Kamal Ghorui
The small town of Arenillas in Soria, Spain, is facing the possibility of becoming a ‘ghost town’, so the town has taken up a unique, proactive plan to keep its village alive. According to Madrid Secreto, this village is a member of the ‘Empty Spain’ program, and currently has only 40 people living there as residents. They have created an action plan to ‘stop the bleeding’ by providing families with a renovated, free housing unit and assured employment if they relocate to Arenillas permanently. However, the family must also have school-aged children to help the village’s long-term demographic and also take over the village’s social bar and maintenance of the village. This is a very rare, life-changing opportunity for someone looking to live in a rural area. By revitalizing the local school and social hub, this initiative ensures Arenillas remains a vibrant community for future generations.
Arenillas in Spain is offering free housing and jobs to new neighbours
Arenillas’ offer has a strategy behind it and aims to stop the extreme population drop in the Soria province. The offer consists of one family receiving a fully reformed social house from the village completely rent-free; however, this family must serve two jobs-the management of the ‘bar social’, or the only community centre in the village, and to be the municipal bricklayer for any rehabilitation projects in the village-that will help the village remain ‘a lake in the desert’ of the sparse population of the Spanish highland and provide services that keep the remaining community in place.
Visa barriers and legal requirements for new residents
According to reports, the village has received over 100 applications for this program; however, there are many strict requirements for the applicants to meet. One of the most stringent is that the village council does not have the ability to issue visas, and therefore, anyone coming from outside of Europe must have a valid residence and work permit in Spain to apply. Priority in the selection process will be given to families with numerous children in order to support the long-term support of local education transportation. The council has been funding a 20-kilometre daily shuttle service to the nearest education in Berlanga de Duero since the village’s school closed many years ago.
How abandoned buildings saved a village
Arenillas’ plight is representative of Spain’s empty country phenomenon, where, since the mid-20th century, almost 80 per cent of the youth have moved from rural areas to urban areas, and the lack of affordable housing is the strongest lever for rural repopulation. The village of Arenillas has been able to sustain its population for the first time in 50 years as a result of the conversion of abandoned properties such as the old doctor’s office and the old public school into modern residences. The regional governments are currently using this village’s success as a case study and considering it as a potential model for saving hundreds of other dying villages throughout the Iberian Peninsula.
