This Friday, June 9, an explanatory meeting was held on the Mosaic project in the Hurdano town of Nuñomoral. In the village library, between books, in a relaxed atmosphere and reflecting the friendly nature of this region, there was much talk about the past, the present and the future of the eight towns or farmhouses, as they are traditionally known, that make up this municipality in the interior of the mountains of the Hurdes.

The Mosaico project was familiar to them, in the sense that for the people of the countryside, abandonment, depopulation and fires are consecutive and go together, as they pointed out in the talk when the last fires were remembered. They live year after year, the process of abandonment of the villages and the growth of fuel in the forest, that is why the idea of ​​the Mosaic to make protagonist in the prevention of fires the field work, it seemed logical and hopeful. In this sense the mayor Juan Carlos Sendín said “ that we have gone from a lack of control in the management of forests to such interventionist regulations that prevent us from prospering in the villages “. At the meeting, a list of more than 35 neighbors came out of the different farmhouses, which would be willing to build mosaics, to transform land from public forests, into spaces for fruit trees and productive firebreaks. This operation could be agreed with the administration, to swap private farms away from the towns, for strategic places, near the town, that belong to the State. The formulas may be other, but the general idea is to be able to access public lands with good soils and located in areas of interest for fire prevention, according to the mosaic methodology. This swap or concession would have the double effect of propitiating a landscape more resistant to fires and helping to fix the population; by giving neighbors and potential new residents, means to generate an economy.

It is interesting to note that such a simple and effective idea would generate so much hope among some neighbors, who observe with some uneasiness, as their people are dying. The meeting ended with a sheet written in pen with the names and nicknames of possible candidates. The mayor folded it and kept it and undertook to prepare a file for each candidate to fill out and all together to submit to the administration. This initiative is similar to others in other towns, so the Mosaic is compiling them to present a joint plan to the administration. One last observation: For each town that is visiting the Mosaic project, it is perceived a commitment of the neighbors with their territory and desire to return to productive peasant work, in this sense something important is changing and it is good to plan and facilitate this return.