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You are invited to learn more about our project.
Tax Deduction:
Legal Entity 35% (€3.5) | Real Expense: €6.5
Individual 80% (€8) | Real Expense: €2
> 38 Co-financiers
About this project
Help us create to a small cheese factory in our village, Morillo de Sampietro, in the Aragonese Pyrenees.
Show list of needs
Infrastructure
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Minimum | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
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Wall and ceiling insulation in the workshop and aging cellar
The walls of a cheese factory must be washable and hygienic. We need to install a direct lining consisting of a tongue-and-groove insulated sandwich panel made of pre-painted steel with a thickness of 60 mm and its
corresponding framework.
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£ 3,011 | |
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Cheese factory, workshop, and aging cellar doors
We require a wooden entrance door for the cheese factory (€500), a pivoting refrigerated entrance door for the aging cellar (€900), and an interior PVC door for the workshop entrance (€200).
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£ 1,338 | |
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Flooring for the workshop and aging cellar
The flooring in the workshop and aging cellar must be durable and easy to clean. We will use special non-slip tiles designed for food processing areas
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£ 753 | |
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Stairs and Handrails
The workshop and aging cellar will be accessed through some stairs. We need to install non-slip tiles on the stairs and protect them with a handrail.
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£ 418 | |
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Electrical Network
The interior electrical distribution network includes a main control panel, lighting circuits, power outlets, and emergency lighting.
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£ 335 | |
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Solar Installation
The solar system consists of 7 solar panels (460 W each), a hybrid inverter, batteries, mounting structure, and electrical materials.
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£ 4,767 | |
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Wall Coating in the entrance Hall with lime mortar
We need to cover the stone walls in the entrance area with lime mortar to create a cleaner and brighter surface.
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£ 335 |
Material
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Minimum | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
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Sanitary hot water heater and plumbing
An instant propane gas water heater for sanitary hot water and an interior plumbing installation
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£ 585 | |
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Static Evaporator
A climate control system is required for the aging cellar to maintain optimal humidity and temperature levels during the cheese maturation process.
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£ 5,855 | |
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Stainless steel cheese factory furniture
This includes a draining table and working countertops for cheese production.
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£ 1,673 | |
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Wooden cheese maturation shelving
These are wooden shelves made of beech wood for storing cheese in the aging cellar during the maturation process.
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£ 669 | |
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Curd Tank
A double-walled curd tank is used to heat and coagulate the milk in the cheese
production process.
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£ 836 |
Task
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Minimum | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
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Goteo platform commission
From the Goteo Foundation, in terms of providing services (publication space and management tools on the platform, dynamization of the project, advice on the best way to present and communicate your project or set rewards, intermediation, etc.) they charge a commission of 5 % of the total money raised throughout the two 40-day rounds
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£ 1,037 | |
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Comisión bancaria
La entidad bancaria aplica una comisión de entre 0.8% en concepto procesamiento de pago por cada aportación
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£ 174 | |
| Total | £ 19,946 | £ 21,786 |
Necessary
Supplemental
General information
Siricueta is the Aragonese word that refers to whey, and it's also the name of our herding life
project.
We are a team of four shepherds who live in Morillo de Sampietro, a village situated at an altitude of 1000 meters, belonging to the municipality of Boltaña in the Pyrenees of Huesca. In a spectacular location, with its nine houses, blacksmith and church, Morillo had 76 inhabitants in 1860, 35 in 1960, and by 1995, only two people remained, who eventually had to leave in the year 2000.
Agustín and I, Sara, came here in 2014, encouraged by the descendants of those last residents who believed that we could take on the challenge of beginning to inhabit this isolated place in an attempt to prevent its oblivion.
Morillo is a remote enclave of breathtaking beauty. Rugged and calm, life here is inspiring and laborious. Since our arrival, the landscape has gradually transformed, and our living conditions have greatly improved. With a lot of effort, we rehabilitated a stable and turned it into a comfortable home. We now have a decent access road and a public water supply system. Currently, we generate and consume our own solar energy and produce a significant portion of our food. We have managed to reclaim many of the old dry stone terraces that make up this industrious landscape, weeding, removing stones, and regenerating permanent pastures with the help of our animals.
Thanks to a network of people who help us look after the village, we have been able to work elsewhere as seasonal shepherds. It's a support system that helps us continue to live here.
Throughout this time, we have been the only permanent residents until the arrival of Aina and Jesús earlier this year. Two young landless shepherds, full of values and motivation. They bravely accepted our proposal for collaboration and have excitedly moved to Morillo, which has now got four residents.
We know that together we can build a more solid and valuable life project. By cooperating, we aim to gain strength and confidence, improve self-care, and continue learning
Main features and goals of the crowdfunding campaign
Our life revolves around our flock and their daily grazing in an area of about 200 hectares. It's a landscape organized in abandoned terraced fields, now covered in a vast Mediterranean forest. Everything here is a remnant of a past rural life, the work of hundreds of generations of people who gained every inch of land to these rocky slopes. The use of agricultural machinery is impossible in this area. In contrast, it is a place free from pesticides where nature takes the lead. The only viable way to utilize this land is through silvopasture, combining traditional knowledge and regenerative practices to preserve permanent pastures.
A small herd of sheep and goats like ours, when properly managed, is a highly efficient tool in conserving biodiversity and rural heritage. In order to stay in Morillo year-round and not have to migrate in search of a wage, we must revalue our work as food producers. We want to materialize our values and efforts in the production of unique foods, like cheese, which is the result of the symbiosis of the ecosystem we protect.
Our idea of transforming our small herd into an extensive cheese production operation began a year and a half ago, and since then, we haven't stopped working to achieve it. We already have the project and all the necessary construction permits. We've expanded our herd by acquiring quality dairy sheep and goats. We've slowly adapted them to this territory. We've built a new wooden stable with great enthusiasm, much of the wood sourced from our forest and transformed on-site using a portable sawmill. It's a spacious and healthy space to house our animals and work comfortably in compliance with current regulations.
Currently, we are focused on completing the rehabilitation of a small stone stable in the village that will house the future cheese-making workshop and the aging cellar. The structural work is nearly finished. Now, we have the task of setting up the interior to make it a functional and compliant space.
The objective of this crowdfunding campaign is to set up and operate a small cheese factory in our village
With this initiative, we aim to achieve the following objectives:
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Produce raw milk cheese with high microbial richness and sell it directly to consumers.
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Promote sustainability . Establishing a cheese factory in the village involves restoring a building that was in ruins. It will be a sustainable workshop operating entirely on solar energy.
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Solidify our work in preserving this territory and our values regarding food sovereignty.Closing the loop of care and reward.**
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Support rural life and extensive livestock farming. Dignify the herding culture by supporting the new generations of shepherds.
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Improve soil quality. Through our animal management, we seek to promote soil fertility and
water retention, prevent compaction and erosion. One of our main challenges is to keep the
permanent pastures in good health. -
Prevent wildfires. Thanks to the flock, we maintain a clean safety perimeter around the village,
preventing flames from reaching the houses in case of a fire. Our ongoing work in clearing the
forest and restoring the terraces reduces forest mass and creates a more resilient landscape. -
Foster a meeting place for the exchange of agroecological experiences. Since 2019, we have
been members of WWOOF Spain and host national and international volunteers each year.
Why this is important
Our motivation is rooted in the love and commitment we have for our animals, our gratitude for the place we inhabit, and the necessity to preserve our profession.
This project is aimed at those who believe in a better, more local, and sustainable agri-food model. It's for those who champion rural communities and the courage of the small. It's for everyone who loves nature.
This project is led by Agustín, Aina, Jesús, and Sara. Agustín is an experienced shepherd, the
grandson and son of transhumant herders. He has herded flocks in the Alps, Pyrenees, and Australia.
For years, he has balanced life in Morillo with his work as a support shepherd for "La Pastorale
Pyrénéenne," a French association that assists herding professionals coexisting with the presence of
bears and wolves.
Aina is the granddaughter of mountain inhabitants, an anthropologist, and a weaver. Intuitive and
serene, she attended the School of Shepherds in Catalonia and has worked as a shepherd on both
sides of the Pyrenees for the past two years.
Jesús left his life in the big city to explore self-sufficiency and traditional crafts. A calm and
perfectionist individual, he was part of the first class of "La Estiva," the School of Shepherding in
Aragón. Since then, he has made a living as a content shepherd.
Lastly, there's me, Sara, with a foundational background in the arts. I decided to embark on my path
as a shepherd after learning about the profession from Agustín 13 years ago. In France, I began
working as an apprentice in family dairy farms. In Catalonia, I received training in cheese-making
at IRTA and the Escola Agrària del Pirineu. I've worked as a shepherd/cheesemaker in the Alps, the
French Provence, and, most notably, in the French Pyrenees with dairy herds in high mountain
regions.
Social commitment
Agrorural development
-Our social commitment is based on food sovereignty and the stewardship of the territory.
-Our cheese factory will be entirely powered by on-site solar energy, which is non-polluting andsustainable.
-The life of ecosystems will benefit from our regenerative herding activity.
-We will engage in a new activity that promotes the respectful and responsible production of food.
-We will establish residents in an area that has been severely depopulated, creating structures of cooperation and alliances for life.
-Dignified employment opportunities will be created, with gender equality.
Sustainable Development Goals
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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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Affordable and Clean Energy
Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity.
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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
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Climate Action
Climate change is a global challenge that affects everyone, everywhere.
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Life On Land
Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
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Partnerships for the Goals
Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development