The interuniversity project Roots of Resilience: Rural Knowledge for a Sustainable Future (RESINA) has been launched with the aim of identifying, validating and transferring sustainable ways of living that emerge from the heart of rural Spain. Researchers from three universities (Universitat Jaume I of Castelló, the Public University of Navarre and the University of Cádiz) are leading an initiative that seeks to transform the prevailing narrative about rural areas, highlighting their value as key spaces for social innovation and collective resilience in the face of the major challenges of the 21st century: the ecological emergency, depopulation and social fragmentation.
Funded by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda, the project will focus on documenting practices based on neighbourly cooperation, agroecology, the social economy, mutual care and communal resource management that have enabled rural communities to sustain themselves under adverse conditions.
RESINA will carry out fieldwork in a total of nine pilot municipalities characterised by extreme rurality, located in the provinces of Castelló and Cádiz and in the Chartered Community of Navarre. Specifically, these are Viver, La Jana and La Mata in inland Castellón; Benaocaz, Grazalema and Zahara de la Sierra in the Sierra de Grazalema (Cádiz); and Aoiz, Auñamendi (Aribe) and Roncal-Salazar (Erronkarri) in the Navarrese Pyrenees. Using a rigorously participatory methodology based on participatory action research (PAR) and citizen science, the approach actively involves local driving communities and stakeholder groups from the outset.
The project has achieved significant national recognition by being selected by the Spanish Ministry of Culture to participate in the 9th Culture and Ruralities Forum, which will take place in Zafra (Badajoz) from 20 to 22 October 2026. This event, organised by the General Directorate of Cultural Cooperation with the Autonomous Communities, is a leading forum in Spain for reflecting on the intersections between cultural creation, the social fabric and the future of rural areas. RESINA has secured its place among the select group of projects participating in this ninth edition. The principal investigator, Xavier Ginés, professor at the UJI, and the coordinators at the UPNA and UCA, Andoni Iso and Antonio J. González, respectively, will participate.
Open knowledge transfer
The project’s main outcome will be the systematisation of more than 40 good practices, which will underpin the creation of an Open Methodological Toolkit (under a Creative Commons licence). This toolkit will make diagnostic guides and tools publicly available so that any other territory in Spain can replicate the model of transfer and social transformation, encouraging community ownership of the process.
In this way, RESINA highlights the value of everyday knowledge. Resilience is not a theory but a practice that has been implemented in our villages for centuries. The project’s role is to bring this knowledge to the surface, give it visibility, validate it academically and facilitate its transfer to other territories seeking ways of living that are more consistent with planetary boundaries. Ultimately, the aim is to strengthen the role of rural areas as laboratories for the future.
The RESINA project aligns directly with the Country Challenges defined in the 2030 Sustainable Development Strategy, with a focus on social cohesion, the development of local economies and the responsible management of natural resources.
More information: resina.uji.es