The Community of Bitigarra is a group of four villages in the Montaña Alavesa, San Vicente de Arana (attached to the Valle de Arana), Róitegui, Ibisate and Sabando (attached to the Ayuntamiento de Arraia-Maeztu), which share a common mountain.
The origins of the Community of Bitigarra, as in many of the cases of mountainous communities, are lost in history. It is one of the many groups of villages that exist in Alava
in which they share the use of communal forests. The origins of the Community of Bitigarra, as in many of the cases of the communal forests, are lost in history.
It is one of the many groups of villages that exist in Alava in which they share the use of communal forests. Its forest is divided between the four villages and is for the exclusive use of each of them, while the pastures are for common use.
Its forest is divided between the four villages and is for the exclusive use of each of them, while the pastures are for common use.
The mountain shared by these villages is approximately 300 hectares, 145 of which are pasture land. The use of forest and pastures is differentiated. The trees belong to the Administrative Board of each village and the benefit that is taken from them is for each village. A mojonera distributes the trees that correspond to each one of them. The soil, however, is considered common and can be grazed by the cattle of all the farms located in any of the four villages that make up the community.
Apart from the firewood lots (lot of firewood that is granted to the houses that request it), at present the forest is not being exploited because the trees are still young. Should it be sold, the profits would go to the people who own the trees. However, the pastures are used, in which the cattle of the farms of the four villages graze in an unspecified way.
The Community of Bitigarra has five male cattle ranchers and one female cattle rancher. Depending on the village they belong to, in addition to being able to graze in Bitigarra, they also have rights to graze in other mountains (the Parzonerías of Entzia, Iturrieta, Atxuri, Gipuzkoarro and Nazazarra, as well as the mountains of each village), so that they do not depend exclusively on this pasture. Each one decides where he or she will take his or her cattle to graze and pays the annual fees wherever he or she goes.
Although the community of Bitigarra belongs to the municipality of Arraia-Maeztu, the ownership of the mountain falls on to the villages.
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