Boosting employment to retain population in rural Spain

• CaixaBank's ‘Tierra de Oportunidades’ programme recognises 20 projects that address the main challenges of the rural world: job creation and talent retention in the different Spanish provinces

Located in the heart of the Region of Murcia, the town of Bullas is renowned for its wine production and boasts its own Denomination of Origin, with a population of just 11,800 inhabitants. La Puerta del Noroeste, so called because it is the gateway to the region of the same name, is also the gateway to Finca Romero, managed by Antonio Francisco Valera. This farm is unique in that it produces only one exclusive egg per day, following a meticulous process that sets it apart in the market. This tradition has been passed down through three generations.

Being in Tierra de Oportunidades is already a prize, but we want to continue growing

Antonio Francisco Valera - Finca Romero

Finca Romero is one of the initiatives recognised by Tierra de Oportunidades, a CaixaBank programme that promotes job creation, entrepreneurship, and population retaining in rural areas of Spain.

Valera understands the importance of maintaining the tradition in future generations. To achieve this, he educates children about egg care in schools and has introduced a hen sponsorship programme. This initiative ensures the continuity of the exclusive chicken life cycle.

In 2024, over 1,000 entrepreneurs from all autonomous communities submitted their projects to Tierra de Oportunidades. Of these, 148 qualified to participate in 'The Final Challenge' and the top 20 reached the Grand Final in which CaixaBank, in collaboration with the Spanish Network for Rural Development (REDR) and Rural Talent, recognised five entrepreneurs with €5,000, another five with €2,500 and the remaining ten with €1,000. This was acknowledged by the director of Social Action at CaixaBank, Josep Parareda.

Beyond the award, the entrepreneurs highly valued the knowledge gained, the digital advancements achieved over these months, the support received, and the network of contacts they have established.

This network of contacts has enabled Almazara Legado Andaluz, another award-winning project from this edition, to promote local and sustainable agriculture through olive oil tourism in an exceptional location, Jerez de la Frontera.

Visitors leave with a bottle of olive oil as a souvenir, made from the olives they picked in one of Spain's premier regions for high-quality virgin olive oil production. “We have been asked for oil by a chef from Switzerland,” says Daniel Tellez, creator of the company. The international interest in the olive groves of Cádiz has put the focus on Almazara Legado Andaluz's next challenge: to open the company to online sales.

We have been contacted by farmers to learn about the process and customers who come to live the experience

Daniel Téllez - Almazara Legado Andaluz

Alberto Merino, the creator of the Morales Forja Ecommerce project, has successfully made the leap to online sales. His workshop in Valdelacasa (Salamanca) aims to bring the ancestral craft of forging closer to the new generations. From this small town of less than 200 inhabitants, Morales Forja Ecommerce has shipped its iron and forge products to all corners of Spain and 15 European countries, thanks to the digital commerce tool.

From a small village in Salamanca with less than 200 inhabitants we have managed to send our products to every corner of Spain and to more than 15 European countries

Alberto Merino Morales - Forja Ecommerce

The winners of Tierra de Oportunidades were recognised at an event in the 'All in one' office in Madrid, during which,major environmental crises in Spain, such as: climate change, pollution and the loss of biodiversity were discussed. 

These crises are well known to the Mercadal family. Father and son run Bolets de Menorca, a family business dedicated to the cultivation of mushrooms. They offer a complete gastronomic experience, including cooking and catering, in line with the philosophy of Hippocrates with which the two generations of Mercadal have developed their business: improving health through food.

In addition to the year-round tourist boom, the Mercadal family has discovered an “unknown mycological world” on the island, which includes a mushroom native to Menorca that stays fresh for longer, and that has earned them the recognition of several prestigious food fairs.

We want to improve health through food, always with a positive working environment

Cicerón Mercadal - Bolets de Menorca

But tourism can also serve to attract new generations to the rural world. Eduardo Cuesta and Estela Lecea are part of this movement. As residents of San Asensio (la Rioja), they set up Planeta Pueblo after discovering a new generation of travelers, both foreigners and Spaniards, who are dedicated to the rural world.

Planeta Pueblo aims to leverage this attraction, encouraging visitors to fall in love with San Asensio, a town in northern La Rioja that is the heart of its Denomination of Origin and become “one more in the cuadrilla or gang”.

Planeta Pueblo invests in targeted advertising aimed at the British and US public. They hope this will change the often-pessimistic perception of village life and encourage more people to leave big cities and return to the rural world to rediscover all it has to offer.

There is a new generation of travelers who want to live the experience of the rural world

Estela Lecea - Planeta Pueblo

This is what Beatriz Varona discovered. Her initiative, The Triz Bang Theory, has as its backbone the study of the sky at Las Merindades (Burgos), where the lack of light pollution offers a spectacular night sky. From her YouTube channel, Varona offers scientific talks and workshops, in which planets are created and rockets are launched, reaching 2,000 people in 2024 alone. In collaboration with local, rural hotels, Beatriz Varona hopes to extend her project to schools in other communities, in time for more people to join in to watch the next solar eclipse in 2026.

After running a hairdressing salon in Teruel for seven years, Ruth Blasco decided to put her business on wheels to “take hairdressing services wherever they are needed”. The Hair Truck and Beauty project offers services that rival traditional hairdressing salons, all from a caravan. With a 95% growth in demand, Ruth Blasco has been motivated to hit the road, visiting different towns in a new area every day to provide her services. 

Antonio Francisco, Daniel, Alberto, the Mercadal family, Eduardo and Estela, Beatriz and Ruth are just a few examples, but, since its inception in 2021, Tierra de Oportunidades has supported more than 4,000 entrepreneurs. A total of 461 of them have received direct aid. In addition, CaixaBank has signed 144 collaboration agreements with Rural Development Groups (RDG) with a clear objective: to boost rural entrepreneurship and retain population in rural Spain. 

The five top-ranked in Tierra de Oportunidades 2024:

• Almazara Legado Andaluz. 
• Bolets de Menorca. 
• Finca ecológica El Romero. 
• Planeta Pueblo. 
• Morales Forja Ecommerce. 

The five runner-ups in Tierra de Oportunidades 2024:

• Llanatura. A company from Inca (Balearic Islands) that transforms traditional wool through design and innovation to create new future uses.
• The Triz Bang Theory. An educational project in Santa Gadea de Alfoz (Burgos) focused on the dissemination of science and astronomy. 
• The hair truck & beauty by Ruth. An entrepreneur from Maicas (Teruel) who travels through the villages of Aragón with a caravan transformed into a modern hairdressing salon.
• Sorillo Miel Artesanal. A project undertaken by two young people from Peromingo and Los Santos (Salamanca) committed to obtaining sustainable products and betting on the rural world.
• Fisioterapia, equinoterapia y salud. A company from Arraia Maeztu (Álava) dedicated to improving people's physical and emotional quality of life.

The ten classified in third position in Tierra de Oportunidades 2024:

• Sa Cabreta. An artisanal cheese factory from Pollença (Balearic Islands), respectful of the environment and animal welfare.
• Marlafrá. An entrepreneur from San Adrián (Navarra) who organises events with a unique and special touch, works on design, and presents her own line of everyday accessories.
• Herrumbre Vivo. A recycling artist and waste manager from Fuencaliente de La Palma (Canary Islands) who creates figurative sculptures from waste, while maintaining the touch of rust achieved naturally to strengthen tradition and innovation and ensure that the region's artisan legacy lives on.
• Chocolate Moro. A company from Llerena (Badajoz) that makes chocolate in an artisanal manner, controlling the entire production process.
• LeónSur Digital. A local media outlet from Valencia de Don Juan (León) that offers a visible space for information about towns, however small they may be.
• Cal Sileta. A company run by the Sileta brothers from Vallbona de les Monges (Lleida) who look after a flock of 500 sheep, olive trees, almond trees, and organic crops, offering sustainable and local products.
• Mar de Boires. A company from La Serra d'en Galceran (Castellón) focused on the production and transformation of home-grown agro-products.
• Or d’Olea. A company from Alfafara (Alicante) that sells gourmet extra virgin olive oil both physically and online, also offering olive oil tourism.
• Qualis Ova. A poultry farm in Castillazuelo (Huesca) that produces and sells free-range eggs.
• Quesito Lindo y qué Rico. A company from Chapinería (Madrid) dedicated to the traditional, handmade production of typical Mexican cheeses in Spain.