Prioritising the places and people that need it the most
Espacio de Encuentros Rurales la Surera
La Surera, a rural, collective and open space for social and economic experimentation
La Surera is a collective, rural and self-managed project, created in 2016 to promote horizontal participation and drive bottom-up changes towards new social, economic, and environmental paradigms. It focuses on economic relocalization and the sustainable use of local resources. It operates as a space for social and economic experimentation, aiming to demonstrate the relevance of the local and rural scale in addressing current challenges such as the ecological crisis and depopulation.
Spain
Local
Almedíjar (288 inhabitants, INE 2024), Alto Palancia region, Sierra de Espadán Natural Park.
Mainly rural
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Yes
2025-01-01
Yes
European Social Fund
Creative Europe
ERASMUS
No
No
As a representative of an organisation
Overall aim:
La Surera aims to demonstrate that life in rural areas remains relevant and can provide solutions to contemporary challenges, such as the ecological crisis and depopulation. It challenges the notion that rural life belongs to the past by promoting sustainable living and community empowerment as alternatives to the globalized, consumerist development model.
Target groups:
- Local populations and individuals interested in relocating to rural areas.
- Special focus on women, young people, and migrants.
- Communities in inland areas with fewer opportunities.
Specific objectives:
1. Sustainable livelihoods: provide sustainable livelihoods for cooperative members and foster self-employment opportunities
2. Social entrepreneurship incubation: experiment with and develop social entrepreneurship projects in the following areas:
- knowledge school to rediscover the potential of local natural resources
- agricultural activities and agro-food product transformation
- sustainable tourism and environmental education.
3. New rural narratives: rethink ways of inhabiting rural areas – seeing, caring for, transforming, participating in, and nurturing – to build new narratives that highlight the transformative potential of rural life for ecosocial transition
Achieved Outcomes:
- Open Incubation Space: creation of an open and collaborative space for project incubation, experimentation, and training
- Artistic Residency Program: establishment of LANAR_ Open Laboratory of Rural Narratives, a platform for artistic creation and research focused on rural narratives and community engagement.
Our project contributes to sustainable rural development, community resilience, and the promotion of inclusive and transformative rural narratives.
La Surera aims to demonstrate that life in rural areas remains relevant and can provide solutions to contemporary challenges, such as the ecological crisis and depopulation. It challenges the notion that rural life belongs to the past by promoting sustainable living and community empowerment as alternatives to the globalized, consumerist development model.
Target groups:
- Local populations and individuals interested in relocating to rural areas.
- Special focus on women, young people, and migrants.
- Communities in inland areas with fewer opportunities.
Specific objectives:
1. Sustainable livelihoods: provide sustainable livelihoods for cooperative members and foster self-employment opportunities
2. Social entrepreneurship incubation: experiment with and develop social entrepreneurship projects in the following areas:
- knowledge school to rediscover the potential of local natural resources
- agricultural activities and agro-food product transformation
- sustainable tourism and environmental education.
3. New rural narratives: rethink ways of inhabiting rural areas – seeing, caring for, transforming, participating in, and nurturing – to build new narratives that highlight the transformative potential of rural life for ecosocial transition
Achieved Outcomes:
- Open Incubation Space: creation of an open and collaborative space for project incubation, experimentation, and training
- Artistic Residency Program: establishment of LANAR_ Open Laboratory of Rural Narratives, a platform for artistic creation and research focused on rural narratives and community engagement.
Our project contributes to sustainable rural development, community resilience, and the promotion of inclusive and transformative rural narratives.
Rurality
Diversity
Creativity
Experimentation
Entrepreneurship
The project addresses environmental sustainability through the following key areas:
- Recovery, transmission, and promotion of the natural and cultural heritage of Almedíjar. Our School of Local Knowledge is a central pillar of our social entrepreneurship incubator. It supports the sustainable use of natural resources by combining education and production, promoting resource efficiency and sustainability.
- Ecological agricultural activities, including the restoration of traditional terraces and olive groves and the artisanal processing of agro-food products. These practices contribute to soil regeneration, biodiversity preservation, and the promotion of circular economy principles.
- Sustainable tourism and environmental education, which promote reconnection with nature and raise awareness of how responsible practices can contribute to environmental sustainability and ecosystem preservation. Through immersive experiences, participants are encouraged to understand the environmental impact of human activities and adopt more sustainable lifestyles.
- Creative projects and research initiatives implemented within our artistic residency program, aimed at co-creating new narratives about rural life and its transformative potential in advancing the eco-social transition. By integrating cultural and environmental dimensions, these projects explore the role of eco-knowledge and situated rural wisdom in climate change adaptation. They also stimulate critical reflection on the sustainability of rural territories, showcasing how culture and art can drive environmental awareness and inspire regenerative practices.
- Recovery, transmission, and promotion of the natural and cultural heritage of Almedíjar. Our School of Local Knowledge is a central pillar of our social entrepreneurship incubator. It supports the sustainable use of natural resources by combining education and production, promoting resource efficiency and sustainability.
- Ecological agricultural activities, including the restoration of traditional terraces and olive groves and the artisanal processing of agro-food products. These practices contribute to soil regeneration, biodiversity preservation, and the promotion of circular economy principles.
- Sustainable tourism and environmental education, which promote reconnection with nature and raise awareness of how responsible practices can contribute to environmental sustainability and ecosystem preservation. Through immersive experiences, participants are encouraged to understand the environmental impact of human activities and adopt more sustainable lifestyles.
- Creative projects and research initiatives implemented within our artistic residency program, aimed at co-creating new narratives about rural life and its transformative potential in advancing the eco-social transition. By integrating cultural and environmental dimensions, these projects explore the role of eco-knowledge and situated rural wisdom in climate change adaptation. They also stimulate critical reflection on the sustainability of rural territories, showcasing how culture and art can drive environmental awareness and inspire regenerative practices.
La Surera seeks to redefine the perception of rural life through an inclusive and transformative aesthetic that highlights the natural and cultural heritage of Almedíjar. It creates an environment that reconnects people with nature and community, fostering a sensory and emotional experience that invites reflection on the possibilities and opportunities offered by rural areas.
The LANAR artistic residency program is central to achieving these objectives. Through creation and research projects, new narratives about rural life and its transformative potential are built, paving the way for a sustainable society by exploring the interaction between culture and nature. These initiatives integrate local eco-knowledge with contemporary artistic practices, creating aesthetic experiences that connect participants with the territory from an innovative and emotionally meaningful perspective.
The quality of the experience is achieved through participatory designs that involve the local community in creating spaces for cultural exchange and dialogue. This approach fosters a sense of belonging and rootedness while promoting diversity and intercultural exchange. By integrating sustainable tourism, agricultural activities, crafts, and environmental education, immersive and reflective experiences are offered, contributing to meaningful learning and a deep appreciation of the rural environment.
By merging art, culture, and sustainability into an aesthetic approach, La Surera transforms the experience for both visitors and residents, promoting the revaluation of rural areas as vibrant, dynamic spaces full of creative possibilities.
The LANAR artistic residency program is central to achieving these objectives. Through creation and research projects, new narratives about rural life and its transformative potential are built, paving the way for a sustainable society by exploring the interaction between culture and nature. These initiatives integrate local eco-knowledge with contemporary artistic practices, creating aesthetic experiences that connect participants with the territory from an innovative and emotionally meaningful perspective.
The quality of the experience is achieved through participatory designs that involve the local community in creating spaces for cultural exchange and dialogue. This approach fosters a sense of belonging and rootedness while promoting diversity and intercultural exchange. By integrating sustainable tourism, agricultural activities, crafts, and environmental education, immersive and reflective experiences are offered, contributing to meaningful learning and a deep appreciation of the rural environment.
By merging art, culture, and sustainability into an aesthetic approach, La Surera transforms the experience for both visitors and residents, promoting the revaluation of rural areas as vibrant, dynamic spaces full of creative possibilities.
One of our goals is to provide a cooperative, participatory, inclusive, and open space where people from diverse backgrounds can join and develop their life projects while settling in rural areas. We engage with local residents and people interested in relocating to rural areas, with a particular focus on women, youth, and migrant communities. We collaborate with MigraCOOP, an initiative led by the Valencian Federation of Worker Cooperatives, which seeks to provide innovative solutions to the challenges of migration and rural revitalization in Spain’s depopulated areas. MigraCOOP explores opportunities for decent and quality employment for migrants, while also offering solutions to rural regions that are willing and able to welcome migrant populations.
If rural areas are to play a central role in new forms of territorial development, this transition must embrace the power of diversity and interculturality, ensuring participation and equal opportunities to transform realities often shaped by majority representation and singular thinking.
We are convinced that promoting inclusion and diversity of perspectives, approaches, and ideas is essential for the legitimacy, resilience, and sustainability of our initiatives, rooted in community support. This approach fosters creativity, innovation, and empowerment, as well as a sense of belonging and commitment among participants. It also ensures that our project can adapt to change, meet community needs, and remain relevant and effective over time.
Our organizational model is horizontal and assembly-based, grounded in the values (mutual aid, responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, solidarity) and principles of cooperativism (voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, education, training and information, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for the community).
If rural areas are to play a central role in new forms of territorial development, this transition must embrace the power of diversity and interculturality, ensuring participation and equal opportunities to transform realities often shaped by majority representation and singular thinking.
We are convinced that promoting inclusion and diversity of perspectives, approaches, and ideas is essential for the legitimacy, resilience, and sustainability of our initiatives, rooted in community support. This approach fosters creativity, innovation, and empowerment, as well as a sense of belonging and commitment among participants. It also ensures that our project can adapt to change, meet community needs, and remain relevant and effective over time.
Our organizational model is horizontal and assembly-based, grounded in the values (mutual aid, responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, solidarity) and principles of cooperativism (voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, education, training and information, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for the community).
La Surera places special emphasis on the involvement and participation of the local community, creating spaces for dialogue to rethink the past, present, and future of rural life (landscapes, local resources, knowledge and practices, habitats and everyday living spaces, coexistence, celebration, and social organization).
Cultural empowerment is a central goal of the project, enabling the local population to actively shape their own narrative and challenge existing perceptions of rural identity.
This multilevel approach fosters intercultural exchange, promotes diversity and innovation, and strengthens social bonds and collaboration within and with the local community, thus broadening perspectives to address rural challenges.
The active participation of the local community and the integration of social, cultural, and ecological aspects into La Surera’s activities help cultivate a sense of belonging, shared cultural identity, and community unity, promoting demographic, economic, sociocultural, and environmental sustainability.
Cultural empowerment is a central goal of the project, enabling the local population to actively shape their own narrative and challenge existing perceptions of rural identity.
This multilevel approach fosters intercultural exchange, promotes diversity and innovation, and strengthens social bonds and collaboration within and with the local community, thus broadening perspectives to address rural challenges.
The active participation of the local community and the integration of social, cultural, and ecological aspects into La Surera’s activities help cultivate a sense of belonging, shared cultural identity, and community unity, promoting demographic, economic, sociocultural, and environmental sustainability.
Since its inception, La Surera has prioritized fostering synergies and cooperative dynamics with various initiatives and organizations at the local, national, and European levels. It is based on the belief that resource sharing, participatory approaches, and the construction of a shared territorial vision are essential elements for advancing a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive development model.
This commitment is reflected in our active participation in networks and the creation of spaces for dialogue and exchange among organizations that share our values, approaches, and goals. These collaborations aim to explore and develop sustainable strategies to counter rural depopulation.
Since 2016, we have developed and consolidated partnerships with the following entities: Valencian Federation of Worker Cooperatives, Sierra de Espadán Natural Park, universities, the Municipality of Almedíjar, public entities, educational institutions, rural development associations, and cultural collectives at the local, regional, and European levels.
This commitment is reflected in our active participation in networks and the creation of spaces for dialogue and exchange among organizations that share our values, approaches, and goals. These collaborations aim to explore and develop sustainable strategies to counter rural depopulation.
Since 2016, we have developed and consolidated partnerships with the following entities: Valencian Federation of Worker Cooperatives, Sierra de Espadán Natural Park, universities, the Municipality of Almedíjar, public entities, educational institutions, rural development associations, and cultural collectives at the local, regional, and European levels.
Due to its unique characteristics, La Surera is distinguished by its interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach, which encompasses the following elements:
- Cultural diversity and the multidisciplinary richness of experiences and knowledge brought by the cooperative's working members.
- Collaboration and synergies with a broad network of entities and users of the space, facilitating knowledge transfer and skill development.
- Diversification and integration of complementary activities: crafts, agricultural activities and food product processing, cultural management, arts, sustainable tourism, environmental education...
- Community participation, integration of local eco-knowledge, and insights from various fields to comprehensively address the challenges and opportunities of rural areas.
- Integration of social, cultural, and ecological aspects to reflect on the sustainability of rural territories.
The interaction between disciplines and fields of knowledge has generated innovative synergies, contributing to the project’s holistic vision. The added value of this interdisciplinary approach has been the creation of integrated and transformative solutions to reinterpret rural life as a dynamic, inclusive space full of creative possibilities.
- Cultural diversity and the multidisciplinary richness of experiences and knowledge brought by the cooperative's working members.
- Collaboration and synergies with a broad network of entities and users of the space, facilitating knowledge transfer and skill development.
- Diversification and integration of complementary activities: crafts, agricultural activities and food product processing, cultural management, arts, sustainable tourism, environmental education...
- Community participation, integration of local eco-knowledge, and insights from various fields to comprehensively address the challenges and opportunities of rural areas.
- Integration of social, cultural, and ecological aspects to reflect on the sustainability of rural territories.
The interaction between disciplines and fields of knowledge has generated innovative synergies, contributing to the project’s holistic vision. The added value of this interdisciplinary approach has been the creation of integrated and transformative solutions to reinterpret rural life as a dynamic, inclusive space full of creative possibilities.
La Surera stands out for its innovative approach, combining sustainability, culture, and social economy to revitalize rural areas. It proposes a comprehensive and transformative vision that goes beyond mere economic reactivation, focusing on creating new rural narratives.
Key aspects include:
- Rural incubator model for experimenting with social entrepreneurship initiatives and projects, integrated with a site-specific artistic residency program for creation and research.
- Creation of spaces for critical reflection, innovation, and social experimentation, grounded in intercultural dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collective creativity.
- Horizontal and assembly-based organizational model, founded on cooperative principles, fostering inclusive and democratic participation.
- Economic model based on activity diversification and the provision of the following spaces: coworking, graphic arts workshop, paper and experimentation workshop, sound space, ceramics workshop, open workshop for crafts, yoga room, shared kitchen, Moorish oven, vegetable gardens, olive fields, and chicken coop.
- Opening the project to a wider community, encouraging participation from space users and establishing a social base to ensure its continuity.
- Collective purchasing mechanisms for La Surera's building to guarantee the project's social and economic horizontality: increasing the voluntary social capital of our cooperative by incorporating associate members and obtaining a loan from Coop57, an ethical and solidarity-based financial services cooperative. Its guarantee system operates with joint guarantees (people and entities who trust the project and commit to act as guarantors for part of the granted loan).
Key aspects include:
- Rural incubator model for experimenting with social entrepreneurship initiatives and projects, integrated with a site-specific artistic residency program for creation and research.
- Creation of spaces for critical reflection, innovation, and social experimentation, grounded in intercultural dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collective creativity.
- Horizontal and assembly-based organizational model, founded on cooperative principles, fostering inclusive and democratic participation.
- Economic model based on activity diversification and the provision of the following spaces: coworking, graphic arts workshop, paper and experimentation workshop, sound space, ceramics workshop, open workshop for crafts, yoga room, shared kitchen, Moorish oven, vegetable gardens, olive fields, and chicken coop.
- Opening the project to a wider community, encouraging participation from space users and establishing a social base to ensure its continuity.
- Collective purchasing mechanisms for La Surera's building to guarantee the project's social and economic horizontality: increasing the voluntary social capital of our cooperative by incorporating associate members and obtaining a loan from Coop57, an ethical and solidarity-based financial services cooperative. Its guarantee system operates with joint guarantees (people and entities who trust the project and commit to act as guarantors for part of the granted loan).
We use the following methodologies and approaches:
- Co-construction of new rural narratives
- Promotion of citizen participation
- Community empowerment, fostering territorial rootedness, a sense of belonging, and identity
- Intergenerational approach, recovering local memory and knowledge
- Intercultural dialogue
- Promotion of inclusion and diversity
- Social innovation
- Collaborative economy
- Transdisciplinarity: integrating knowledge from various fields to comprehensively address the challenges and opportunities of rural areas
- Integration of social, cultural, and ecological aspects to reflect on the sustainability of rural territories and foster a sense of unity within local communities
- Artistic expression as a driver of transformation and a tool for dialogue within and with the local community, constructing and experimenting with methodologies from artistic mediation
- Institutional articulation
- Building bridges between urban and rural areas, between local and global contexts, to develop ecosocial transition proposals, rooted in inclusion and diversity
- Group facilitation and cohesion
- Participatory Action Research
- Collaborative learning
- Learning by doing
- Co-construction of new rural narratives
- Promotion of citizen participation
- Community empowerment, fostering territorial rootedness, a sense of belonging, and identity
- Intergenerational approach, recovering local memory and knowledge
- Intercultural dialogue
- Promotion of inclusion and diversity
- Social innovation
- Collaborative economy
- Transdisciplinarity: integrating knowledge from various fields to comprehensively address the challenges and opportunities of rural areas
- Integration of social, cultural, and ecological aspects to reflect on the sustainability of rural territories and foster a sense of unity within local communities
- Artistic expression as a driver of transformation and a tool for dialogue within and with the local community, constructing and experimenting with methodologies from artistic mediation
- Institutional articulation
- Building bridges between urban and rural areas, between local and global contexts, to develop ecosocial transition proposals, rooted in inclusion and diversity
- Group facilitation and cohesion
- Participatory Action Research
- Collaborative learning
- Learning by doing
La Surera presents an innovative model of rural development with easily replicable and transferable elements to other territories, beneficiary groups, and contexts, thanks to its comprehensive and inclusive approach based on participation, culture, social economy, and sustainability.
The following elements stand out:
- Co-creation and community participation methodologies: adaptable to other rural contexts to promote inclusion, diversity, a sense of belonging, and territorial rootedness
- Program of site-specific artistic residencies for creation and research aimed at co-constructing new rural narratives. By combining artistic creation, cultural research, and sustainability, it can inspire similar projects in rural communities looking to redefine their local identities
- Rural incubator model for social economy initiatives and projects, providing a space to experiment and consolidate entrepreneurial ideas
- Economic model based on the diversification and integration of complementary activities: crafts, agricultural activities, cultural management, arts, sustainable tourism, environmental education...
- Openness of the project to a broader community, encouraging participation from space users and establishing a social base to ensure its continuity
- Collective purchase mechanisms for the La Surera building, recognized as a best practice in financing within the Social and Solidarity Economy by the Fundación Finanzas Éticas
- Mechanisms implemented by our cooperative around care, emotional management, internal communication, and continuous realignment processes of individual needs with the collective purpose of the project
These elements make La Surera a scalable model, capable of inspiring other communities to create eco-social projects that revitalize territories and strengthen social cohesion.
The following elements stand out:
- Co-creation and community participation methodologies: adaptable to other rural contexts to promote inclusion, diversity, a sense of belonging, and territorial rootedness
- Program of site-specific artistic residencies for creation and research aimed at co-constructing new rural narratives. By combining artistic creation, cultural research, and sustainability, it can inspire similar projects in rural communities looking to redefine their local identities
- Rural incubator model for social economy initiatives and projects, providing a space to experiment and consolidate entrepreneurial ideas
- Economic model based on the diversification and integration of complementary activities: crafts, agricultural activities, cultural management, arts, sustainable tourism, environmental education...
- Openness of the project to a broader community, encouraging participation from space users and establishing a social base to ensure its continuity
- Collective purchase mechanisms for the La Surera building, recognized as a best practice in financing within the Social and Solidarity Economy by the Fundación Finanzas Éticas
- Mechanisms implemented by our cooperative around care, emotional management, internal communication, and continuous realignment processes of individual needs with the collective purpose of the project
These elements make La Surera a scalable model, capable of inspiring other communities to create eco-social projects that revitalize territories and strengthen social cohesion.
In recent decades, rural areas have been abandoned, largely due to a model of territorial planning based on verticality, centralization, and the globalization of the economy and decision-making mechanisms. Predominant culture and associated narratives have shaped an image where urban epicenters are linked to the future, opportunities, and progress, while rural peripheries are associated with the past, backwardness, and stagnation.
Although public policies are beginning to address this issue, many rural communities continue to suffer the consequences of this development model: youth exodus, aging populations and a lack of generational renewal, erosion of local knowledge and traditions, loss of basic services and job opportunities, increased environmental problems and vulnerability to climate change, and a growing sense of being "second-class citizens," which creates fertile ground for radical ideological positions.
Therefore, combating depopulation requires building new narratives about rural areas and their transformative potential to move towards a sustainable society, questioning their past, present, future, and their relationship with the “urban epicenters” of a world in transition.
From our cooperative, we aim to contribute to developing a broader and more diverse vision of life in rural communities to rethink the ways of inhabiting – seeing, caring for, transforming, participating in, and nurturing – rural territories.
Although public policies are beginning to address this issue, many rural communities continue to suffer the consequences of this development model: youth exodus, aging populations and a lack of generational renewal, erosion of local knowledge and traditions, loss of basic services and job opportunities, increased environmental problems and vulnerability to climate change, and a growing sense of being "second-class citizens," which creates fertile ground for radical ideological positions.
Therefore, combating depopulation requires building new narratives about rural areas and their transformative potential to move towards a sustainable society, questioning their past, present, future, and their relationship with the “urban epicenters” of a world in transition.
From our cooperative, we aim to contribute to developing a broader and more diverse vision of life in rural communities to rethink the ways of inhabiting – seeing, caring for, transforming, participating in, and nurturing – rural territories.
Regarding the category "prioritising the places and people that need it the most," the following impacts can be highlighted:
- Positioning La Surera as a reference point for rural revitalization, grounded in the values of sustainability, interculturality, diversity, inclusion, and gender equality.
- Serving as an incubation space for experimenting with social entrepreneurship initiatives and projects, with a special emphasis on the participation of women, youth, and migrant populations.
- Acting as a local economic development hub by diversifying economic activities, valuing traditional economic practices of the territory, and fostering innovative initiatives.
- Serving as an example of rural entrepreneurship and opportunity generation, inspiring and motivating other projects and life initiatives in the area.
- Providing high-quality employment for the worker-members of the cooperative.
- Engaging youth as change agents in building more resilient communities.
- Facilitating knowledge and experience exchange between generations, fostering territorial attachment, a sense of belonging, and cultural identity.
- Strengthening the social fabric of the territory by building networks and alliances among individuals, private entities, and public administrations at local, regional, national, and European levels.
- Contributing to the population growth of Almedíjar, through active participation in the "Almedíjar Vive" association, which helped several families settle in the village and contributed to the reopening of its school.
- Positioning La Surera as a reference point for rural revitalization, grounded in the values of sustainability, interculturality, diversity, inclusion, and gender equality.
- Serving as an incubation space for experimenting with social entrepreneurship initiatives and projects, with a special emphasis on the participation of women, youth, and migrant populations.
- Acting as a local economic development hub by diversifying economic activities, valuing traditional economic practices of the territory, and fostering innovative initiatives.
- Serving as an example of rural entrepreneurship and opportunity generation, inspiring and motivating other projects and life initiatives in the area.
- Providing high-quality employment for the worker-members of the cooperative.
- Engaging youth as change agents in building more resilient communities.
- Facilitating knowledge and experience exchange between generations, fostering territorial attachment, a sense of belonging, and cultural identity.
- Strengthening the social fabric of the territory by building networks and alliances among individuals, private entities, and public administrations at local, regional, national, and European levels.
- Contributing to the population growth of Almedíjar, through active participation in the "Almedíjar Vive" association, which helped several families settle in the village and contributed to the reopening of its school.
