From an abandoned olive grove in Oliete, a village in Teruel, one of the most powerful initiatives seen in rural Spain emerged in 2014. It is called Apadrina un olivo, which invites people from all over the world to "sponsor" abandoned olive trees and follow the experience of their recovery. In return, the sponsor receives 2 liters of oil and the opportunity to get to know the village.
“We wanted to generate a sustainable economy in the village, but by valuing the resources that were abandoned there, in this case, 100,000 centenary olive trees”, explains José Alfredo Martín, one of the co-founders of the project, mostly made up of grandchildren of residents of this village, which has 367 inhabitants.
In addition to the environmental recovery of the olive grove, Martín highlights the social impact of the project, having created 46 jobs, which has allowed the local school to grow from four to twenty-four children. A success that is not without challenges, such as the difficulty of gaining local trust, funding challenges, and the scarcity of labor and housing in depopulated rural Spain.
