Spain is the most centralized country in Europe, and this urban concentration has a real cost in terms of food, energy, and housing sovereignty. This is the realization that Iván del Caz came to, who has spent decades living and working in rural areas, convinced that villages are not a problem but an opportunity, and that the current economic model cannot sustain itself without them. This is how Rural Citizen was born.
For a rural ecosystem to thrive, Del Caz explains, it is not enough to address housing, mobility, or services. What is needed first is what he calls relational innovation: rebuilding trust, shifting from an individual and competitive mindset to a more community-oriented one, and creating a common future scenario for the territory. "If you don't have that foundation, when you tackle technical challenges, the territories won't have people who are excited and motivated," he argues.
His favorite question for any entrepreneur sums it all up: "If we took money out of the equation, would you still be developing the same project?"
