
María José Tallón García
Innovator
Trasdeza Natur
Spain
Economic
Rural Areas
Rural village
The innovation journey
Trasdeza Natur is a business founded by María José Tallon in Galicia Spain, in 2016, which focuses on the production of fruit through sustainable guidelines, which is then marketed as ecologically and artisanal dehydrated fruit, and vegetables produced with solar energy so that all their organoleptic values and nutritional properties can be preserved. She started as a self-employed business selling fresh products and converted a house she owned into a workshop for processing surplus fresh produce into dehydrated products.
The idea was to extend the life of fresh produce with the dehydration process, and no sugar or sweeteners were added to her products. María also wanted the dehydration processes to be natural, so she travelled to South America to study how this was done, entered into an agreement with the University of Santiago de Compostela, and bought a machine designed for drying seaweed. This is a renewable and green technology, with zero environmental impact, and María’s production is currently almost 100% dehydrated products.
The innovation impact
María declares that thanks to her project she has given more visibility to the rural area, obtaining a certificate of ‘ecological’, given her sensitivity to the issue of healthy products. Among the indicators of the success of her production is the ‘Sello de Artesanía Alimentaria’ awarded by the Government of Galicia, as well as the BBVA award to Best Sustainable Growers in Spain in 2023. In addition, of great value are the recognition of the optimisation of the fruit and vegetable dehydration process through renewable energies, and the maintenance of nutritional values, demonstrating the ability to preserve all the properties and organoleptic values of dehydrated fruits.
It is important and desirable to use a targeted approach to production with the total use of renewable energy, such as that used by Trasdeza Natur, to contribute to combating climate change. Also of great importance is the focus on preserving the nutritional values of fruit and vegetables, as a promotion of a healthier diet.