Six districts of the city distribute more than 12,400 jars of La Marga to social organisations
The bitter oranges harvested in this year's Barcelona Espigola have already been transformed into marmalade. The project, promoted by Parks and Gardens and managed by the Espigoladors Foundation, has grown in 2024 in terms of numbers of participants, with almost 600 volunteers collecting 5,375 kilograms of bitter oranges - twice as many as last year. Furthermore, this year the Eixample district joined in the initiative for the first time.
Barcelona Espigola, a project for the recovery and transformation of bitter oranges from trees on the city’s streets, continues to grow in this year’s edition. Around 5,400 kilos of bitter oranges were picked between 2 and 5 February on the streets of the districts of Sant Andreu, Les Corts, Ciutat Vella, Sant Martí, Gràcia, and for the first time also the Eixample district – double the volume collected in the previous year. Some 598 volunteers took part in the activity, many of them representatives from 29 organisations (schools, social organisations and neighbourhood groups), who harvested fruit from 415 trees.
More than 5,000 kilos of oranges were transformed into marmalade
The oranges collected were processed and transformed into bitter orange marmalade at the es im-perfect social workshop. A 100% natural artisan marmalade christened La Marga that aims to fight food waste, and promote a circular economy model. This year, 12,400 jars of marmalade have been produced, and distributed to neighbourhood organisations and groups in the local area that support people suffering from food poverty, or who are in other situations of social exclusion or vulnerability. In total, 37 educational centres, facilities and organisations in the six districts have benefited from donations. The Barcelona Public Health Agency is in charge of analysing both the raw oranges and the marmalade itself to ensure a good quality finished product.
Going a step further
The project also included communication and awareness-raising initiatives. Workshops were for the organisations participating in the project, as well as for educational centres and other groups in each of the six districts. In total, 16 of these were involved in the activities, with more than 450 people taking part. The workshops provided an opportunity to debate the problem of food wastage, to share initiatives for making the most of food, best consumption practice and reflections on the right to be able to access healthy, sustainable food.
The aim of Parks and Gardens is to extend the initiative to all the other districts in the city, contributing to the avoidance of food waste and promoting a sustainable economy. Barcelona Espigola falls under section 3 of the Natura Plan, and is part of both the 2030 Agriculture Strategy and the 2030 Sustainable Food Strategy.
Find out all about Barcelona Espigola 2024, a project promoted by the Municipal Institute of Parks and Gardens and managed by the Espigoladors Foundation.
