A new episode of “Connecting the RURAL to the World”.
Enrique Martínez Pomar tells us how the idea for “Proyecto Arraigo” was born and the achievements reached during the nearly 10 years of this initiative, which has settled 1,000 families with a 95% success rate in Burgos, Palencia, Cuenca, León… Enrique shares with Pedro Abad, CEO of Asteo Red Neutra, how they are addressing the generational shift in the rural world and the retirements of baby boomers who need to find successors for their businesses in the villages, as well as the birth of the professional specialty of “repopulation technician”. Martínez Pomar also talks to us about Paredes de Nava, in Palencia, the village from which “Proyecto Arraigo” was promoted thanks to the involvement of society, the City Council, and businesses, and where 14 entrepreneurship projects have been carried out.
Enjoy the episode on YouTube and Spotify.
Episode transcript
Pedro Abad, CEO of Asteo Red Neutra (PA): Welcome to “Connecting the RURAL to the World”, a conversation space where we will analyze the latest trends, innovations, and challenges in the digitalization of the rural world. In each episode, we will talk with experts to understand how connectivity drives the rural world. Relaxed talks about the issues that interest us, occupy us, and concern those of us who live and work in rural areas. . In this space, we will share fascinating stories of companies and people who make a difference in small municipalities.
Welcome to <<Connecting the Rural to the World>> . In today’s episode, we are going to present a project that has a lot to do with what I have in my hand; it is a glass, it is a plant with roots. We are going to talk about the Arraigo project. Enrique is going to present it to us. Enrique Martínez Pomar, an agricultural engineer by profession and training, but who 10 years ago decided to launch a project to work for the repopulation of the rural world. To date, they have already managed to settle more than 1,000 families—an impressive challenge. Enrique, thank you very much for being here and welcome to our channel.
Enrique Martínez Pomar (EM): Thank you very much, Pedro. I’m really looking forward to telling you all about it.
(PA): It is undoubtedly going to be a very interesting conversation, so let’s see if we can give you the floor so you can explain all the interesting things about the Arraigo project. The first question is a must:What motivated you back in 2016 when you launched the project? What clicked? For Enrique to focus on this fantastic project.
(EM): It was a moment of life change for me too, wasn’t it? Perhaps my training as an agricultural engineer and the luck I’ve always had to be in contact with the rural world and also with cities—where I studied here in Madrid—made me familiar with different population ecosystems. Madrid, the villages of Burgos, Soria, and also the knowledge of Latin America through work; all that was sinking deep into me because I saw the social problems we had that couldn’t be resolved.
Then came the moment in 2016 when, one Christmas, my youngest son said to me, “Dad, let’s go see the abandoned villages in the province of Soria where we live and get to know them.” That’s when I discovered that near me there were beautiful stone villages, perfect, abandoned for years. And, well, in one of them—the last one—it happened that a man appeared scavenging, look at that, with a wheelbarrow taking four things from a village abandoned 60 years ago, and that really impacted me. I said I have to try to resolve or try to find a way to ensure these villages aren’t lost, the ones that already have a low population. And that’s where it all started; this adventure began, which now is something I believe is totally committed to society, and society is committed to it in the rural world.
(PA): Well, that is more than welcome here, of course, Enrique. How would we summarize the work of Arraigo then?
(EM): Proyecto Arraigo is a limited company, a social enterprise, and our goal is to solve a palpable need in the rural world, which is depopulation, the lack and loss of services, and the loss of businesses, right? And at the same time, this is done with knowledge of the reality of the villages and the reality of the families who have to come from the urban world or from other countries in Europe and the world. So, what do we do? Knowing very well what a village needs—for that, we have our technicians on the ground who, above all, talk and converse with the population, with the city councils, with the companies, with the homeowners—and we have our own criteria. This is formed with these allies I mentioned, and knowing this, we have a database of 25,000 families who want to come to the rural world, and we choose the best families who will adapt to these villages. In short, we are a social and labor bridge between the urban and the rural.
And of course, you also have to know the urban side very well, so the work we do of getting to know and accompanying them must also be done in the urban world, getting to know these families before they come. What happens to us? That impact is important. Why? Because we know the existing situation of fatigue, exhaustion, and insecurity that can exist in different places, and families are looking for that tranquility; that path is more reflective right now.
(PA): And you’ll be 10 years old in no time; it seems like yesterday, but it’s already been a whole decade of work. How many lives have you changed? Because in the end, your impact is very direct, it’s socially… totally reflected in the fact that you change the lives of those villages, of those people, and especially the level of permanence. How are those families doing after your intervention?
(EM): Yes, indeed. There are already many families we have brought to the rural world. We are already at around 1,000 families settled in the rural world with a 95% success rate. That means these families stay for at least a year, and after a year, these families who have lived in rentals and have their first job start to innovate in other areas. They call other people, relatives, who they can show are living better.
But we are not basing this on numbers; we are basing it on projects, on people. It is a humanist project and, as such, well, those families have improved above all in terms of opportunities that exist in the village and that they take up—opportunities for the people living in the village. With the arrival of these families, these people, houses are renovated, businesses are opened, businesses are expanded; in short, the impact the project generates in the territory is positive socially, economically, and culturally.
And it is measurable when we have data showing that over 95% of families stay for a year. Because what we don’t do is just a move; what we seek is for them to take root, but that rooting can only be done by knowing the families very well—their origin, what they need, and what situation they are in—and finding among the villages (we have nearly 500 villages) which one best adapts to those conditions and how that village adapts best. You know? That society, those companies, those houses, to the families that come. In short, we do this work with our field technicians, and so the rooting is high. But look, I’m talking about 95% for families, but if a single person comes or a young person under 30 comes, the one-year rooting rate does not exceed 40%; that is, there are barriers that make rooting not so easy for single people or young people.
(PA): The other day off-camera in a conversation we had, Enrique, you told me a lot of very interesting things; allow me to bring some of them back for this conversation. You also spoke to me about the phenomenon of the great impact of the lack of generational replacement in the business world in rural areas.
(EM): Yes, yes, it’s a constant drain. Generational replacement means that right now the owners of a company, of a small rural business, are among that baby boom generation of the 60s, and retirements are permanent.
It also combines with the fact that their children, their descendants, went to study in the city and have various jobs and are not going to be the ones to continue that business. Businesses are closing permanently: butcher shops, small hostels, campsites… all kinds of businesses, livestock farms. So this is a problem where every day between Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha, about 10 to 15 small businesses are being lost.
(PA): Every day?
(EM): Every day, every day, 90%. These are approximately data from chambers of commerce that we add up from all the CEOE data and various sources they give us, and when we analyze them, we are truly perplexed. But the most important thing is that for most of these businesses, there are people in the city who could maintain them. The day before yesterday, a figure came out saying that in the last 4 years, 94% of new self-employed workers are foreigners; that is, if we have a high population of foreigners already with certificates, with papers… Well, look at the possibility we are losing for small, steady businesses that are being lost, right? So it’s a tragedy that cannot be recovered later.
The impact is negative when a rural business closes, and I believe we have solutions. We try to avoid uncertainty for those coming to the rural world; we also try to eliminate uncertainty for the city councils, for the owners of those businesses, for the homeowner, for the company that is going to employ them—that is, we have to provide guarantees so that things are fluid and fast.
(PA): Well, this is fundamental, because once that business closes, that business fabric and therefore economic wealth is lost for the territory.
(EM): Totally, totally lost; look, it’s lost forever. In Spain, an example: sheep and goat farms, for instance. I was talking to the president of a sheep association last night—they do sheep and the cheese industry—and 4 years ago there were 150 sheep farm establishments in Castilla y León.
Well, right now there are 120, and the study they’ve done shows that in 4 years there will be half; that is, half of our flocks, of our cheese production, will be lost. This figure is painful because these are also established in small villages in the Tierra de Campos, which is Burgos, Soria, Zamora, and León. We are losing a wealth, a value that is very difficult to recover, and that’s where we come in; we look for those shepherds or those people who can replace these owners who are often over 65 years old. And of course, it’s a task that is yielding results and we must keep moving forward.
(PA): Of course. You talk about livestock, and I also found a comment you made very interesting. Comparing livestock and agriculture and talking about technology, which is our world—that reflection on how technology is a facilitator in one field and not so much in the other. I found it very interesting.
(EM): It’s true. Look, in the case of livestock, well, what happens? Where we need it is labor; that is, it cannot be replaced. We are talking about having to work with animals. Animals that have a series of needs, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, right? And people are needed for many things there.
But on the other hand, in agriculture, it is totally mechanized; our tractors make everything very fast. So if an agricultural facility retires, well, a colleague from another agricultural farm can take care of what the hectares of land belonging to this retiring farmer require. In contrast, if a livestock farm owner retires, it’s not possible for the neighbor to take over a flock of 1,000 or 2,000, a facility, or the cheese production. So it closes. Agriculture will remain, but livestock will not, unless we do what we are trying to do, what we are doing successfully on many livestock farms.
(PA): I remember there was also a term you use that I find very interesting: the term Repopulation. In the end, your work, what you are achieving, is this effect—fighting against something endemic that we’ve had in our society for more than 50 years, that rural exodus that has occurred—and you are trying to stop it and, in fact, succeeding, with all these families, that repopulation factor. How sustainable do we see it?
(EM): Yes. When we talk about sustainability, we also talk about economic issues, right? We also talk about continuity issues; that is, how there is continuity for a real need that exists in the rural world and that requires resources to maintain that level of success and results, right? Well, that issue is something we see—that this service, the population repopulation services, as we call them, is like a new competency appearing in local entities, in city councils and provincial councils, or in single-province regional governments.
If people come to the municipalities, the city councils receive a certain amount of money for each person who is registered on the census. Then they can also contribute money so that projects like ours can exist. In short, it is sustainable because there are results, because it is monetized. For every euro you contribute, you get approximately between €6 and €15 back for that provincial council or that village. Those are palpable and demonstrable results, which we include in our reports to the provincial councils where we are already authorized and working: Burgos, Palencia, Cuenca, León… and with companies too, with whom we are working on this issue. We are 45 professionals working in 17 provinces and delivering results, monetizing them as well. That is, we provide the data for every euro a city council or a provincial council gives us, how much is generated per year, you know? So it has to be made economically sustainable. That was one of the ideas I had from the beginning when we started the project, Pedro. That is, we cannot create a solution for the rural world that isn’t truly, well, economically sustainable.
City councils receive a specific amount of funding for every person registered in their municipality. They can also provide funding to support projects like ours. Ultimately, the model is sustainable because it delivers results and is monetized. For every euro invested, the provincial council or town receives approximately €6 to €15 in return. These are tangible and demonstrable results that we include in our reports to the provincial councils where we are already authorized and active—such as Burgos, Palencia, Cuenca, and León—as well as with companies we are working with on these initiatives.
(PA): At Asteo, every year we prepare a report, a market study, to understand how some parameters are evolving within the population already residing in the rural world. And there is a figure that seems overwhelming to us, which is that, for example, when asked about depopulation, how do they see it? And, above all, what do they think is what could put the risk of it continuing to abound? It is the unemployment factor, the lack of job opportunities. Nine out of ten respondents in municipalities with fewer than 500 inhabitants tell us this: that their concern is the lack of job offers. How can Arraigo also help, or how do you already do your work there to collaborate on this?
(EM): I agree. That figure is correct; that is, the perception, especially in small villages, is the labor issue. Well, we do it from the inside. That is, one of the secrets of this project is that we don’t work from the office; we work from the place where the families are. So, perhaps the people living in this village, out of routine, know the social, economic, and cultural level of the village. But having one of our people there, with new energy, to do what? To talk to the companies that are there—not just in the village, but in the next village over.
When there is a person within our organization, our field technician, who talks to companies and farms to see if there will be generational replacement or what their future plan is for growth, for the need for workers: “well look, I’m not investing because I don’t have workers.” Then we provide those workers, we even set up businesses. Because contact with the rural, regional economic society—especially regional, not just one village, but the region—makes us perceive the opportunities that may arise for new investors, for new families coming from outside, because no one is going to come if they don’t have a job.
Work is necessary. And for that, from the inside, we have to trigger those opportunities that are hidden and that perhaps many of these entrepreneurs have lost faith in—that there can be generational replacement, or there can be… And that has been triggered and the effects are being positive. But always from the inside. You have to know the territory to know its needs and its opportunities, convey them to those who have to come, and provide certainty to those inside and those outside.
(PA): Enrique, the role of working for repopulation, what professional outlook does it have? Can it become a trade?
(EM): It can be a trade. Look, Pedro, I was thinking in 2000, what do I give it, and I said: “Hey, we’re changing millennia, what new professions are there going to be?”
I remember reading reports saying: “40% of professions will be new from 2025 onwards.” Well, yes, I’m telling you there has to be a technician, there has to be a professional career as an agent, as a repopulation technician. That is, someone who has skills in psychology, social assistance, management, you know? Knowledge of both the rural and the urban. And in this case, several universities have already contacted us, one in Madrid and in Castilla y León, to promote what is a two-year program for repopulation technicians. It is needed, it is needed.
(PA): How interesting. Changing the subject a bit… Enrique, several topics have come up, elements that are necessary for these families to take root, such as employment, for example, which you mentioned before, or housing, which we’ve also talked about at some point. But we also believe that digital connectivity, the transformation society has undergone, and the need to be connected, is important. What is your perspective on this? How relevant is connectivity at this time?
(EM): It is necessary. It is an issue that is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity, like any other series of services: water service, health service. That is, when we have to give a family the data on what they will find in the village before they make a preliminary visit so they can stay, the first thing they ask is: “How is the internet?” And we can’t say: “Well, it’s okay or it’s bad.” Ruled out. Ruled out.
That is, for us, connectivity is about entering into the relationship with the family that is outside, in information, in administrative matters and, of course, if it’s remote work, it is absolutely necessary. In other words, we take it for granted that it is as necessary as water. We cannot distinguish between villages with or without connectivity now. Asteo, you are doing an incredible job.
(PA): Thank you very much.
(EM): In bringing and dedicating yourselves to this issue, which is necessary so that, together, various prosperous initiatives can exist that provide that quality of life to the professionals who have to come, or the workers, or the families. And also to train those who are inside so they have a global perspective.
(PA): It occurs to me then: do you have any case that has particularly caught your attention? Something that has left a mark on you? Because each case must be like a story to be told, right? Is there one that is particularly striking?
(EM): Well, I remember a family, a woman with two girls, from here in Madrid. Very talented, she still is. And well, due to various circumstances, she lives in a village in Castilla y León. Society rallied around her: they found her a house, the homeowner was very generous, and a job was found for her in a nursing home. And well, shortly after, three months later, the mother also came. We have incorporated four people from three generations into a village, and they are totally… And what she tells us, look, the word she said to us—which was what stuck with me—was: “Hey, I’ve tried all my life, but here I’ve found community.” That was the word: community.
Realize that loneliness is in the city; for people, it’s in the city. So, there you are not just another person. When you arrive in a village, the community supports you; they also want you to support them in difficult times. Communication is through the spoken word. We educate the people who come to understand what the rural world is like. And the cases… well, this woman has already started a business. In other words, they are cases… we have many cases, Pedro, and truly very moving ones. Our problem lies in that: in moving from professionalism to the emotional. Because in the end it’s… you have to have your… it’s like doctors. If you become friends with the patient, right? Here you help, you contribute, you accompany everything, but moments come that are difficult and that problem has to be solved. But they also have to withstand that little push of joining the rural world, which isn’t so easy at first.
(PA): Of course. And looking to the future, Enrique, what do you expect from the next stage of Arraigo? The first decade is about to end. And the next decade, what do you expect? Or where do you see the future?
(EM): Well, look, the future… I see the future in that we need more villages, but not just for the sake of growing and growing. We need more villages because we are doing things well, with our allies—which are the same city councils, provincial councils, companies—where we enter and create that network. And then families come. The future of the rural world lies in immigration, without any doubt. That is, Spain does not have a population that can maintain the work, the change, the generational replacement. And well, both in the rural and urban worlds, it is being said that there is a demand for workers. But those workers, those families, have to come. We have to avoid those uncertainties you might have: about housing, school, and so on. So, it’s about making it more manageable.
Reaching more villages, more provincial councils. And that they, furthermore, incorporate the methodology. There are some who don’t understand it and so we cannot work with them. Immigration must be included.
And the second thing is companies. In this case, we have just finished a job for Iberdrola, for example, on a methodology—and now we are working with Acciona on a methodology where renewable energies in the rural world must also involve an incorporation of workers, you know?, or population. Not just into those energies, but that they also support repopulation through us. And that is making many villages that don’t have economic possibilities also enter into this issue. That is, the environmental side is legislated, nature is legislated, but now we have to focus on the man, the woman, the social aspect. And in the social aspect, local entities must join this issue, but also companies; they have to contribute and try, in their corporate social responsibility, to carry out demonstrable projects showing that we bring families, that we incorporate businesses, that they are consumers of their products, otherwise… what time will do.
In short, I believe we have, I think, a very attractive future. And well, I think we’ve found the solution, and repopulation is underway. It’s going to be a very interesting decade.
(PA): Which village do you have as a reference? Is there one you have a special bond with?
(EM): Yes, yes, yes.
(PA): The origin, or for some specific reason.
(EM): There are many villages. That is, although it’s my turn to be in management now, I have been a repopulator. Remember that we started in 2016 and there were two of us, and we had to go knocking on doors and choosing families.
There are villages in Cuenca—Cañete, Saelices—there are villages in Burgos—Castrojeriz, Belorado, Villarcayo—well, many. But there is a special one in Palencia, which is the one that marks me and the one I always use as an example, which is Paredes de Nava. Paredes de Nava is an endearing village, where we started with its municipality and it is an example of an alliance of the society of Paredes de Nava, the companies and, above all, the City Council, its mayor, Luis Calderón. And truly, we have brought—right now—nearly 50 families, more than 150 people. About… no, not about: 14 entrepreneurship projects have been opened. And this is like the law, you know?, like dominoes, the domino effect. When you have society working together, you can’t imagine… Houses have been bought, nearly 15 houses have already been bought. I mean, it’s not that… another one was bought yesterday. That’s why I’m telling you. And it’s not the State; it’s an internal revolution. People now have a sense of purpose. People thank us because families from seven countries have come.
(PA): And Enrique, I would like to end this conversation with a few things you told me. One that also caught my attention and seems very powerful to me is the message you said: “The rural world has a solution.”
(EM): Yes.
(PA): It seems totally categorical to me and I find it very interesting that you use those words as a closing.
(EM): I am speaking on behalf of 45 colleagues. I am speaking on behalf of a thousand families. I am speaking for our technicians in Havana, where we are bringing families from—didn’t I tell you?—that there are 150,000 possible families with Spanish passports who can come here. I am speaking on behalf of many of our allies. There is a solution. What happens is that we have to… that: we have to work.
That is, we have to know the people and the professionals in the city very well, and know the villages very well. And this is a methodology of sharing, and it is a social technology. It’s not an easy thing or a short-term thing; it’s something that takes years. But every year is logarithmic.
I’m telling you: if society joins in on this issue, owners rent out houses because they come with the security of those who have already come. We lose, that is, we dismiss the uncertainty that both sides may have. There is a solution for repopulation, there is a solution for the future. And I’ll tell you one thing: sometimes we Spaniards are foolish, because we have paradise so close—the paradises—that until others come… and who are those others? How should I put it…? From the north. From Northern Europe. Now there is a trend where we are increasingly finding English, Germans, French, Italians who are coming to the rural world. Who are joining at 55, at 60… Young people who are coming from other countries to live in the rural world.
(PA): Digital nomads?
(EM): No. No. Families, families. In Soria, across from my house—unintentionally—a family from Liverpool has come to live. From Liverpool, with two children and with remote… Yes, with remote work. But to live.
But this is going to be repeated. It was the Germans who discovered the Balearic Islands. It was the English and others who discovered our coasts. And now it turns out that it’s going to be the Europeans who make the Spanish rural world fashionable. But what is this, gentlemen? Young people, entrepreneurs, people who want to change your lives: get in touch with mayors, go visit villages, go meet associations that are promoting the opportunities of the villages. The rural world has a future. And you, in the city… the truth is, life is not like the one we lead in the countryside.
(PA): Certainly, Enrique, thank you very much for this very close and hopeful vision. Because, certainly, it is a pleasure to hear that fresh air, that positivism. And, of course, your work. Thank you also for the work you do every day, because the rural world requires many Enriques, and many Arraigos, many projects like this that work by and for the rural area, which is a bit—if you’ll allow me the closing—doing what we also aim to do from the technological world every day.
We have a small gift for you; I have it right here. What we aim for… here, please, you can take a look if you like. It’s to give that voice to the rural world.
What we do at Asteo is express it in—well, you’ll see—a small gastronomic representation of artisanal products produced in the rural world. Because another catchphrase we use here very often is to say that we cannot forget the rural world for the simple reason that it is what feeds us every day. When you open the pantry, when you open the fridge at home—no matter where you live—it comes from the rural world. So, well, it’s also a way to symbolize…
(EM): wow…
(PA): That need we all have to connect with the rural world.
(EM): Well Pedro, thank you very much. And thanks to Asteo. I think you are doing a job that makes it easier for us to settle families. Therefore, your positive impact is also our positive impact. In other words, we are allies. Thank you very much to your whole group. And I hope to see you soon.
(PA): A pleasure Enrique, see you soon. Thank you very much.
And we conclude today’s conversation where we have learned about the Arraigo project from Enrique Martínez Pomar, its founder. We thank you very much for being here and invite you to subscribe to our channel so you can continue learning about more projects as exciting as the one we’ve had the opportunity to learn about today.
Thank you very much.
