A paisaxe, is, in itself, artistic
The meeting took place on 30 March, and members of Montes de Couso met with the mediator and coordinator of Concomitentes.
To see the text in English click here.
At the end of March 2023 we began the process of mediation of Montes de Couso, inaugurated in spring, on a windy and rainy day, in the wonderful place that is the Casa Veciñal de Couso, a self-managed space built by the community of montes, like so many other resources of the place.
Despite the fact that the meeting is late, at 6pm, and that the day does not help, more than twenty people participate in the first meeting, a diverse and inclusive community in which women and men participate, old and new, more or less involved, but all of them community members, now participants in this Terra Común process. From the 20s to the 80s, all generations participate in this transversal project, which produces a form of community life that aspires to self-sufficiency for life in common.
We begin the meeting celebrating the start of an exciting process, together with Fran Quiroga, coordinator of the Concomitentes project, who has a special bond with the community forests, for all his work around the commons and, in particular, the community forests. I myself grew up and lived around the world of wood.
After presenting the European project that Terra Común is part of, as well as the Concomitentes project, with some examples of other projects that are being developed throughout the state, we began the presentation of Terra Común and the challenges that await us, the road we have to travel together and the timetable that lies ahead. There are no doubts. We are looking forward to it.
We began the conversation by talking about their links with the mountain, with Montes de Couso, and if there is one thing that runs through the conversation, it is that the mountain forms part of their daily lives, it is their space for leisure and recreation, but it is also a source of wealth, both in terms of food, because of the food and drink it produces, and because of the economy it distributes among the community members. Far from imagining and planning the exploitation of their common land, they reflect on its sustainability, its multifunctionality in order to be self-sufficient and generate resources for everyone, protecting the planet and, by the way, their common land. They think about the forest from an economic perspective, but also from a social perspective, always bearing in mind environmental conservation and climate change.
Its main objective is to improve the life of the people through the community of mountains, creating a space for nourishment, creating jobs, promoting a space to enjoy the landscape and its diversity. Din, these people know that the landscape is in itself artistic.
Their great desire, if they think in the long term, is to ensure that the forest remains communal and we imagine together, that for this to happen, on the one hand it is necessary to give great visibility to the value of community management of the forest and all that this is capable of producing for nature, the landscape and the environment but also for the community of Couso and society in general; and, on the other hand, to achieve generational substitution by interesting new people in community forests and their community management system.
The forest is a source of pride for the local people. It has been part of many of these families for generations and helps to satisfy the needs of the people who live in this territory. They live in the countryside and want the forest to produce resources in order to survive, but in balance with the system, always reverting to their own natural ecosystem with their projects.
Because of the way it operates, collectively and communally, the mountain community transfers, more or less consciously, its characteristics to the community itself, thus improving the quality of life of the people who live in Couso by promoting projects such as the energy community, the edible forest, the wastewater treatment project and other realities and challenges that lie ahead.
Historically in Galicia, forest communities have played a very important role in the defence of tangible and intangible heritage, as well as in the care of the land.
In Couso they think about the capacity to use the territory to express themselves.
Now they are thinking about the future, they dream that the woodland will continue to be communal in the future, with a generational substitution that is aware of what a woodland community can do, developing at a legislative level a dynamic woodland reorganisation - because the woodland is alive - a sustainable woodland that generates benefits for the parish. They imagine producing and commercialising noble wood, taking the woodland community project into the educational sphere and creating more and better links with other communities that have not only woodlands but also collectives or other projects around them. Opening new ways to make Couso mountain known as an observatory of stars.
They dream of recovering services in the village, such as public transport, continuing to maintain rural schools, and providing services so that new people do not leave. They also remember in a nostalgic way the festivals that the community used to organise around San Cristóbal, the Remedios, San Xoan or Magosto festivals.
We bid them farewell by writing down the desires that, after this intense and fierce conversation, they and I have ordered between them, thinking about their mountain in Couso in a decade. A box receives them, another day we share them.
We ended, as it could not be otherwise, with a Couso pie washed down with local liquids. Curto e pecho. We will be back in a month.
At the end of March 2023 we began the process of mediation of Montes de Couso, inaugurated in spring, on a windy and rainy day, in that marvellous place that is the Casa Vecinal de Couso, a self-managed space built by the community of montes, like so many other resources of the place.
Despite the late call at 18.00hrs and the unhelpful day, more than twenty people participated in the first meeting, a diverse and inclusive community in which women and men, old and young, more or less involved but all of them community members, now participants in this Tierra Común process. From the 20s to the 80s, all generations participate in this transversal project, which produces a form of community life that aspires to self-sufficiency for communal living..
We began the meeting by celebrating the start of an exciting process, together with Fran Quiroga, coordinator of the Concomitentes project, who has a special bond with the commons, for all his work around the commons and, in particular, the commons. I myself grew up and lived around the world of wood.
After presenting the European project in which Tierra Común is framed, as well as the Concomitentes project, with some examples of the other projects that are being developed throughout the state, we began the presentation of Tierra Común and the challenges that await us, the road we have to travel together and the calendar that lies ahead. There is no doubt. There is eagerness.
We began the conversation by talking about their links with the mountain, with Montes de Couso, and if there is one thing that runs through the conversation it is that the mountain forms part of their daily lives, it is their space for leisure and recreation, but it is also a source of wealth, both in terms of food, for the fruit and food it produces, and for the economy it distributes among the community members. Far from imagining and projecting the exploitation of their common lands, they reflect on their sustainability, their multifunctionality in order to be self-sufficient and generate resources for all, taking care of the planet and, by the way, their Common Land.. They think of the forest from an economic perspective, but also from a social perspective, always keeping in mind environmental conservation and climate change.
Their main objective is to improve people's lives through the mountain community, creating a space for food, creating jobs, promoting a space to enjoy the landscape and its diversity. They say, these wise people, that landscape is in itself artistic.
Their great wish, if they are thinking long-term, is to to ensure that the forest remains communal and together we imagine that for this to happen, on the one hand it is necessary to give great visibility to the value of community forest management and all that it is capable of producing for nature., On the other hand, to achieve generational renewal by getting young people interested in the communal forests and their community management system.
The forest is a source of pride for community members. It has been part of many of these families for generations and helps to satisfy the needs of the people who live in this territory. Communards live in rural areas and want the forest to produce resources in order to survive, but in balance with the system, always reverting with their projects to the natural ecosystem itself.
The community of mountains, because of the way it operates, collectively and communally, transfers, more or less consciously, its characteristics to the community itself, thus improving the quality of life of the people who live in the Couso through the promotion of projects such as the energy community, the edible forest, the wastewater treatment project, among other realities and challenges that lie ahead.
Historically in Galicia, the communities of forests have played a very important role in the defence of tangible and intangible heritage., as well as in caring for the land.
In Couso they think of the capacity to use the territory to express themselves.
Right now if they think about the future, dream that the forest will continue to be communal in the future, with a generational change aware of what a community of forests can do, developing at the legislative level a dynamic reorganisation of the forest. -because the forest is alive - a sustainable forest that provides benefits for the parish. They envisage producing and marketing hardwoods, taking the project of the woodland community to the educational sphere and creating more and greater links with other communities around them, not only of woodlands but also of collectives and other projects. Opening new projects to make the Couso mountain known as an observatory of stars.
They dream of recovering services in the village, such as public transport, continuing to maintain rural schools, having services so that young people do not leave, etc.. They also have nostalgic memories of the festivals that the community used to organise around San Cristóbal, the feast of the Remedios, San Juan or the Magosto.
We say goodbye by writing down the wishes that, after this beautiful and intense conversation, arise between them, thinking about their mountain in Couso in a decade's time. A box receives them, another day we will share them.
We closed, as it could not be otherwise, with a Couso pie washed down with local liquids. I cut and close. We'll be back in a month.
Photo album with the whole session here.
