A collective process to rethink the food system
The Sierra de Aracena is a rural territory with a strong agricultural and livestock tradition. The project was born in 2020 from the initiative of groups and people from the territory itself who seek to promote a more local, sustainable and community-connected food system.
The first phase of the project focused on developing a participatory diagnosis of the region’s food system. The study looked at the social, economic, and environmental conditions that influence food production, processing, and consumption. The work made it possible to identify difficulties for the viability of local agriculture and livestock and to point out opportunities to strengthen local food chains.
This process brought together social organisations, public administrations, academic entities and producers in the territory. In this stage, six municipalities of the region, the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Rural Development Group and three universities collaborated, with the aim of generating a shared knowledge base to guide future public and community actions.
From research to initiative activation
The second stage of the project applies the lessons learned from the diagnosis to promote specific initiatives in the territory. Among the planned actions are the creation of a land bank to facilitate access to agricultural farms and the exploration of a space of shared workshops for food processing.
The project also promotes technical training activities aimed at farmers and livestock breeders, meetings between actors in the territory and awareness campaigns on local consumption. These actions seek to strengthen the economic viability of agricultural production and improve short marketing circuits .
At the same time, the project promotes cultural and community initiatives that value the food heritage and rural knowledge of the region. Among them is the creation of murals in different municipalities of the mountains that make visible the agrarian culture of the territory.
Towards a regional food strategy
The actions promoted in this stage are aimed at laying the foundations of a future food strategy for the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche. The aim is to promote cooperation between local actors and develop public policies that support agricultural production, local consumption and the sustainability of the territory.
Inspira Territorio is part of the initiatives supported by the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation to transform food systems from the territory and with the involvement of their communities.