The process
The process
We call territorial infrastructure the stable capacity to connect people, communities, knowledge, projects and resources in order to act collectively.
Why it arises
The process responds to a deep disconnection between food, territory, community and future: loss of food sovereignty, a weakening rural fabric, dependence on global supply chains, and the difficulty of imagining liveable futures from within the territory itself. The bioregion has agri-food resources, a sea-and-land culture, farming and fishing memory, landscape and community networks, but these elements do not always appear connected as part of a single territorial project.
Food as a lever
Food is understood here in a broad sense: not only production, distribution or consumption, but a cultural, social, ecological and economic infrastructure that connects landscape, identity, community, health, energy, knowledge and ways of life.
What we mean by territorial infrastructure
The Biorrexión Cantábrica is not conceived as a closed project but as an infrastructure for territorial collaboration. Its role is to connect knowledge, resources and capacities; to facilitate shared projects; and to create the conditions for the territory to imagine and build its own future.
The process combines listening, mapping, applied research, alliances, prototyping and shared learning. Every action should strengthen existing capacities and leave new relationships, knowledge and tools in the territory.
Thirteen years building territorial capacity
- 2013–2017
Food, culture and communication
PRATO_DO tests formats of responsible gastronomy, education, outreach, experience design and direct relationships with producers and communities.
- Itinerant responsible gastronomy
- Arte_Sáns menus
- Cociñando A Mariña Lucense (opens in a new tab)
- Coñecendo A Mariña Lucense
- 2018–2022
Listening and territorial connection
Producer mapping and the origin of EoAlimenta widen the process towards the Eo territory. In this period PRATO_DO also takes part in the community foundations call of the Asociación Española de Fundaciones, aimed at driving the Fundación Comunitaria Mariña.
- Producer mapping of the Eo territory
- Producer mapping for the GDR Terras de Miranda (opens in a new tab)
- Taking part in the origin and construction of EoAlimenta (opens in a new tab)
- 2023–2025
Territorial experimentation
ComerEO, Viveiro Sostible, Food Design Fest and A Mariña Lab connect research, youth, production, consumption, social innovation and territorial governance.
- ComerEO
- Viveiro Sostible
- Food Design Fest
- A Mariña Lab
- 2025–2026
Bioregional scale
ADN Gastronómico and the collaborations with universities, foundations, learning networks and local initiatives open new opportunities for cooperation between territories.
- ADN Gastronómico, in the 2025–2026 period
The result is not only a list of projects: it is situated knowledge, relationships of trust, methodologies, communication capacity, documentation and a network of initiatives with the potential to mature.
From PRATO_DO to A Mariña Lab to the Biorrexión Cantábrica
PRATO_DO is the ideas lab for the food transition that drives and sustains the process. A Mariña Lab is the living territorial lab from which the evolution towards the Biorrexión Cantábrica begins.
The 2026–2027 consolidation phase
Between 2026 and 2027 the process concentrates on two fronts: giving the Biorrexión Cantábrica a structure of its own and securing the resources to sustain the territorial weaving work. On that basis, governance opens up to the territory’s initiatives.
Horizon 2050
By 2050, the process aspires to have contributed to more resilient and territorialised food systems, communities more connected to their landscape and culture, new local economies tied to agroecology and regeneration, and community infrastructures for experimenting with more sustainable ways of life, alongside a stable network of knowledge shared with other territories.
Challenges that guide the work
- Water
- Food
- Housing
- Work and livelihoods
- Climate, energy and biodiversity
- Identity and territorial cohesion
- Knowledge, governance and capacity to act
Results we are working towards in 2026–2027
- A better connected territorial ecosystem
- A shared agenda of challenges and opportunities
- Stable alliances with universities, foundations and networks
- Demonstrator projects tied to real needs
- A long-term structure for governance and learning
Time horizon
- 2026–2027
listening, mapping, articulation and first actions
- 2027–2029
consolidation of alliances and demonstrator projects
- 2030
evaluation and expansion of the model
- 2050
regenerative horizon of the Biorrexión Cantábrica
Lines of work
Activate the territorial ecosystem
Recognise, connect and strengthen the living ecosystem that already exists across the bioregion, so the territory can see itself as a conscious ecosystem capable of imagining its own future.
Build nodes of regenerative life
Experiment with new relationships between food, territory and community in real places: agroecological production, short supply chains, culture, community and governance.
Turn the territory into knowledge
Transform territorial experience into transferable learning: documenting processes, applying systemic analysis and sharing what is learned with other territories.