All human activity leaves its mark. So does travelling. But that impact can be positive! If you want to experience what it feels like to contribute to improving the destination you visit, regenerative tourism is for you.For this form of sustainable tourism, you need to choose a place where your presence (or even your volunteering!) will be beneficial for the ecosystem, heritage, culture and consumption in the local area. We suggest five fascinating trips. Which one will you go for?
Be an organic farmer in Cantabria
- The environment: in the heart of Green Spain, in the mountainous north of the country.- What you will do:Cantabria is a land of forests, meadows and cows. In this idyllic setting, you can sign up to volunteer to look after the animals and gardens on an organic farm. One of the advantages of agro-livestock ecotourism is the knowledge and good practices you will learn.You can find your destination at WWOOF Spain, a network that connects these farms with volunteers. Another original agrotourism adventure in the area could be to help run a Iron Age Cantabrian settlement, a real challenge of experimental archaeology!- Nearby visits: Enjoy mountains of great beauty, such as those of Saja-Besaya Nature Reserve or the Picos de Europa National Park; discover a special coast, part of which has been declared a UNESCO World Geopark; or venture into world-famous caves, such as Altamira, the cradle of cave paintings, or El Soplao, “the Sistine Chapel of Geology”. You can also explore charming towns such as Santillana del Mar, Comillas, Potes, Liérganes... and its capital, Santander.
Restore the wild side of the Southern Iberian system
- The environment: is a sparsely populated area in eastern Spain, comprising mountain ranges, plains and canyons between the provinces of Guadalajara, Cuenca and Teruel.- What you will do: Support the ecological restoration of this vast territory. How? Signing up, for example, for one of the 'wildest' volunteer programmes in Spain: 'Rewilding Spain' from the Fundación Española de Renaturalización.It consists of a wide range of activities, from wildlife monitoring to path improvements, removal of barbed wire, nature photography or even guiding groups of visitors. The programme usually runs from February to November and the minimum stay is one month.You will contribute to the recovery of its wild splendour, creating conditions for the return of species such as the Iberian lynx and for this wealth to provide opportunities for its peoples.- Nearby visits: the area includes protected areas such as the Alto Tajo and Serranía de Cuenca nature reserves. You can also visit places of great medieval charm, such as Albarracín in Teruel, Molina de Aragón in Guadalajara, or Cuenca, which is a World Heritage site.
Pottery from the field to the shelf: Salvatierra de los Barros
- The environment: a town with some 1,500 inhabitants in the centre of the province of Badajoz in Extremadura, in the southwest of the country.- What you will do: Sustainable rural tourism where you can simply watch their master potters creating art and buy their product, thus helping to ensure that their invaluable traditional craft does not disappear. Although in the past, practically the whole village made a living from pottery, today there are barely a dozen pottery workshops left.Salvatierra's precious pottery can be considered entirely local because it uses a lot of raw materials from its own fields. Visit the live sessions offered by some workshops and visit the Pottery Museum.- Nearby visits: In Salvatierra de los Barros you can visit a magnificent castle and several hiking routes. A short distance away you will find beautiful white villages such as: Jerez de los Caballeros, Olivenza, Zafra, Almendralejo and Fregenal de la Sierra.
Mediterranean and local cuisine: Sierra Espuña
- The environment: in the heart of the region of Murcia, in south-eastern Spain, this protected mountain range enjoys the advantage of being almost equidistant from the famous fertile region of the Huerta de Murcia and the Mediterranean Sea (less than 40 kilometres).- What you will do: eat excellent products with zero food miles. You will have no difficulty finding restaurants offering an unexpected wealth of Mediterranean gastronomy. Its cuisine combines ingredients from the countryside and the mountains (game, nuts, honey, olive oil, olives), from the garden (tomatoes, peppers, citrus fruits, other fruits and vegetables) and from the sea (sardines, sea bream, sea bass, prawns...).Yes, you read that right! Here, your green and responsible journey involves sitting down to try cuisine based on ingredients from nearby, finding restaurants that care about offering menus with a local and sustainable stamp.- Nearby visits:Sierra Espuña offers you endless possibilities for ecotourism. Very close by, in addition to the capital city of Murcia, on the coast you have Mazarrón, with the incredible eroded landscape of the Gredas de Bolnuevo, and the Roman remains of Cartagena.
Take care of Navarre while you get to know it
- The environment: region in the north of Spain rich in traditions and nature.- What you will do:Navarra has unified its regenerative tourism under the brand Positive Footprint. You will find a wide variety of short (usually one-day) volunteering activities to help improve its countryside and villages. You might repair paths or look after horses in the Sierra de Aralar; build and install nesting boxes for birds of prey in the desert of the Bardenas Reales Nature Reserve; spend a day picking fresh produce at a farm-school and much more.- Nearby visits: you will be surprised by the diversity of the Navarrese landscape, with forest gems such as the Selva de Irati or Señoría de Bertiz. Castles, palaces, stately buildings, bridges and a lot of history await you at Estella, Olite, Sangüesa or Pamplona.
Continue discovering other original ways of getting to know Spain by visiting the official tourism website.
