Food First has worked with EHNE-Bizkaia, the Basque Farmers’ Union, to co-organize tours to the Basque Country since 2010. From co-founding Via Campesina to being recognized as honorees of the 2013 Food Sovereignty Prize, EHNE-Bizkaia is at the forefront of the food sovereignty movement. Our unique relationship with this important organization gives participants a rare opportunity to understand the Basque Country, Euskal Herria, through the eyes of Basque farmers and sovereignty activists. Though small, Euskal Herria is geographically diverse, from dramatic mountain ranges and the breath-taking northern coast, to the plains and Rioja wine growing valleys in the south. In the last century, industrialization, nation building and EU agricultural policy have greatly impacted sustainable, cooperative, forms of production in the Basque country. However, a strong farmers’ movement—and increasingly engaged urban consumers—are working to preserve Basque farming traditions and in so doing, to build cultural and economic sovereignty in Euskal Herria.
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