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About this project
Help us improve the rural economy and reduce our environmental impact by creating a local kitchen workshop and adjoining shop
Show list of needs
Material
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Minimum | Optimum |
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Maquinària per a la garrofa
Una màquina per a les elaboracions, que remena la massa de garrofa, la tempera i ens ajuda a omplir els motlles amb el pes exacte i així, optimitzem la producció (3 vegades més de tauletes per hora!). El que ara fem amb un cullerot i havent de pesar cada vegada la quantitat exacta, ho farem molt més fàcilment.
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£ 2,498 | |
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Accessori vibratori per a la màquina d'elaboracions
Facilita encara més la feina perquè la vibració que genera anivella la massa dins del motlle abans d'anar a l'abatidor.
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£ 1,832 |
Task
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Minimum | Optimum |
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Recerca
Cerca de pressupostos, consulta d'especificacions, etc.
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£ 125 | |
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Projecte activitat
Un cop fet el projecte d'obres de l'arquitecte, l'enginyer elabora el projecte d'activitat. De moment hem mirat el tipus d'activitat que volem fer segons la normativa municipal.
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£ 1,266 |
Infrastructure
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Minimum | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
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Plànols i projecte arquitectònic
Només es pot començar a adequar l'obrador amb el projecte d'obres de l'arquitecte i, després el projecte d'activitat de l'enginyer.
Treballem amb dos arquitectes que tenen un projecte d'arquitectura cooperativa proper, amb idees i consell sostenibles. De moment hem pres mides, fet fotos i els arquitectes han dibuixat un plànol de l'espai.
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£ 816 | |
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Accés al local
Per poder entrar al local, i iniciar el projecte, despeses dels primers mesos de lloguer.
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£ 1,332 | |
| Total | £ 2,498 | £ 7,869 |
Necessary
Supplemental
General information
Cultius gaia – Garrofina is an agri-food project that combines farming, production and the sale of organic products working with local and indigenous species such as carob and hazelnut.
Our farming methods respect nature and help regenerate the soil we grow our food in. Our entire process has minimal environmental impact and results in high quality artisanal products such as our carob chocolates.
After 4 years running this project and building up sales we now want to have our own kitchen workshop and adjoining shop. This will allow us to save energy and to promote the products of other local small-scale producers, improving the economy of the area.
We have just achieved our first crowdfunding objective which means we have the money to acquire the machinery we need to optimise production, improve sales and reduce costs. This enables us to move onto the second phase: to start converting the workshop space.
Why carob?
Carob is a forgotten crop, abandoned by the majority of farmers. We want to reclaim it and above all bring it back to the kitchen! It’s a delicious fruit, like cocoa, from which we extract the carob flour and the carob molasses we use to sweeten our products locally and healthily.
Carob is a food rich in tryptophan, fibre and natural sugars and it’s a nourishing probiotic that helps to fortify the intestinal flora. Unlike cocoa, it doesn’t contain theobromine and is recommended for children and adults who suffer insomnia.
Through our project we are revitalising the carob crop and working with the fruit to make chocolate combined with hazelnuts, almonds and other nuts: mediterannean chocolate! There is also no added sugar, making it suitable for diabetics and those intolerant to lactose. The products come from our land and are 100% artisanal and local.
Having our own kitchen workshop in the area will save us the hourly rent and will mean we can increase our production without increasing costs. Since it will be situated in the same region as the land we farm, we will save on fuel, as we currently spend an hour in the car every time we go to the current workshop.
The future workshop will offer a space to small-scale producers from the area that require part-time use of a workshop space in order to make their products. Over time if we can rejuvenate this network, demand will also increase.
A small-scale workshop, in a population of less than 50 inhabitants, will create work and bring life to the local area.
To achieve all of this, we want to mechanise some aspects of manufacturing that we currently do by hand. So, in the same amount of time we will be able to produce and sell twice as much.
Main features and goals of the crowdfunding campaign
Garrofina by Cultivos Gaia is an innovative project which seeks to change the farming and rural model, to create employment and reverse the current trend in depopulation of the countryside. This includes small-scale agriculture, respecting the natural environment and people, the creation and direct sale of healthy, high quality, kilometer zero products.
We propose two phases in order to achieve our final goal of building our own kitchen-workshop:
The goals of the first phase, achieved through the first campaign are:
- To make production more effective with specific machinery. To mechanise processes that we currently carry out manually, like filling molds.
- To improve income - above all to increase sales - to cover the future costs of the kitchen workshop.
- To begin the planning of the workshop and start the necessary renovation.
The objectives that we have planned for the second phase:
- To have our own kitchen workshop.
- To reduce the environmental impact of transport through the proximity of the workshop to the fields.
- Offer a service to other producers from the area who will be able to share the infrastructure.
- To improve the local economy, both in the primary sector and tourism. The shop inside the workshop will offer a sample of our own products and those of other producers as well as bring customers closer to the making process.
Why this is important
Entrepreneur Montse Serrami took on her family land in Alt camp five years ago, and has succeeded in creating a model with coherent objectives and ethics that result in social change.
Our project “Garrofina” by Cultius Gaia follows an agricultural model in which we are not only farmers but also the producers and sellers of our products, we don’t just grow carob and hazelnut but make it into chocolate, ice cream and butters… So, we contribute to an alternative model that avoids monocultures and supports the land and local products.
We have started this campaign to receive help in the first phase of our kitchen workshop project: to buy the machinery that will improve production. The support that we receive will be key to continuing into the second phase: to start work on the new workshop space.
The drive behind this change has not only been the need to have our own workshop space where we can work whenever we need to but also to be able to share the space with other local producers: we’ve realised that in the local area many other small-scale producers need access to a workshop space. Many local producers have expressed an interest in sharing the workshop space. With the necessary infrastructure we will be able to form closer links with many local projects.
We aim to benefit people who want and value healthy, local, kilometre zero products and local producers; we want to form part of and enliven the socioeconomic network in the rural area.
I’m Montse Serramià, and I come from an agricultural family and have worked all my life on the land. I’ve studied various subjects and have travelled to different countries where I’ve seen a range of farming methods and techniques that I’m now able to use in my own project. We work on both family land and land we rent from others.
The project is currently made up of a team of four; two who run the project and two employees. We have four years experience renting a workshop space in “Espai cuina” in Montblanc; over this time we have built up sales of our products, gained the support of the technical team from the local council, and created a whole network of people, resources and infrastructure.
Cultivos Gaia is not just about farming the land. It's a way of life: we value those who work for us and we respect nature in every way.
Social commitment
Agrorural development
The social commitment of the project is towards gender equality, to employ both women and men, and also to rural development, to create work in a rural town.
It’s a project that will give life to a rural population and offer local products.
Sustainable Development Goals
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Good Health and Well-Being
Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development.
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Gender Equality
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
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Decent Work and Economic Growth
Sustainable economic growth will require societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs.
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Responsible Production and Consumption
Responsible Production and Consumption