LIHOA 2030 Project: regenerative flax in Gipuzkoa

The LIHOA 2030 project aims to explore and advance the potential of oilseed flax (which also provides short fibers for industrial applications) to generate opportunities for sustainability and rural development from an economic, social, and environmental perspective (biodiversity enhancement, CO2 sequestration). Therefore, it addresses, among other things, the key challenges of sustainable economic diversification in rural areas and CO2 capture, through a study of the crop’s viability in terms of bioeconomy opportunities, and with the support of technological innovation (AI, sensors, drones). To this end, a comparative analysis at the European level, a study of the necessary machinery, and a small-scale demonstration trial of flax cultivation in Gipuzkoa are being carried out.

The project is funded by innovation grants through cooperation in the agri-food and wood value chains of the Basque Country. The project partners are the Asmoz Foundation, the Zubigune Foundation, NBSCLIMATE, Urkome, and Sakona Etxaldea SC.

NBSCLIMATE’s participation, together with Slow Fashion Next, focuses on applying the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions to the regenerative agriculture sector, emphasizing the strengthening of the rural bioeconomy resulting from the relocation of derived value chains, including that of regenerative textile/fashion (flax as a regenerative textile material).