On September 29, 2026, the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the Costa del Sol Axarquía hosted the presentation of the new stage of Los Cascos Verdes in the Axarquía. This environmental education initiative by CIFAL Málaga–UNITAR arrives in the region thanks to the support of Eurofresh and will accompany students from its 31 municipalities throughout the 2026-2027 school year.
Eurofresh promotes Los Cascos Verdes in the Axarquía: a school year to train the guardians of nature
A presentation alongside the institutions
The project was presented by our CEO, Carmen Gloria Lüttges Dittborn, and by the director of CIFAL Málaga, Déborah Salafranca. They were joined by Jorge Martín, president of the Association of Municipalities, and the territorial delegates of the Regional Government of Andalusia in Málaga: Gemma del Corral, for Sustainability and Environment, and Miguel Briones, for Education. Their presence reflects one of the keys to this stage: public-private collaboration between institutions, companies, educational centers, and citizens, in line with SDG 17, dedicated to partnerships.
Salafranca recalled that Los Cascos Verdes was born to “turn citizens into protagonists of nature protection,” and that the goal now is to bring that spirit to a specific territory, involving its schools, its companies, and the entire population.
Returning to where it all began
For Eurofresh, the Axarquía is not just another territory. Here lies Finca El Capitán, our first farm and the origin of the company, with over four decades of history and now a model of organic agriculture. From those origins, we have grown to become international organic avocado producers, pioneers in introducing this crop to Peru and the Dominican Republic.
The region brings together the Tejeda, Almijara, and Alhama mountains, fertile valleys with subtropical crops such as avocado and mango, and the Mediterranean coastline within just a few kilometers. For us, sustainability also means generating a positive impact where we are, and supporting the environmental education of the young people living in this environment is a way of giving back to the land part of what it has given us.
What is Los Cascos Verdes?
Inspired by the United Nations Blue Helmets, Los Cascos Verdes is a project by CIFAL Málaga, a center under UNITAR. Its purpose is to turn citizens, and especially young people, into active agents for the protection and recovery of ecosystems against desertification and climate change.
The 2026-2027 school year in the Axarquía
The program will combine training, micro-projects, and volunteering throughout the school year:
- Classroom training. Students between 10 and 18 years old will complete, guided by their teachers, a training itinerary that will provide them with knowledge and tools to identify environmental problems in their surroundings and propose solutions. Upon completion, they will receive a certificate from CIFAL Málaga–UNITAR accrediting them as Cascos Verdes or “Green Helmets.”
- Nature-Based Solutions micro-projects. Schools will be able to submit their proposals to a call for micro-projects to conserve and improve the ecosystems near their schools. Eurofresh will support two of them, with 3,000 euros each, which will be developed alongside a local NGO.
- Major community volunteering action. The course will culminate with a day open to families, students, companies, social entities, and residents of the region.
Participation in all activities is free of charge.
From the organic fields to the classrooms
Our organic and regenerative agriculture model is based on caring for the land, responsible resource management, and the protection of biodiversity. Los Cascos Verdes brings that same logic to the educational field: we want young people to know their territory, understand the environmental challenges it faces, and have the opportunity to imagine solutions and turn them into real projects. Educate to act. Act to care.
The Axarquía is the third stop for the project. In its first edition in Andalusia, the project trained nearly 4,000 students, financed 10 micro-projects, and mobilized more than 2,500 volunteers to plant 90,000 native seedlings in Sierra Bermeja. It then reached Meco (Community of Madrid), where more than 200 students participated in its workshops.
If you are part of an educational center in the region and want to participate, you can register as a Green Helmet on the project website.
