Medieval Spanish ghost town becomes self-sufficient ecovillage

It's a utopian fantasy- discover a ghost town and rebuild it in line with your ideals-, but in Spain where there are nearly 3000 abandoned villages (most dating back to the Middle Ages), some big dreamers have spent the past 3 decades doing just that.

There are now a few dozen "ecoaldeas" - ecovillages - in Spain, most build from the ashes of former Medieval towns. One of the first towns to be rediscovered was a tiny hamlet in the mountains of northern Navarra.

Lakabe was rediscovered in 1980 by a group of people living nearby who had lost their goats and "when they found their goats, they found Lakabe", explains Mauge Cañada, one of the early pioneers in the repopulation of the town.

The new inhabitants were all urbanites with no knowledge of country life so no one expected them to stay long. When they first began to rebuild, there was no road up to the town so horses were used to carry construction materials up the mountain. There was no electricity either so they lived with candles and oil lamps.

In the early years, they generated income by selling some of their harvest and working odd jobs like using their newfound construction experience to rebuild roofs outside town. Later they rebuilt the village bakery and sold bread to the outside world.

Their organic sourdough breads now sell so well that today they can get by without looking for work outside town, but it helps that they keep their costs at a minimum as a way of life. "There's an austerity that's part of the desire of people who come here," explains Mauge. "There's not a desire for consumption to consume. We try to live with what there is."

Today, the town generates all its own energy with the windmill, solar panels and a water turbine. It also has a wait list of people who'd like to move in, but Mauge says the answer is not for people to join what they have created, but to try to emulate them somewhere else.

"If you set your mind to it and there's a group of people who want to do it, physically they can do it, economically they can do it. What right now is more difficult is being willing to suffer hardship or difficulties or... these days people have a lot of trouble living in situations of shortage or what is seen as shortage but it isn't."

Original story here: http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/medieval-spanish-ghost-town-now-self-suf...

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• ghost town
• abandoned town
• abandoned village
• pueblo abandonado
• ecovillage
• eco-town
• ecoaldea
• self sufficiency
• DIY
• bioclimatic architecture
• straw bale
• green building
• wind power
• solar power
• lakabe
• navarra

[imanolUriaBlanco]

the name of the house isn't "Arena", it's "Ederrena" (that means "the Most Beautiful" in Basque language). el nombre the la casa no es "Arena" sino "Ederrena", "la Más Hermosa" en Euskera

[kirstendirksen]

@imanolUriaBlanco Thank you. I realized I'd made that mistake right after I posted. Well, I didn't know how to spell it exactly (Basque spellings are difficult for me) so I just put in my phonetic estimation in the subtitles and meant to ask for help, but never did. So thank you very much for finally pointing that out. And what a great translation. Gracias por la ayuda!

[LiliannahBudlidottir]

Please, could you give me more information about this village? Is it possible to move to there? If yes, how in what conditions. I'm portuguese, and it's not that far from me. I hope theres a way to reach it and get to know it better (: Thank you*

[kirstendirksen]

@LiliannahBudlidottir I'm glad you raised the question. Mauge actually was very clear to say that there is no room in their town for more inhabitants. Though they occasionally have visiting work parties/overnights, they have a waiting list for those who wish to move to Lakabe. There are other medieval towns turned ecovillages in Spain (we heard of a dozen or two) and I know there are others in Europe. You could try the "Global Ecovillage Network" under a google search and they list by country.

[FoodWarmingEquipment]

Now this is what I’m talking about. But there are more contemporary facilities; abandon, foreclosed and left to rot that can accommodate people all over the world, in both cities and rural towns. “The System” would rather they rot, than have you reside there (god forbid) for free or with any breaks. There are brand new homes, $600,000 and more, where I live that are bulldozed down rather than put to use. What a waste! I'm sure they are doing it for my protection though! [sic] So it's OK.

[Ariel975]

beautifull place

peace

[lxathos]

e il mio sogno! grazie per questo video veramente. e un stimolo in piu

[ecology1st]

Pretty cool off the grid lifestyle, but staying vegetarian would have been better.

[mickeymandlebrot]

the video only seems to load to 4:24 each time... :( i wanna see the rest! help?

[juancarlosarbelaezl]

Las utopias son posibles. Se puede empezar de nuevo. Felicitaciones a todos los valientes. Gracias por ser fuente de fuerza y energía.

[juancarlosarbelaezl]

as utopias son posibles. Los valientes si existen. El espíritu humano es poderoso. Los limites están en la mente. Magnifico video!!!! Magnifica experiencia!!! Magníficos seres humanos!!!

[jrshipley]

@kirstendirksen I.e, property rights are important, but there are limits to the extent they can be used for exploitation, and if the propertied class are exploiting the masses then squaters rights come into play to restore the original common right of all.