Lorena Costas, goat’s cheese producer at the Marintarrena farmhouse – Otxandio, Bizkaia

Although she was not born in the countryside, Lorena Costas always felt that she had it inside her. Raised between the village of Otxandio and weekends at her family’s farmhouse, her love for animals was born early, almost as a natural obsession. From an early age, she already felt that deep connection with the land and the living beings that inhabit it. “I think you are born a farmer,” she says with conviction.

Her path was not linear. For years she combined working in the hotel and catering industry with her studies, but never quite found her place. A horse lover, she trained as an equestrian technician, worked in stables and even thought about setting up something in this sector. But she soon realised that the costs made this dream unfeasible. After becoming a young mother and settling in Otxandio with her partner, she found an affordable piece of land to start something new: a small goat farm.

She chose a manageable, semi-extensive farming model, adapted to the land and the climate. Today, with around 100 goats, she produces her own cheese and sells it, for the most part, directly. It has been a hard road, physically and mentally demanding, especially while raising her two young daughters. She herself took care of the milking, management, financing, sales… Only recently has her husband fully joined the project, although she is still at the wheel.

Lorena has never believed that the rural world is only for men. She says that women have always been present in all the tasks, although they have always been invisible. And she herself is proof of this: firm, autonomous and with an infallible memory for recognising every goat in her herd. She has sometimes received sexist comments, especially from older men, but she responds with confidence and humour. In her environment, at least, women have weight, voice and decision.

One of the pillars of her project has been the connection with networks of local producers. She participates in cooperative shops such as Etartea, in rural markets and online platforms that facilitate access to local products, such as Iraunkor or BBK Azoka. She firmly believes in bringing the product closer to the consumer, without depending on large chains. For her, markets have an irreplaceable value, not only commercial, but also human and community value.

She also recognises the legacy of the women who preceded her, especially her grandmother, from whom she learned, without realising it, how to sow, how to treat the animals and how to run a farm with order and care. Today, that knowledge lives on in her.

Although her daughters do not yet see the attraction of rural life, Lorena is sure that one day they will value everything they have experienced. The freedom, the connection with nature, the responsibility, it all leaves its mark.

Finally, she criticises public policies: she feels that they are made from far away, by people who do not understand the reality of the farm. There are more and more bureaucratic obstacles and less and less real support. To start a business in the countryside, she says, is scary. But she also believes that there is a future, especially if you are committed to sustainable, small and humane models.