The members of the Ortutik Now Project of Busturialdea (Bizkaia) have been stirring up consciences and tastes for about seven years. “We are working on food from an agroecological point of view,” explains Sergio González Sánchez, a member of the project. Its activity is divided into three parts: production, processing and training.

Local, seasonal and agroecological

The project is based on vegetable production. “We are farmers and this is a very important section for us, as the situation of farmers is not the best and we have to recognize the importance of this work,” says González. The three members of the association make the orchard in Busturia. It is a production of vegetables and fruits, all in an ecological model, with the stamp of the Council of Agriculture and Organic Food of the Basque Country ENEEK.

The members of the project are engaged in the transformation of these products produced in the second paragraph: From Ortu to Now in Agroecological Catering. They prepare meals, moles and other meals with products from them and other producers in the region. “With or without a seal, but having a direct relationship with the producers with whom we work, we know that they are dedicated to ecology. 80% of the products we use in catering are indigenous, seasonal or ecological.”

The importance of sewing training and networking

Training is the third leg of the project. The Ortutik Association now organizes workshops and courses for children, young people and adults. For example, the “Gastroeskola” project is under way at the Busturia school. “It’s an after-school activity all year round: with young people we learn about the seeds and we work the vegetable garden, and with the vegetables that we then cook,” says González.En his opinion, in the meals we give more importance to meat or fish than to vegetables, and they intend to turn it around: “There are many recipes with vegetables in the world, and we try to use them in our meals.” After these years of work, Ortutik has now been strengthened and has gradually become a social agent both in the region and in Bizkaia. “We are part of a variety of movements to improve food and transform the overall situation, as is the case of the school dining food initiative, Segment Platera,” he explained.