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
We call territorial infrastructure the stable capacity to connect people, communities, knowledge, projects and resources in order to act collectively.
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.
- 2018–2022
Listening and territorial connection
EoAlimenta, Vivemar, the work with UNED Viveiro and learning about community foundations widen the process towards mapping, maritime and river culture, training and participation.
- 2023–2025
Territorial experimentation
ComerEO, Viveiro Sostible and A Mariña Lab connect research, youth, production, consumption, social innovation and territorial governance.
- 2025–2026
Bioregional scale
Collaborations with universities, foundations, learning networks and local initiatives are activated, creating new opportunities for cooperation between territories.
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.
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.