When she completed her agrotourism studies, Haizea Bengoetxea Andikoetxea was clear that she wanted to work on some land related project. In 2011 he took the first steps of what today is Olatxuko Laborea when he moved to the Olatxu farmhouse of the grandparents of Arrieta (Bizkaia). “I wanted to live from agriculture, but I met the farmhouse before. Then I started working with the field and getting to know and learn the world of conserves,” he explained. Olatxuko Laboreak is a well-established project dedicated to the production of jams, creams and pastries of fruits and vegetables.
A project that has grown up keeping the smallness
The two members of the project carried out their first two years in the Olatxu farmhouse, but after this first approach to agriculture they decided to move to another hamlet of Arrieta. “When we came to this farmhouse we put the worker and started to go around the Olatxuko Laboreak project,” says Bengoetxea.
Since its inception, they have opted for an agroecological model, convinced that it is the only way to live from agriculture. “Although grandparents largely used forms of agro-ecological production, in other respects they did not share my forms.” He started producing his own series, combining the acquired knowledge of his grandparents and grandmothers and the knowledge acquired through books and training. Now, they wanted to make a new leap in the project by purchasing a new plot in Fika (Bizkaia), where they have fruit trees and greenhouses, and the first walls of the new farmhouse are already in the process of being created.
Sharing knowledge
Plazaz-plaza, market after market, Bengoetxea moves selling preserves directly. “In addition to fairs, we also work with small shops. Despite being mediators, they have other values and they have also wagered on us,” he explained.
A couple of years ago, they started giving courses. “Discovering what and how we do it, we learn to do different conserves.” Even though it's one-time, they want to continue sharing knowledge with people and creating spaces of this kind around conserves. The aim is that next year the workshops will be held in Fika, where the project takes place.
