Agriculture Students Embark on a Faculty Led Study Abroad to the Basque Country of Spain

Artible by Oscar A Cisneros-Magana, (Agricultural Business, '24) 

This summer nine College of Agriculture students had the opportunity to travel to Spain’s Basque region on a trip led by Agricultural Business associate professor Jake Brimlow, in collaboration with the University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC). Their goal: to be immersed in the Basque culture and gain a deeper understanding of their food systems.

“Spain is a popular study abroad destination because of its diversity and accessible language,” said Brimlow. “California and Spain share similar climate zones, so travel to Spain provides students with opportunities to compare and contrast ag production, markets, and marketing methods in Spain and California. This often leads to interesting discoveries and expanded understanding, including ways culture and history impact agricultural production and markets.”

Over the three week experience, we had the opportunity to see many aspects of the country’s food systems, culture and agricultural practices. From differences in philosophy to the very localized food systems and innovative ideas coming out of the region, we were shown the value agriculture brings to the region as well as provide insight into what future food systems may look like.

We stayed in two locations, taking day trips to companies based in and around the city.  The first 10 days were spent in San Sebastian, or as the locals call it, Donosti. This coastal town has a long history of being a tourist destination and is home to the Palacio de Miramar which used to be the summer residence of the royal family. Great views of the coastline aren’t hard to come by, and the palace is home to one of the best. During our groups free time to explore we found ourselves making it our mission to walk from one side of the city to the other to take in the architecture, views and all of the little streets and alleys.

During our time in San Sebastian, we were immersed into the local culture and got an understanding of the Basque culture and social norms. From visiting the culinary societies working to preserve the region’s food and culture, to the pintxo bars that have a more casual dining experience, there was a noticeable pride in preserving local traditions. One of the first visits to a gastronomic society was Cofradia Vasca de Gastronomia, where we had the opportunity to talk and learn from Luis Mokoroa. His father was one of the founding members of that cofradia and has seen the building they currently operate out of grow from three and a half walls and a caved-in roof to a fully functioned, multistory, restaurant. His knowledge of the region’s history and connection to the food really stood out too many of us in the group.

A second highlight of the trip was on one of our day trips while in San Sebastian that we took about an hour bus ride north to St.-Jean-de-Luz, a French town right on the border. Here we saw some of the cultural differences between French and Spanish Basque culture. On this day we also got to hike through the Pyrenees, starting off in the French town of Sare and finishing in the Spanish town of Zugarramurdi. This hike provided us an incredible way to explore the countryside, learn about cultural differences and get us ready for the lamb chops we had for lunch.

The city of Bilbao was a change of scenery; this lively city was full of small squares to explore and shops throughout the city. Here we got to explore larger companies that are not only on the front lines of research and innovation but also working with existing research to find new applications. While visiting Azti, a research and consulting firm that provides services to companies looking to improve their processes, develop new products and expand into new markets, we saw a range of products they’ve helped launch and advised. The most interesting part was the tour of their facilities. They had a range of labs that each had their own specialty, a warehouse where engineers could experiment with machinery configurations and test kitchens to develop new products. They have been crucial partners for many new products in the European market, not only working to produce new products for the Spanish market but also working globally.

The Eroski warehouse, was quickly a group favorite. Strategically located between the two largest cities in that region, this facility is where all products are received and stored before going to the grocery stores. This highly automated system allows for the warehouse to run while minimizing physical labor needed to operate. If you have ever seen an Amazon warehouse, this looked very similar. This stop was one of our last visits as it closed the circle, from farm to grocery store.

Our last stop would be lunch at Kitxen with chef Ivan Abril. His culinary preparation took him to London and Hong Kong and that is reflected in his fusion of Basque and Asian culinary technique. In his kitchen, we had a chance to become our own chefs, to prepare the food we would eat. This unique experience allowed us to reflect on the practices and history we’d been taught throughout the trip as a group preparing the meal and enjoying as a group. This was an incredible culmination of an interactive and immersive study abroad experience.

Although the program as only three weeks we got to see and learn so much about the Basque culture, Spanish agricultural practices and European food systems. In total, we visited over 20 companies, explored over 10 cities and even hiked from France to Spain. Furthermore, many of us got to network and create new relationships. It was an incredible opportunity to immerse ourselves in a culture many of us knew little about and it is what makes Chico State a great place to learn.

Brimlow hopes to continue to offer summer study abroad experiences to agriculture students in the future. The hope is to visit Japan in 2025 and Spain in 2026 if possible. When asked why students should consider joining one of the future abroad trips, Brimlow gave a short conclusion. “One of the points of the program is to give students a global perspective. It’s a hands-on experiential learning opportunity to help expand their global understanding of how different cultures and history impact agricultural production and markets.”