KmTierra: one more step in Territorialized Food Systems

At the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation we are committed to the well-being of the earth and sustainable food, this being an important driver of change that can contribute to addressing some of the most important challenges we face as a society: climate emergency, social justice, public health or rural depopulation. An example of this is our call ‘Territorialised Food Systems (SAT)’, through which we have already come a long way accompanying projects that design, execute or coordinate public food policies, designed for and by the territory in which they operate. Now, at the Foundation we want to go a step further: to structure these local food systems through the consolidation of connectors of active initiatives in each territory.

During the years in which we have accompanied projects through the SAT call, we have seen a transformation in the context in which they have been developed. It has been influenced by a wide range of factors: the adoption of the 2030 Agenda as an axis in public policies, a more sensitive look at local production after the pandemic or the significant increase in the number of initiatives that promote more sustainable and conscious food, among others. In this scenario of evolution, and after the achievements achieved so far, the Foundation is promoting the KmTierra pilot programme, an initiative through which we want to contribute to shaping and structuring local food systems.

Sustainable food encompasses different dimensions (environmental, social, economic and health) and, in recent years, numerous related initiatives have emerged that address all of them from different points. They have been set up in various territories, with the emergence of collective canteens, sedentary or itinerant farmers’ markets, food hubs or new adapted marketing tools. We have also seen how local action groups or agri-food cooperatives have taken an interest in territorialised food systems, promoting them in their territories.

However, we perceive that, many times, these initiatives work independently, being too required to be able to dedicate resources to create and maintain an articulation between them and thus be able to consolidate this new food system in their territory. It is precisely in this fertile ground that we want KmTierra to germinate, helping to connect existing initiatives, generating circular economy dynamics between them that allow them to consolidate their proposals and anchor the economic, social and environmental benefits they generate in their territories. To start this program from the Foundation, we have invited five entities in 5 territories to develop and execute projects of up to two years ‘ duration.

The initiatives invited for this KmTierra pilot program are CERAI, in the Valencian Community; Arran de Terra, in Catalonia; Heliconia, in the Community of Madrid; Mirua, in Navarre; and Maisdetres, in Galicia. All of them have demonstrable paths in the development of projects that articulate, promote and consolidate sustainable food processes and initiatives, as well as offering a geographical diversity that will allow us to better understand the peculiarities of each area.

Each of these five entities will have three months to set up a project, a first stage in which they will receive the support of an instructor who will help them integrate the greatest possible diversity of actors and expand their usual networks. In this sense, each of the projects will be limited to a specific territory whose size will be defined by the corresponding promoter entity. In addition, several entities must participate in each project under the leadership of one of them, which must be a non-profit organization or a social and solidarity economy entity.

The objective of the projects that are generated from this process will be to establish or consolidate the connectors between initiatives, aimed at establishing circular economy links between them and thus begin to shape the food system of the territory in question.

In this way, KmTierra’s ultimate objective is to promote the connection between initiatives so that they work in a closed and professional circuit, thus generating a more advanced phase of these Food Systems on a territorial scale. The lessons learned from this pilot program will make it possible to define a new biennial call that we hope can be launched from 2026.

The five promoting entities that will participate in the KmTierra pilo program are:

CERAI – Valencian Community
CERAI works for the transformation of the rural and agrarian world, the defense of food sovereignty and the improvement of the living conditions of peasants. Its objective is to ensure that its social base is well articulated and is increasingly strong, active and extensive. Aware that a social base with these characteristics is the only possible way to form a participatory, democratic entity, linked to the social fabric, truly legitimate and credible in the eyes of civil society, CERAI believes in a social base with its own voice, capable of influencing politically, of carrying out actions that make its values a reality. of networking, a necessarily involved social base that is and feels an inherent part of the organization.

Arran de Terra – Catalonia
Arran de Terra is a non-profit worker cooperative. Its members have an interdisciplinary academic background that integrates contributions from the natural sciences and social sciences and extensive work experience in research, dissemination, training and dynamization of local Agroecological Transition initiatives. Arran de Terra is linked to various areas of Catalonia – La Garrotxa, La Conca de Barberà, La Selva, Central Catalonia and the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona – from which it works in Catalonia.

Heliconia – Community of Madrid
Heliconia is a socio-environmental consultancy created in 2004 with a multidisciplinary team. The organisation is based on a democratic business management model based on the values of the social and solidarity economy. Heliconia participates in the development of networks and projects that promote an economy committed to the development of an equitable and sustainable society. In addition, it promotes business intercooperation as a strategy for sustainable economic development and environmentally friendly economic activity.

Mirua – Navarra

Mirua is a social initiative cooperative founded by a team of 3 women with the aim of creating, executing, accompanying and evaluating transformative works and projects that connect agriculture, food and nature. It promotes transitions towards sustainable food systems by putting experience, imagination and value at the service of change.

Maisdetres – Galicia

Maisdetres is an association committed to rural and agricultural development in the Galician environment. Through her work, she seeks to improve the living conditions of rural communities. This organisation promotes research initiatives and the application of production methods adapted to the particularities of local farms, as well as to the surrounding environment. Its main objective is the recovery and revaluation of agricultural, livestock, forestry and rural resources.