Extremadura

Viable Community is collaborating with local consultants and relevant partners to find suitable land to sustainably produce clean energy and food while restoring nature. An agrivoltaic project is planned in Extremadura to demonstrate sustainable land management practices that halt biodiversity loss, combat desertification, and enhance the quality of life for the local community.

We are proud to introduce our Sustainable Land Management project in the Extremadura region of Spain.

In essence, it aims to restore degraded land while simultaneously promoting food and energy production.

Our project seeks to showcase and promote sustainable land management practices to halt biodiversity loss, combat desertification, and enhance the well-being of the local community.

Why do we do it?

The motivation behind our initiative stems from the pressing challenges posed by desertification in Extremadura. While the region faces the risk of desertification, it still holds potential for agriculture. However, if left unchecked, desertification could severely impact soil fertility and exacerbate environmental degradation.

Approximately 74% of Spain is at risk of desertification, according to Spain's 2008 National Action Plan (NAP) for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), with Extremadura ranking among the most vulnerable areas.

Desertification refers to the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid regions, primarily caused by human activities such as poor agricultural practices, deforestation, and overgrazing. It is crucial to reverse desertification because this process can have severe and long-lasting impacts on the environment and human communities.

What do we do?

This project addresses pressing environmental issues such as desertification, biodiversity loss, degradation of soil quality, and youth migration through a combination of soil regenerating practices, the planting of native vegetation and cover crops, and integrating these with AgriVoltaic practices providing shade and sustenance.

An AgriVoltaic project is a way of producing both food and energy at the same time. It involves installing solar panels on the same land where crops are grown. This helps to make the most efficient use of land, reduces water usage, and can improve the quality and yield of crops. The shade provided by the solar panels can also help to create a more favorable environment for the crops and help the soil recover.

Change starts with awareness. Crucially, community engagement lies at the heart of our project. We prioritize educating and involving local residents in every stage of implementation, empowering them to become stewards of their land.Organizing the education of and by the locals will provide the necessary knowledge and empower them to initiate change themselves.

The soil will be regenerated by using soil regeneration and regenerative agricultural techniques such as introducing mulch with beneficial microorganisms like soil microbes and/or fungi to improve measurable soil qualities such as microbial diversity and nutrient availability. We also collaborate with other volunteer organizations to reintroduce native species and implement cover cropping practices, enriching the soil and promoting biodiversity.

We are currently in the process of establishing partnerships and consortiums with local organizations and community groups. Through these partnerships, we aim to train and employ members of the local community and increase plant biodiversity. We believe that our project demonstrates the potential for sustainable land use to create positive social, environmental, and economic impacts.

Impact Areas

Regeneration of 1000 hectares of degraded land, creating meaningful employment opportunities for the local population. Integrating 100 hectares of AgriVoltaics promoting sustainable food and energy production.

Through the integration of agrivoltaic practices and regenerative agriculture, our project endeavors to halt desertification, provide clean energy access, and promote sustainable livelihoods in one of Europe's most at-risk regions.

Our initiative not only demonstrates sustainable land management practices but also offers tangible benefits to local communities, including access to education, clean energy, employment opportunities, and nutritious food.