A future of self-sufficiency

With Julio Arroyo García-Abad.

Food self-sufficiency means regaining food sovereignty.

Not depending on the supermarket, nor on highly processed products; on the contrary, producing one's own sources of food, obtaining healthy products and crops without additives that could cause adverse effects, in the vast majority of cases.

Food self-sufficiency also ensures that a nation or community can meet the food needs of its population through its own agricultural production. It is considered a key strategy in agricultural policies to guarantee food security.

We talked with Julio about the self-sufficiency course-workshop that he organizes during 2026, with eight workshops, starting on March 21 and ending on December 12. The workshops cover very practical and useful content, such as the creation and maintenance of a garden, the development of products and artisanal techniques in food production, and many other valuable contents.

Julio, thank you for meeting with us. We would like to start with an introduction for the audience that doesn’t know you: what drives and inspires you to work in the agricultural sector, and what is your approach to sharing this?

It is not what inspires me right now; it is what inspired me at one point in my life. When I was very young, I had an inspiration and a dream to become a farmer, and naturally, I didn’t want to practice just any kind of agriculture. At that time, I decided to pursue a type of agriculture that would be respectful of the environment and the health of the whole human being, so that the food produced would help people not only with their physical health but also with their mental health and their capacity to make decisions freely.

After more than 30 years as a livestock farmer, I make a change in my life and dedicate myself to spreading and advising other ways of viewing agronomy and nature, training farmers and future farmers, who can find in agricultural work a way to be happy while doing good for the land and for human beings.

Can you explain to us the self-sufficiency course that you have scheduled for this year 2026?

This course was created a few years ago due to questions and by observing the needs of many people in learning the necessary skills to be a little more free and self-sufficient, to have more sovereignty in their lives.

The course is about learning the techniques and practices necessary to be able to provide for oneself with the products and materials needed in our daily life.

Everything is based on the rhythm of the year in the implementation and maintenance of a garden from the beginning, from scratch, and the garden in spring, summer, autumn, and what can be done in winter.

Learning to make bread with and without gluten, pastries, healthy cooking, preserves, fermented foods, candles, soaps, ceramics, etc.… and if there is a great crisis being able to move forward and help loved ones.

Can you explain to us what you consider 'traditional crafts' and how they are presented in this course?

It is not about going back to the past to trades that should not have been lost, that have been taken from us, but rather recreating them and updating them as skills we possess.

We present it in an easy way to do what we might need if we fight for sovereignty not only in food but also of those objects we might need, such as making soap, candles, bread, fermented foods, cheeses, in this case taking into account new health trends, gluten, milk, probiotics, etc.

How many days does the course last and how have you organized the contents?

There is always demand, an edition is held every year, this year it will start in March.

There will be eight sessions once a month, a full Saturday, about 10 hours, each course day we will do work in the garden which is very important, and a manual activity, and we will have work to do at home, from seminar to seminar.

Which professors or experts does the course have?

The main teacher is me, Julio Arroyo García-Abad. With occasional collaborations, all the information can be downloaded from the website julioarroyogarciaabad.es.

The only thing I could say to understand the necessity or why this idea was born, observing the drift of the world, is that we should not rule out the possibility that we may have to relearn farming tasks and traditional skills to feed ourselves and maintain our health and the health of our loved ones. We could say to re-learn what we have forgotten or what they have made us forget with the promise that they give us everything ready, and with that, they take away our freedom.

What do you want to add for our readers?

The only thing I could say to understand the need or the reason why this idea was born, observing the drift of the world, is that we should not rule out that we may have to relearn farming tasks and traditional skills to feed ourselves and maintain our health and the health of our loved ones. We could say, re-learn what we have forgotten or what they have made us forget for the promise that says they give us everything done, and with that, they take away our freedom.

Thanks !

Workshop Activities:

Gluten-Free and Regular Bread Making

Vegan Cheeses

Pastry Making

Soap Making

Yogurts and Fermented Milks

Wax Candle Making

Ceramics

Plant Identification

Preserves

Healthy Cooking

Fermented Foods

Sprouts

Composting

Currently, and for the past 14 years, Julio has been working as a trainer in Biodynamic Agriculture and as an advisor for the conversion and management of farms according to this methodology.