As part of the training activities carried out by the European ESIRA Project, focused on promoting social innovation in rural areas, on Friday, September 12, nearly 50 rural development practitioners took part in an intensive workday aimed at identifying and learning from successful rural experiences. The participants, mostly connected to rural development in the regions of Arlanza and Pinares Burgos-Soria, immersed themselves in the inspiring work of El Hueco (Soria) and El Colletero (Nalda, La Rioja), two emblematic initiatives in the fields of rural social innovation and economic transformation. During these participatory visits, attendees had the opportunity to directly explore the many ongoing projects, guided by their founders, in a day marked by shared learning and exchange of experiences.
This activity, promoted by Fundación Oxígeno and the University of Burgos within the framework of the European ESIRA project, is part of the training actions of the Rural Lab Pinares, located in the Pinares Burgos-Soria region. This lab functions as an ecosystem for territorial and social innovation, aimed at strengthening the social and solidarity economy in the area. The ESIRA project is simultaneously active in eight Rural Labs through the collaboration of fifteen European entities, including universities, research centers, and innovation institutions, from eight countries: Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Serbia.
The day began with participants being picked up in Burgos, Salas de los Infantes, Hontoria del Pinar, and San Leonardo, to facilitate the involvement of people from the Pinares territory. Once in Soria, Joaquín Alcalde, director of El Hueco, and some of his colleagues presented this unique ecosystem supporting social entrepreneurship, located in the heart of depopulated inland Spain and promoted since 2012 by the Spanish NGO Cives Mundi. Its aim is to create a favorable environment where innovative ideas and entrepreneurial projects can be developed and brought to life, also promoting each year the PRESURA Fair for Rural Repopulation.
After a warm welcome to this space dedicated to social innovation, which spans 2,500 square meters and includes coworking areas, idea incubators, multipurpose rooms, and spaces for businesses, several of its promoters presented their most significant projects. They shared with attendees a range of successful initiatives focused on rural repopulation, access to affordable housing, women’s empowerment, and inclusion in rural environments. These experiences served as inspiration for an attentive and participative audience, who gathered ideas with the potential to be replicated in the Pinares region through the Rural Lab promoted by the ESIRA project.
After discovering this first initiative, at 12:30 p.m. the group resumed their journey by bus to visit the next experience: El Colletero, an association founded in 2000 in Nalda (La Rioja), which emerged from a proposal and a year of support from the PANAL Association (Association for the Recovery and Promotion of the Heritage of Nalda and its surroundings). Its creation responded to the need to promote sustainable and equitable development in the municipality, addressing the demands of the local population in this rural setting.
The first stop was at the association’s gardens, where a volunteer shared with participants the initiatives they carry out, explaining how they cultivate and care for the land, and how they promote a lifestyle based on respect for people and the natural environment. Their work is organized through workshops and activities on topics such as bioconstruction, sustainable agriculture, and community care in the village of Nalda. They also regularly prepare baskets of seasonal fruits and vegetables, which are distributed through a consumer cooperative. This initiative currently provides employment for fourteen people from the area, contributing to population retention and the creation of opportunities in a valley strongly affected by depopulation.
Later, the group moved to the Espacio Común, an artistic space where they enjoyed a networking lunch prepared with produce from the gardens and the local cooperative. During this gathering, they were able to learn more about this restored space, designed to promote local artistic creation, and equipped for sculpture, painting, ceramics, and other visual arts. In the same space, the group delved into El Colletero’s care-related work, accompanied by other volunteers who joined the lunch to share experiences and engage in dialogue with participants.
At 6:00 p.m., the bus picked up the participants for the return journey to Burgos, Salas de los Infantes, and San Leonardo, after an intense day full of learning, creativity, innovation, and community engagement. It was a unique opportunity to discover two inspiring projects that leave the ESIRA project filled with new ideas to replicate in the Pinares territory.
The innovative and rural-focused actions of the European ESIRA Project will continue on Saturday, October 4, at the Palacio de Cultura in Salas de los Infantes (Burgos), where a new meeting of the MAP Pinares Burgos-Soria will take place. This participatory platform, made up of local actors, will assess the progress of ongoing innovative initiatives, the operational mechanisms of the Rural Lab, available training activities, communities of practice, advisory services, and inspiration spaces for interested stakeholders, as well as new proposals to be developed within the framework of the development vectors of the Burgos-Soria Forest area.
