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La Planteria is much more than a technological resource. It is a transformative device that harnesses agroecological knowledge, digital innovation and a cooperative spirit to foster urban self-consumption and the conservation of local varieties. With a user-friendly interface, the tool makes it possible to design an allotment according to the specific conditions of the space available and each user’s tastes.

It also connects users directly with the organisations that make the planter. This facilitates access to local and seasonal varieties in order to make the transformation of the food model towards healthier and more sustainable practices more accessible, the goals of the Agròpolis space that supported the organisations behind this effort: the Eixarcolant and Tarpuna cooperatives and the Associació L’Era.

A tool that furthers self-consumption and biodiversity

Based on the 2023 Agrohackathon, a collective creative thinking day organised by Barcelona City Council’s Agròpolis space, the organisations embarked on a joint working process which started by identifying a shared goal: to promote agroecology aimed at self-consumption and make it as easy as possible.

This easy-to-use app was designed as a result: ‘Users only have to enter basic information like the size of the allotment, the sun’s orientation, the watering system andtheir personal preferences… and with that it proposes crops that match the conditions and seasonality’, explains Marc from Eixarcolant. The tool also allows users to mark the crops they prefer, such as peppers, cabbage, beans or lettuce, and it generates a list of local varieties from Catalonia that are adapted to each season: red bell peppers, hanging tomatoes, escarole, etc.

These recommendations link directly to the websites of the promoting organisations, which enables users to directly purchase the local, ecological planter, which fosters contact between consumers and the producers of local varieties, boosting short circuits and the agroecological model.

‘We won’t come to lay the soil, but at least the decision on what to plant depending on what you like and when and how to plant it will be done by a simple, very user-friendly digital tool’, says Ramon from Eixarcolant.

A joint response to shared needs

La Planteria stems the convergence of three organisations with different histories and specialities, but they all share a single mission: to further agroecology as a local production and consumption model.

Specifically, Eixarcolant works to revive and showcase edible wild species and traditional agricultural varieties; L’Era offers agroecological production resources and conserves local varieties; and Tarpuna promotes social innovation and sustainable transformation projects through participation.

Open source with the aim of replicability

One of the most powerful features of La Planteria is that it is an open-source tool. This means that any interested organisation can download the plug-in, adapt it and use it on their own website. ‘It is totally editable and usable, very easy for organisations to manage and super user-friendly’, says Marc.

Since this last spring campaign, the tool has already been implemented on the Esporus de L’Era and Eixarcolant websites. ‘The goal is to continue spreading it and offering it to other organisations that produce planters because even though there aren’t many of us in Catalonia yet, we want to serve as a catalyst and benchmark for new initiatives’, Marc says.

Making tending to an allotment easy and motivating

Within a context in which many people are interested in self-consumption and ecological production but don’t know where to begin, La Planteria aims to be a user-friendly, useful gateway. This is why it helps users to avoid the usual mistakes when planting an urban allotment, where space is often limited.

The tool helps users make realistic plans that match the size and conditions of their own allotment with a clear goal in mind: to make the experience of having an allotment ‘gratifying, enriching, positive and motivating’, in Marc’s words.

The Agrohackathon, a driver of collaborative projects

‘When you have a variety of organisations that share goals and have complementary visions, two plus two isn’t four but much more’, claims Marc. Dialogue and shared perspectives have enabled them to develop a tool with a real capacity for transformation.

The project also enlisted the participation of allotment groups and organisations that work for urban biodiversity in Barcelona. This teamwork has enriched the process, enabled the functionalities to be fine-tuned and ensured that La Planteria meets users’ real needs.

La Planteria is a success story from the Agrohackathon, a space that has become a true driver of collaborative ideas in the field of sustainable food which is holding yet another edition on 16 May, where a variety of organisations will meet up once again to come up with new shared projects.