12/11/25 | Throughout November and December, native broadleaf planting activities will be carried out, coordinated by Fundación Montescola in collaboration with local schools and community organisations.
12/09/25 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Lab has been recognised by MITECO as one of the 39 exemplary initiatives in the implementation of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), selected from among more than 1,000 funded projects across Spain.
12/08/25 | On Thursday 21 August, at the Casa da República in Isorna (Rianxo), a community foresight workshop will take place to collectively imagine the future of local forests and define concrete actions to make it a reality. The activity is coordinated by the Montescola Foundation, as part of the Barbanza Ecosocial Lab project.
17/06/25 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing a volunteer day for eucalyptus removal on the Froxán common land community, in Lousame. This activity is coordinated by the Montescola Foundation, in collaboration with the Froxán CMVMC.
05/06/25 | The University of Santiago (through the Histagra Group and CISPAC) and the Pablo de Olavide University, within the framework of the Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory, have developed a specific methodology for ‘montes vecinales’, which combines historical sources, fieldwork, and environmental, social, and economic indicators.
05/06/25 | the Montescola Foundation organized two Bioblitz events in the municipality of Rianxo, within the framework of the Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory.
30/05/25 | Registration is now open for a new free training course on forest land implementation, part of the training program related to ‘monte’ management and use, coordinated by the Rianxo City Council within the framework of the Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory.
28/05/25 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing a community foresight workshop in Leiro to collectively imagine the future of its ‘montes’ and define concrete actions to make it a reality.
27/05/25 | The Laboratory presents a new pedagogical guide for the Open and Smoke-Free School project, coordinated by the Montescola Foundation.
20/05/25 | The Laboratory presents its school activity notebook for teachers in the third cycle of Primary Education.
08/05/25 | This Saturday, May 10, the third day of wood transformation in Rianxo will be held at the Campo da Festa do Araño, framed within the activities of the Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory
and organized by the Plataforma pola Defensa do Monte, in collaboration with the Common Land Communities of Araño and Baroña, and the Cultural Association ‘A Carballeira de Baia’.
28/04/25 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing a participatory biodiversity identification event, coordinated by the Montescola Foundation in collaboration with the Leiro CMVMC.
21/03/25 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing a community foresight workshop in Baroña to collectively imagine the future of its ‘montes’ and define concrete actions to make it a reality.
18/04/25 | The Plataforma pola Defensa do Monte is organizing two days in Leiro and Araño to promote the local processing of wood using a portable sawmill, offering practical demonstrations, activities open to the community, and the opportunity to ‘bring your own’ wood.
14/04/25 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing a participatory biodiversity identification event, coordinated by the Montescola Foundation in collaboration with the Araño CMVMC.
07/04/25 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing a volunteer day to remove acacia trees from the Araño common land community.
07/04/25 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing a volunteer day to remove acacia trees from the Araño common land community.
31/03/25 | The wood processing workshop held this Saturday in Baroña highlighted sustainable ‘monte’ management on a local scale.
04/03/25 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing a community foresight workshop in Baroña to collectively imagine the future of their ‘montes’ and define concrete actions to make it a reality.
04/03/25 | The Laboratory is creating a methodology for collectively imagining the future of their ‘montes’ and defining actions to make it a reality, Coordinated by the Montescola Foundation, which is responsible for designing this innovative methodology within the framework of the project.
28/02/25 | On Wednesday, February 26, the projects selected by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) met in Rianxo.
28/02/25 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing its fourth educational event in February in collaboration with schools in the municipality of Rianxo, coordinated by the Montescola Foundation.
21/02/2025 | Last Wednesday, February 19th, the third open meeting for the creation of an energy community in Barbanza was held in Baroña, coordinated by the USC (through CISPAC and the Histagra research group) in collaboration with the Galician Wind Observatory.
20/02/2025 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing its third educational workshop this week in collaboration with schools in the municipality of Rianxo.
17/02/2025 | On February 13th, Rianxo hosted a day dedicated to improving soil fertility, with the participation of students from the Félix Muriel Secondary School.
14/02/2025 | Next Wednesday, February 19th, the third open meeting on the creation of an energy community in Barbanza will be held in Baroña.
13/02/2025 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing two educational workshops highlighting the role of women in the primary sector, coordinated by the Montescola Foundation.
30/01/2025 | This Tuesday, January 28th, the second open meeting on the creation of an energy community in Barbanza was held, coordinated by the University of Santiago de Compostela (through CISPAC and the Histagra research group) in collaboration with the Galician Wind Observatory.
17/01/2025 | The Baroña Food Processing Center continues to advance its mission to promote agri-food innovation.
11/01/2025 | The Laboratory presents its school activity book, “My Notebook on the common land”, created by the Montescola Foundation for third-year primary school students.
07/01/2025 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory resumes its environmental volunteer days, coordinated by the Montescola Foundation.
31/01/2025 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory promotes the transformation and valorization of forest resources through local composting; reusing agricultural and forestry waste for multifunctional common land management, fertilization of forest plantations, and recovery of degraded soils.
13/12/2024 | The University of Santiago—through the Histagra Group and CISPAC—and the Pablo de Olavide University, within the framework of the Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory project, are working on the creation of a sustainability analysis model through the study of three multifunctional common lands: Baroña (Porto do Son), O Carballo (Friol), and Zobra (Lalín).
05/12/2024 | The UXAFORES research group at the University of Santiago de Compostela is conducting exhaustive soil analyses as part of the Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory project.
18/11/2024 | The Plataforma pola Defensa do Monte is carrying out forestry work corresponding to the first year of the Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory project, financed with European funds.
11/11/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is holding a new acacia tree elimination day in Isorna, coordinated by the Montescola Foundation as part of its environmental volunteer program.
05/11/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing two outreach and celebration events in the municipality of Rianxo, with the aim of spotlighting and raising awareness of the best practices being implemented by the common land comunities associated with the project.
29/10/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing a eucalyptus removal session followed by a guided tour of the Froxán common land. The Montescola Foundation is coordinating this environmental volunteer activity.
28/10/2024 | Next Saturday, the second ‘Xornada polo Monte Vivo’ will be held in Leiro, with a varied program of activities aimed at highlighting the best practices of common land comunities and inspiring other stakeholders to work collaboratively.
28/10/2024 | Last Sunday, October 27, the first Xornadas polo Monte Vivo’ was held in Taragoña (Rianxo), where the progress of the Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory in recent months was showcased, thanks to the support of the Biodiversity Foundation.
27/10/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory promotes composting in common land comunities as part of the project’s activities, focusing on the transformation and development of forest resources.
18/10/2024 | On Sunday, October 27, the ‘Xornadas polo monte vivo’ will be held in Taragoña (Rianxo) with a program full of activities to engage citizens in active land management.
18/10/2024 | The Laboratory is convening the first open meeting to address the potential benefits of establishing an energy community in Barbanza, highlighting the importance of leveraging local resources efficiently and equitably.
17/10/2024 | Since the start of this year, a herd of more than 40 goats has been helping to control the resurgence of invasive species in the ‘montes comunales’ of Rianxo, restoring biodiversity and contributing to fire prevention.
04/10/2024 | The Carballo common land community in Friol (Lugo) has been selected by the University of Santiago de Compostela (through the Histagra group and CISPAC) and the Pablo de Olavide University, for being a model of multifunctional ‘monte’ management in Galicia.
03/10/2024 | ‘Xornadas polo Monte Vivo’ (Days for a Living Common Land) in Taragoña and Leiro (Rianxo) this Saturday, October 5 and Sunday, October 6 have been postponed due to inclement weather conditions.
23/09/2024 | On Saturday, October 5th and Sunday, October 6th, the ‘Xornadas polo Monte Vivo’ (Days for a Living Common Land) will be held in Taragoña and Leiro (Rianxo) with a program full of activities to engage citizens in active land management.
Rianxo common land comunities celebrate the ‘Xornadas polo Monte Vivo’ in Taragoña Last Sunday, October 27, the first ‘Xornadas polo Monte Vivo’ (Day for a Living Common land) was held in Taragoña, Rianxo, where the progress of the Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory in recent months was showcased, thanks to the support of the Biodiversity Foundation. October […]
29/08/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory team visited the A Fusquenlla Transformation Center, a benchmark in the processing
30/07/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory continues its series of environmental volunteering events in Rianxo, this time taking place in Isorna.
08/07/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory continues its series of environmental volunteer programs in Rianxo, this time in Paradela (Taragoña).
01/07/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory organized an information day this past Sunday, June 30th, to celebrate the launch of a raw materials processing center in Baroña, Porto do Son.
01/07/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing a new activity in Rianxo, this time taking place in Campelo, O Vilar and Cerqueiras.
12/06/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is organizing another volunteer day in Rianxo, this time in the O Fieitoso common land community of Taragoña (Rianxo).
24/05/2024 | The Laboratory and the Monte Vivo project at the Félix Muriel Secondary School organized a black locust removal day in the Leiro common land.
23/05/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is holding a “bioblitz” open to the public on Saturday, June 1, to quantify the biodiversity of Froxán, in Lousame.
14/05/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is holding its second activity in Rianxo, this time eliminating acacia and eucalyptus trees in Leiro.
26/04/24 | The director of Montescola spoke about the purpose of the Lab and the details of the upcoming volunteer day in Barbanza.
19/04/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is holding its second volunteer day, this time in Baroña, with the aim of involving citizens in the restoration of biodiversity.
17/04/2024 | The UXAFORES group at the USC Campus Terra will analyze plot fertility and new forest management strategies for ‘montes vecinales’ to optimize land resilience and sustainability.
08/04/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is launching a series of volunteer days in Barbanza with the aim of involving citizens in the restoration of biodiversity.
27/02/24 | The six partners of the Barbanza Ecosocial Lab meet in Rianxo to start a new phase of the project with the support of Fundación Biodiversidad.
10/03/24 | Our recruitment platform, a green job portal to strengthen the local economy of Barbanza, is already up and running.
10/03/2024 | The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is launching a hiring platform with the aim of strengthening the local economy of Barbanza and facilitating project transparency.
09/02/24 | The Laboratory receives 2 million euros for the sustainable management of the territory, after being selected in the call for forest bioeconomy of Fundación Biodiversidad.
The cows return to Laíño. Sustainability, autonomy and good living Laboratorio Ecosocial do Barbanza – HISTAGRA / GESPIC Some ten years ago, Luis Miguel Ríos Freiría, Míchel to his friends and neighbours, suffered a serious accident in the factory where he worked. According to the medical reports, there was a good chance that he would […]
Máis ca leña: how to rethink land management? Laboratorio Ecosocial do Barbanza – HISTAGRA / GESPIC Sometimes an apparently small initiative, if we look at it in terms of surface area or number of people involved, but which has ambitious objectives and many hours of work and involvement behind it, can become a microcosm from […]
Education for the transformation of the territory: the experience of Félix Muriel Secondary School in Rianxo Laboratorio Ecosocial do Barbanza – HISTAGRA / GESPIC At the end of March 2019, smoke once again darkened the sky over Barbanza. Spring was still arriving, but the fire, encouraged by an intense northeast wind and driven by the […]
In the authoritarian context of the Franco dictatorship the door was opened to a productivist model imposed by the State and also linked to the corporate capitalism of the regime. In this new model the territory loses its character of integrated system.
The house and the communal forest are not separate entities, but are part of a system of inter-relationships which was the basis of a self-sufficient economy that supported the Galician and Barbantian population.
The house and the communal forest are not separate islands, but rather part of a system of interrelationships that underpinned a self-sufficient economy that sustained the population of the communities of the Barbanza Peninsula and Galicia.
The Lab’s online home is a platform for meeting, knowledge-sharing and information. Through engaging graphics, maps, videos and articles, online visitors can access the work, the people and the stories around the project and its research on sustainable development in the Barbanza peninsula in Galicia.
The territorial structure of Galicia, in which parishes and villages are the basic cells of its organization, kept its productive character almost intact until the mid-20th century. Despite changes in lifestyles, a whole series of community values have generally been maintained, which can only be understood from a social perspective.
The village and the parish are the basic units of the territorial organization of Galicia. Knowing their origins, productive logic and community relations could provide keys to their role today and in the future.
Baroña Forest Community (Porto do Son) covers 846 hectares. Within it there are 186 houses that are registered as communal and in their management make a clear commitment to the multifunctional use of the forest.
Froxán (Lousame) is a village marked by the fact that it was one of three that were occupied at the end of the 19th century by the San Finx mines. These mines exploited tungsten, which led to the common land being occupied and the local population being denied its management.
Located on the bank of the River Ulla, near its mouth into the Arousa estuary , Brañas de Laíño (Dodro) represents one of the largest wetlands in Galicia. Historically its use was communal, although at present they are not officially recognized as a communal space, nor are they managed by the local population.
The area in which the Ecosocial Lab project is being developed is the Barbanza, a peninsula located between the Noia and Arousa rías (estuaries), a territory with a considerable population density and with a deep anthropization.
A substantial part of the territory occupied by forests (over two million hectares in total), mostly in many regions of the southern half of Galicia, is managed by this little-known figure, despite the fact that it includes half a million owners in common; a fifth of the inhabitants of Galicia.