the initiative.

Food sovereignty as an objective

With Azpeitia in the centre, only food produced around 150 km will be offered. “Inside this space there will be areas of education, tasting, cooking, Basque Label butcher and grocery store,” says Izagirre. They want to strengthen the primary sector and keep the rural environment alive, and to this end it is important that the market be a lively and dynamic place.

In the presentation video, the producer Aiora Etxeberria Iturralde tells us about the importance of this space: “The Feeding Point will not be a mere showcase for us, it will be a place of presentation of our products, a place of direct contact with customers, from where visits to the cottages will be organized… It is an unbeatable opportunity for us”.

Partnership based on

The space will have an organization based on teamwork and teamwork. It is a question of ensuring the participation of actors, consumers and producers in a different way. “The idea is that, by becoming a member of the cooperative or participating in working groups, the citizens are guaranteed the ability to influence the project,” they point out.

The platform has launched a new fund-raising campaign for the start-up of the Food Space. The minimum to be obtained is EUR 3,500 for the supply of food and EUR 4,000 for the second round of collection, additional, which would be used for the purchase of the necessary equipment.

“Taking projects such as the Food Space forward is important to encourage young people to work in the primary sector. We have seen that there is nothing to do on the previous roads, because then we will have to look for new roads,” says Etxeberria. More and more producers are looking for new avenues. However, consumers who are willing to share these means with producers also need to be put in place.