Almazaran Project in the Sierra de Alcaraz of Albacete

Summary of the challenge The Almazaran project aims to demonstrate a sustainable model of rural development based on land stewardship and self-management, returning life and culture to the villages abandoned. To this end, and through an agreement with the “Toma Tierra” Foundation, we are already guarding 18 hectares of mountain, cereal and irrigation in the village of Almazaran, Letur, a wonderful valley at the foot of the Segura River. Detailed description For more than 20 years there has been an integral cooperative in the province of Albacete called “Estraperlo” (NIF F02546489). A few years ago the website komun.org was developed to show our vision: search for integral sovereignty, building alternatives based on diversity and degrowth, seeking sustainability and territorial stewardship. Within this framework, the “Toma Tierra” Foundation (tomatierra.org) was recently created, purchasing 18 hectares of land in the Sierra de Alcaraz, where there is an uninhabited village called AlmazarAn. The project Almazaran has been launched within the cooperative, in order to develop in that territory a model of rural development integrated into the landscape, with values regenerative and eco-social, based on citizen participation. The leader of this project is Jose Sifones, a biologist who lives in the Sierra de Alcaraz (Elche de la Sierra) and who has been working on these issues for many years. Among other things, he promotes permaculture within the “Permaculture Network of the Southeast Iberian” permaculturasureste.org, and puts it into practice on his “Las Suertes” farm https://permaculturasureste.org/actividades/7642/ , producing organic agricultural products that he then distributes to cooperative members in the city of Albacete. He is therefore experienced in these matters. The project is already underway, with an initial grant already secured, with several lines of work: - Soil restoration degraded lands, through regenerative agricultural techniques of soil and landscape - Organic agricultural production based on Permaculture, focused on providing products to cooperative partners and near supporters, to connect rural areas with urban areas - Environmental education: the goal is to create a space for coexistence with nature. One of the ongoing actions is the creation of a youth group, similar to a scout group. - Bioconstruction: buildings need to be built to support the project, which will be done with techniques based on bioconstruction. Which SoilTribes priority area(s) does your challenge address? Soil Democracy Territorial Justice Commons Stewardship Regenerative Transitions How does your challenge respond to the selected SoilTribes priority area(s)? The creation of the foundation “Toma Tierra” within the “Estraperlo” cooperative, and the purchase of 18 hectares of Mount in the Sierra de Alcaraz, seeks to democratize the land, because the members of the foundation make the decisions over these hectares. And the management of these lands is carried out jointly within the Almazaran project: this project is open to the participation of all cooperative members. The project is being developed in a depopulated area of Spain affected by desertification: the Sierra de Alcaraz region, a rural area severely impacted by depopulation and damaged by overgrazing, destroying the region's native biodiversity. This project will contribute to its development and regeneration. On the other hand, the objective of the project is the regeneration of these lands, on the path of transition to a new model of rural development based on land stewardship and self-management. Which EU Soil Mission goal(s) does your challenge contribute to? Prevent erosion Reduce soil pollution / enhance restoration Conserve soil organic carbon Reduce desertification Enhance soil biodiversity Challenge typology Roots (deep structural transformation) Expected outputs / actions Awareness-raising / communications Capacity-building (training, guides, mentorship) Participatory processes Prototyping or technical testing Who is involved or affected by the challenge? The team involved in the Almazarán project is made up of members of the Estraperlo cooperative who want to join. Currently, there are around 10 people, led by Jose Sifones. Also affected will be members of the Estraperlo cooperative, as well as residents of nearby towns, to whom the resulting agricultural products will be offered. And the impact will also be felt in the area surrounding the Sierra de Alcaraz, with the environmental education offered to raise awareness, and the youth group that will be tasked with bringing this project to the public. Where is your challenge located? In the "Sierra de Alcaraz" area, near the towns of "Letur" and "Elche de la Sierra", at Albacete province, inside Spain Which SoilTribes pillar(s) are you connected to? Business: Social Economy & Cooperative Sector What public policies or institutional frameworks does your challenge engage with or seek to change? Firstly, this project is confident of receiving support from the Sustainable Development Department of the Castilla-La Mancha region, one of the most important departments of the regional government https://www.castillalamancha.es/gobierno/desarrollosostenible Furthermore, this project is directly related to the policy against depopulation in Castilla la Mancha, a region that prioritizes this, with a government area dedicated to this issue and a 2021-2031 strategy in place with a budget of over 3 million Euros https://retodemografico.castillalamancha.es/sobre-reto-demografico How do you imagine the Bootcamp will benefit your initiative — and others? Attending this field will allow us to learn about similar projects, and thus understand how we should organize ourselves in the first steps of this project already underway. On other side, we can contribute explaining the process of developing a cooperative and a foundation, and how those organizations are being organized today.