Mató de Montserrat, somalla, Gall del Penedès, carbassa de ferro... At first glance it may seem that these products have little in common, but they share many things. They are local, specifically, to the province of Barcelona, and stand out for having unique characteristics. They are also an indispensable part of the history of the territory and of the families that, in some cases, have been producing them for hundreds of years.
Let's put emphasis on those families, because without them these vegetables, meats, cheeses and sausages probably would not have survived the passage of time. And in the few projects that, without asking for anything in return, have fought for the same goal. Nor should we forget women who, despite having contributed (a lot) to all the activities of the primary sector, have often been left in the background. This will not be the case in this report.
Elisabet Colomer, Montserrat and María Soler, Emi Codinachs and Anna Codina are just an example of how they contribute to ensuring that products historically closely linked to the territory continue to exist. The Barcelona Provincial Council awarded them last November for their work and effort, even having to face obstacles and prejudices in professions that are often masculinized. These are their stories:
Montserrat (28 years old) and María Soler (26 years old) are the 5th generation of a family that has been linked to the production of mató de Montserrat for more than a century. They explain that her great-great-grandmother was already going up to this "magical mountain" to sell him. They both work at Cal Pujolet, the family cheese factory located in Marganell, one of the four municipalities that make up the Montserrat Natural Park. There they produce this fresh cheese so appreciated in Catalonia, and both began to collaborate almost naturally.
"I studied Business Sciences and did a master's degree in Events and Protocols in Barcelona. I worked there for a few years, but I quickly realized that the city was not my place. I returned home, although my parents had always given me the freedom to dedicate myself to whatever I wanted, and I became part of the staff of the cheese factory. I don't regret a thing. Today, I combine work in the family business with my position as a councilor in the Marganell City Council," says Montserrat.
For her part, María tried to study, but she immediately gave up, as her mother had done many years ago. "I realized that I was comfortable at home and that I loved working at the cheese factory, going up to Montserrat to sell the products, talking to customers... It doesn't surprise me, because since we were little we learned to love things at home a lot, that what our family did. For me it is an idyllic environment.
Montserrat takes more care of the management tasks, while María is the one who usually goes up to Montserrat to sell the mata and the rest of the cheeses they make. But they both do a little bit of everything in this business in which their parents, Núria Roset and Ramon Soler, and her aunt, Meritxell Roset, still work. They have two stores in the daily Montserrat market that are open all year round, except on the day they have the company dinner or when there is a strong windfall. They also send their cheeses to stores in Manresa, Girona and Barcelona, or deliver them to homes in a more timely manner.
They explain that there are only four producers of Mató de Montserrat left, a product that is only produced in Marganell. "We have maintained my grandmother's production process and we have a very loyal clientele. There are those who tell us that our great-grandmother already bought it," they say proudly. They differ from other producers in that they curdle the milk directly, which must be very white, resulting in a high quality product.
"Native products like the mata have to survive. They are part of our history and that of all of Catalonia. The tradition of searching for the mata a Montserrat cannot be lost," they defend. And they add that the mata is a high quality food, with a lot of protein, which is healthy and very good.
Currently, there are only four farms that raise Gall del Penedès with PGI. And Elisabeth Colomer is one of the people behind these exploitations.
Years ago, he was dedicated to communication, and was commissioned to promote the Fira del Gall del Penedès, with more than 300 years of history. The objective was to ensure that this breed of rooster did not disappear and to make its gastronomic virtues known to the general public. But along the way, an obstacle was encountered: there were very few people who bred the black variety (there are also the perdiuda, the barrada and the blat). Such was her scarcity that her boss and other colleagues raised her to ensure her presence at the fair.
"I saw that they also did it to avoid losing the race and I began to feel curious," he explains. She shared all of these concerns with her grandmother Pilar, a woman who had grown up in a peasant family in La Bleda (Barcelona), but who ended up marrying a man from Vilafranca and moving to the city to work as a furrier. "She longed for all that country life, the animals and the land, and she loved when he talked to her about the fair and the roosters." One day, Elisabeth suggested raising black roosters and her grandmother, who had a house in Castellví, didn't take two seconds to offer that space to do so.
On that property, Elisabeth and her husband, Jordi, set up a small farm following all the regulations in force for raising this breed of roosters. And they liked her. Later, they moved to Pla del Penedès to have the business closer to home and raise a larger farm. They looked for a space, they enabled it and they are still there after 18 years. They have never left their respective jobs, because it is a project that does not give them a living.
"We continue because we have achieved a loyal clientele that values our work, but it is not easy," he explains. The rules established by the IGP, which refer, for example, to the square meters that the animal must have to peck, or the feed mixture it must eat, are very strict. They also continue to raise roosters because "it is a quality and nutritious native product. It has survived thanks to the efforts of many families, and it should continue to be that way," he insists.
Although for Elisabeth a good campaign is needed by public institutions to deseasonalize it and ensure that more people can dedicate themselves to its production, which would ensure the survival of the breed.
In 1989, Bartomeu Codina and Mª Teresa Ricart opened a butcher shop and bacon shop in Taradell that continues to operate successfully today thanks to their children Anna, Xevi and Núria. Before venturing to open the business, they had slaughtered the pigs in the family home for several years and let people nearby taste the products they obtained. "They made bull, fuet, somalles, sausages, loin, butifarra... They came from a family of farmers, it was in their blood," explains Anna. The neighbors encouraged them to produce them more frequently and from there came the idea of opening a business.
Since they were little, their children collaborated and today they run a store where they produce various traditional-cut sausages. Anna mainly deals with customer service and sales, but she also works in the workshop. As in many family businesses, everyone does a little of everything.
In 2018 they won the award for the best sausage at the Concurs Nacional de Llonganissa Tradicional and, last year, they came first in the Concurs Nacional de Butifarra d'Ou Artesanal. But Anna insists that her job has its challenges. "From the moment the pig is alive. Then you have to take it to the slaughterhouse, have it pass the controls, have it brought back to you, break it down and make the products. On the other hand, you have to set up the tent every morning, place all the meat and sausages, and at the end of the day, dismantle it and clean everything well. There are many hours dedicated that are not seen," he explains.
But he is clear that businesses like his must continue to exist. "The sausage we make is not the same as other manufactured products. Priority must be given to quality," and he adds that fighting for these products is fighting for local business. "Small businesses give life. Without them, the towns would be very poor. It is also where the customer is cared for the most."
Emi Codinachs is a cook by profession, but after finding out that the Banc de Llavors de Roda de Ter had been launched, she couldn't help but sign up. She was excited about what they did from this project that was born around 2015: they store the seeds produced by local farmers with the aim of preserving them and providing them to other interested people. With this, they want to protect local species, especially those that are not produced on a large scale.
Those who participate in this bank do so without receiving a salary in return. "We collaborate in our free time," says Emi. One of the tasks they carry out is prospecting, that is, going to see farmers and gardeners to check if they have old seeds (more than 30-50 years old). "We take them to germinate them and see if they are viable. If so, we multiply them or save them so we can exchange them at the Fira de la Llavor in Roda de Ter or at other fairs."
With their work, they have helped to prevent varieties of legumes such as the Collsacabra mongeta from becoming extinct, which is small and creamy. "It was going to disappear because the last person who grew it died recently," Emi clarifies. Or the carbassa de ferro, traditional from the Osona region, with a powerful orange color inside and muted greens on the outside. Also the galàpet pell cabbage, which withstands intense cold and measures a hand's breadth in diameter. And much more.
In addition, this entity also carries out research work, for example, analyzing what should be grown in these times of drought, or how the land should be worked.
Emi, who comes from a peasant family, believes that the survival of these products must be ensured "out of conscience, ethics, ecology and sovereignty." She insists that it is good to eat what grows around us, both for our health and that of the planet, and that the season should be prioritized. Finally, she encourages people who have a small garden or terrace to plant to see how the plants grow, how they are cared for. "This is what we feed on," she insists.
