Brotes Compartidos (meaning “shared buds”) is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) located in Segovia in Spain. According to the definition coined by URGENCI, the international CSA network, “a CSA is a direct partnership based on the human relationship between people and one or several producer(s), whereby the risks, responsibilities and rewards of farming are shared, through a long-term, binding agreement.”

Brotes Compartidos CSA it is composed by around 100 members and was created by Estefania Egido in 2018. Estefania had already been engaged during seven years in working with traditional varieties. She has been collecting, multiplying, and adapting traditional seeds of vegetables and aromatic plants coming from local farmers and local seed banks. The aim is to find varieties that are well adapted to Segovia environmental and climatic conditions. Estefania has been working with the Segovia seed network, Red de Semillas de Segovia, since the beginning.

Seed exchanges are happening among CSA members in a spontaneous way, and with non-CSA members such as local professionals, and non-professional producers. The network also aims at promoting the use of local varieties among hobby gardeners and farmers instead of buying seeds from companies.

Regularly, the CSA core members organise open door activities and conferences to talk about the initiative to new people. The CSA group is also working with consumers associations and organizes talks on responsible and sustainable consumption. Moreover, CSA members also join seminars on climate change to explain how CSAs can be an interesting alternative model to fight climate change.

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