The technology It is usually associated with large developments and large projects. However, its application, through different solutions and innovations, allows us to reach different segments of activity and smaller initiatives, but which have an important value, especially social and also economic in their environment, as happens in the agriculture and in the rural environment.
Proof of this are entrepreneurial initiatives that have been launched in towns in Zaragoza, with the aim of reactivate local economic activity by applying technology and innovation to agriculturebut also valuing the products of the land, apart from preserving the culture and maintaining the traditions of the place, generating a positive impact on the towns and the rural environment by maintaining population and activating the local economy.
This is the case of initiatives such as 394 Winerieswhose activity focuses on recover underground wineries located on hills in the Torrijo de la Cañada areaat the confluence with the Manubles River, so that they are used again. Technology has been of great help in shaping this project in which the territory and heritage elements have been identified with “a solution adapted to the 21st century and heritage,” says Yolanda Gimeno, from 394 Bodegas, who has also stressed the importance of this initiative from the point of view of circular economy.
“The hill is in crumbs and represents a challenge from the point of view of heritage and usability, to convince the administration that it can be functional” again, adds Yolanda Gimeno. Thanks to technology, for example GIS, they have been able geolocate the different wineries and make precise measurements of the surface and depth, among other parameters of these underground and hill cellars.
The work of 394 Bodegas not only focuses on recovering these small facilities, but also the vineyards, especially those that are in the process of disappearing. On both occasions, its use allows make small wine productions for family self-consumption. Additionally, facilities are offered to winemakers in order to be able to make different wines, apart from facilitating a meeting point around wine culture and promoting wine tourism.
For now, 111 wineries have already been recovered in which tastings are also held to maintain a direct relationship with potential consumers. And, now, it is time to continue working to advance in the rest of the pending wineries and vineyards for what must be raised within the policies of recovery and preservation of heritage, that there are different heritage elements, which are private and with special characteristics, but which “They are susceptible to being in use again. It is achieving heritage recovery through use and searching for new products. New technologies are applied to something traditional”, which results in a good pairing of technology and wines.
From Magallón to the whole world
Technology has also been key to undertaking and overcoming 30 years of life in the agricultural machinery sector. It is the experience of BCM Agriculturalborn in Magallon (Zaragoza), which has incorporated important technological advances to the fertilizer spreader for crops. A step that they had to take in the face of the introduction of technology in the main global brands in the sector with which they compete, since the 80% of its machines are destined for foreign marketsa percentage that has even been higher in some years.
“It was an important challenge,” says Marta Bes, manager of BCM Agrícola, a company that was already born international, given that from the beginning the focus was on foreign markets. “Four years ago, we thought it was necessary to complicate our lives” to take this step in technology. “I see now that much of our competition is not there and we have managed to position ourselves in the market for high-end and functional fertilizer spreaders.”
The company is now seeking to gain presence in the national market, although it is clear that in order to be both local and international and, also from a town and being an SME, is low competition, specialization and having specific machines are key for, for example, vineyards or fruit trees, the latter plantations in which a 40% savings in fertilizer is achieved thanks to the incorporation of Sonar technology to the machine.
It is not the only machinery they have developed, since they also have a fertilizer spreader in the open field, which allows the farmer to go at the speed they want and for the machine to apply the right amount of fertilizer. In addition, technological advances make it easier to incorporate maps to apply the determined amount of fertilizer on the plot.
Preserve local tradition and culture
Other entrepreneurial initiatives also make it possible to value the rural environment with all its culture and traditions. It is the proposal on which it is based To the Shelter of Moncayopromoted by María Jesús Grávalos. Under this name there is a tourist receptivethat is, a travel agency that attracts visitors to the area, in this case, Moncayo, working not only with the Aragón part, but also with Soria.
Al Abrigo del Moncayo was born because “what is remembered about the trip are the first person experiences. The pandemic made people come to Moncayo. They were impressed by what there is because it is not just about climbing to a peak and that’s it,” says María Jesús Grávalos.
In fact, its proposal is based on working with local companies and entities to offer different experiences that are also enjoyed as a family to be able to make plans with the children. This is the case of “Vendimiador for a day” in which tourists have the opportunity to harvest, as well as “Family beekeeping” to learn all the secrets of honey, visits to monumental mining heritage such as Tierga, which It is also active, or the dramatized visits that are made to the towns to learn about their history, among others.
“We create experiences together” with which these traditions and culture of “our grandparents” are valued. Many of us remember them because we remember them, but this is ending” as the generations advance. “Now, children can learn how things were done in the past because today everything is very mechanized.”
The importance of the project goes even further. Part of the profits from Al Abrigo del Moncayo go to the Magical Pine Forest of Tiergacarried out by local women. In this way, it is easier for them to purchase the necessary materials so that they can expand and grow this pine forest.
Also linked to the land and a product like wine is the Buqué wine cellar and tasting roomby David Sanmartín, who has been shaping this proposal for a year and a half, although he had previously been working on it for longer. An initiative linked to wine tourism that is opening doors and carrying out new projects, in addition to crossing borders given the interest it has already aroused in other autonomies such as Navarra.
At first he admits that it was hard, even in the area itself, in the town of Borja, because the concept was not well understood, which was confused with a bar, but “we can do different tastings: from commercial to sommelier and pairings with food”.
They are proposals that have been made known within the I EREA+ Inspiring Conference in order to reactivate and encourage socioeconomic activity in areas in situations of territorial vulnerability. A program within which we have already contributed to promote nearly 200 projectswith a reach of more than 7,000 people. In all of them, as these four entrepreneurs have said, patience, determination, self-belief in the project, testing the ideas that go through your head, passion, curiosity and also company and accompaniment have been necessary.
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