- Around 2021, the Gernika Itziar Presa Blasco began to immerse itself in the world of the convoy. “I studied teaching and worked in education for years, but when my children were born I had the opportunity to stay at home and I perceived that everything up until then had somehow been broken,” she explains. It was clear that he didn’t want to go back to teaching, but at first he didn’t even know what to do. Half by chance, a friend offered her a poppy and started jumping with the fermented ones. “I started collecting information, doing trainings, reading books... that’s how I started, and little by little I liked it,” she recalls.
When he started testing with Konbutxa, Presa turned to the Internet for information, but found that even though there was a lot of information, they were often conflicting. “In the end, I decided to do the trainings, I have worked with Javi Maeztu, who is an expert in microbiology and teaches courses on fermentation,” he explains. Nerea Zorokiain also mentions Navarra as a reference, with whom she has taken several courses on probiotic fermentations. To make the confection, sugar is added to the tea infusion and the microorganisms of the mother confection eat this sugar, starting the fermentation process.
The promoter of the Dai Konbutxa project began to carry out tests at home with what he had learned in the formations. “At first I did it for myself, then my friends started asking me to do it for them as well, and that’s how, half unconsciously, the project expanded,” he says. In addition to the convex, Presa also produces water kefir. “My intention is to create products with the maximum benefits, that’s why I buy all the ingredients in organic stores in Gernika,” he adds.
Direct sales and training
Initially produced in the house by the conbutxa producer, but now it has gone a step further and started working in the facilities of the Aristieta farm in the Campanario neighborhood. “They are farmers there, they produce their own vegetables and fruits and they make jams and the like with surplus products,” he says. Since she started the project, Presa is grateful to have met with beautiful people who have helped her a lot, including members of the Aristias.
It sells the product in small shops and cooperatives in Gernika and the surrounding area, as well as through the project Baserri a Gernika. “I make a direct sale at home and also go to fairs and events in the area,” he says.
In addition to production, the field of training is also important in the Dai Konbutxa project. “I have been called from different places to give workshops and I decided to create a partnership to give more form to the project, especially for the courses,” he explains. Over the years, the producer has noticed a gradual increase in interest in the conch and the fermented ones. “At first, few people knew what combutxa was, now it is becoming more and more popular, and not only in the form of soft drinks, but also for health purposes many people take it,” he concludes.