La farming it is a necessary activity for people's lives. We have been able to observe it, above all, throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. For this reason, it is essential to continue rewarding people who work in this sector and who have very innovative projects. Such as Nazaret Mateos Alvarez, the Spanish farmer who has won the award for agrarian women innovation with your project Between mushrooms. Do you want to know what this eco-friendly and award-winning plan consists of, as well as what it offers? We have talked to her.
EntreSetas: a winning ecological project
Almost four years ago, Nazaret Mateos Álvarez decided to undertake and create the project Between mushrooms. Having spent several years working in an office outside of his hometown, Sierra de la Culebra, in Palencia, decided to return to the lands where it was born and grow to found this company whose specialty is the cultivation of organic gourmet mushrooms. This happened because according to what he confesses to us She did not like office life at all and joked with her husband that when he was "grown up" he would build a mushroom greenhouse, since they had been his hobby all his life, despite not knowing anything about crops when he started.
Between mushrooms consists of the production organic farming and in the search not to generate waste. In fact, all the harvesting and marketing of mushrooms is carried out with an environmental impact very close to zero. Likewise, Nazaret Mateos assures us that “when we started marketing and began with shipments, we saw the need to plant trees for the CO2 offset and thus alleviate the emissions that could be made with it ”. In such a way that, in addition to having such an impact, they collaborate with the environment and with nature.
In the case of fungi good gourmet foodTo achieve them, it rotates its varieties of mushrooms throughout the year. They use agricultural residues from agriculture in their area to produce them. In addition, it sells them from direct way to consumers, using a recycled packaging. Likewise, its cultivation is slow growing, since the natural light cycles are respected to give it a better flavor and aroma.
All their products are 100% suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets. And they can be obtained directly and in your shop on-line. Here you will find boxes of mushrooms varied according to the season such as dehydrated enoki, thistle in its juice, truffles, etc. Although, the creator has told us that what her clients demand the most are the fresh mushrooms, since "they leave our facilities freshly cut and that makes them reach homes with all their flavor and aroma".
Likewise, as an additional piece of information, since he started this project, Mateos Álvarez is an affiliate of the Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers (UPA). And she is also a member of the Federation of Rural Women's Associations (FADEMUR). Thanks to that knowledge in Between mushrooms has been incorporating learning and awareness workshops for different groups to learn about this world.
Winner of the Innovation Award for Women Farmers 2021
It was in 2018 that he founded the company. And in which the sale of fresh mushrooms also began. Therefore, this project has evolved a lot until it was awarded the Innovation Award for Women Farmers. In 2019 he achieved the Ecological Certificate and began to cast the blunt line. Thanks to that, he later won the first prize of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food as "excellence in innovation in agricultural activity". And, also, in that same year, the food quality seal of Palencia - Blue Band. Finally, the previous year he obtained the distinctive Land of Flavor and the seal of quality: Alimentos de Palencia - Banda Oro.
Ávarez was the only Spanish nominated among the five that there were, which is a greater recognition and honor. This sixth edition of the Innovation Award for Women Farmers had to be done through an online gala organized by the COPA-Cogeca (Committee of Professional Agricultural Organizations European). This did not prevent him from winning the award thanks to his project Between mushrooms and show her total gratitude and happiness, since for her it was a great surprise. This is how the winner tells us: "The projects we had were super interesting and much bigger, so we never thought we would be the chosen ones."
It is clear that we need to continue collaborating with the the environment among all and what better than projects like Between mushrooms to continue contributing. This well-deserved award that Nazareth has obtained must serve as an example for all and for brave young people to follow undertaking. In addition, the mushrooms that she produces are easy to obtain, cook and enjoy at any time. What do you think of this award-winning type of crop? Do you dare to try their products?
