Spain
Galicia
General description
Galicia is located in the north-west of Spain, bordered by Portugal to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Cantabrian Sea to the north. Galicia, with a population of 2.765.940 inhabitants in a territory of 29.574,8 km2, is divided in four provinces (A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra). Land/property fragmentation, population dispersion and aging are characteristics of this area of Spain, with high costs for basic services. The region´s most prominent environmental problems include deforestation, water pollution, past and potential oil spills, and high GHG emissions coming from power stations.
Sustainability initiatives in the Galician Region
The initiatives to be analysed in the region of Galicia are related to consumption of food and consumption of manufactured goods lifestyle domains. Zocamiñoca is a food consumption cooperative – it belongs to the Galician Network of Conscious and Responsible Consumption – whereas Amarante Setem fits into the domain of consumption of manufactured products through their activities aimed at promoting the production of sustainable fashion.
Zocamiñoca is a cooperative of consumers who are united by a common philosophy on sustainability and whose main objective is to facilitate access to organic products, encouraging an environmentally responsible consumption. It works as an intermediary among organic producers and consumers in A Coruña province. You can watch how Zocamiñoca works in this video.
Amarante Setem is a non-governmental organization for solidarity and the protection of the environment based in Galicia. It organizes campaigns to encourage the industry to improve the working conditions and its impacts on environment and workers, such as its collaboration with the MOV3 Campaign, with a clear objective of reducing the negative environmental and human impacts of textile production. For more information you can watch the following video about the public presentation of MOV3 Campaign .
Equus Zebra is an NGO originated in the nonconformity of a group of African immigrants regarding the situation in their collective organisation in Galicia. It was founded in 2000 with the mission of fighting inequalities and promoting a model of coexistence, committed and supportive, improving the quality of life of the immigrants facilitating their integration in Galicia while improving the quality of life of the African people. It is an active organisation in the clothes recycling field.
Contact persons for the case study:
Adina Dumitru ()
Alberto Díaz Ayude ()
