Revitalisation of the village of Muimenta
The wildfires of 2017 marked a turning point for Carballeda de Avia in addressing the challenges faced by rural areas, such as depopulation and the abandonment of productive land. In this context, the integration of Muimenta into the Model Villages strategy initiated this process of strategic planning based on participation and pilot actions, with the aim of building a replicable case for territorial activation.
Model Village revitalisation strategy
Fundación RIA, Carballeda de Avia Council, Xunta de Galicia
Social centre
Fundación RIA, Carballeda de Avia Council, Fundación MOP, COAG, Galician Consortium for Equality and Welfare Services, Provincial Council of Ourense
Other interventions
Fundación RIA, Carballeda de Avia Council, AGADER
Year
2020–
The revitalisation strategy for Muimenta is an integrated territorial intervention process aimed at reactivating the productive, residential and community foundations of the village. Promoted in 2020 by Carballeda de Avia Council and Fundación RIA within the framework of the Xunta de Galicia’s Model Villages programme, the process seeks to develop a model capable of jointly addressing wildfire prevention, economic reactivation and the creation of new opportunities for rural living.
Muimenta is located in O Ribeiro, a region of high territorial value associated with its agricultural landscape, cultural heritage and traditional productive systems, particularly renowned for its wine-making tradition. Despite being an active region, it faces structural dynamics common to other rural areas, such as depopulation, ageing and the abandonment of agricultural land, all of which increase the risk of forest fires.
Following the wave of wildfires in 2017, which affected Galicia extensively and exposed the territory’s vulnerability to forest fires, the Xunta de Galicia promoted the Land Recovery Law, introducing the Model Villages framework among its instruments, aimed at recovering agricultural land and preventing wildfires. In Muimenta, one of the 2017 fires severely affected the village, causing significant damage to productive land and nearby homes, marking a turning point for Carballeda de Avia Council. As a result, Muimenta was designated a Model Village in 2019. One year later, Fundación RIA began drafting the village revitalisation strategy, initiating a close and ongoing relationship with Muimenta and its local stakeholders.
Since then, Muimenta has functioned as a pilot area in which new forms of rural intervention are tested, focused on economic revitalisation and the improvement of the built environment. Based on participation and strategic planning, the initiatives developed — from housing and public space rehabilitation to the creation of new facilities — contribute to consolidating a more resilient and active territorial structure within the region, capable of being replicated in other territories.
Participation, planning and multiple interventions
Muimenta’s revitalisation strategy is conceived as a long-term roadmap for activating the village, aimed at analysing and prioritising the interventions required for its revitalisation. Based on a multi-scalar analysis of the territory, the strategy is action-oriented and actively integrates the different stakeholders involved in the village. This approach strengthens the continuity of the project, its governance capacity and its coherence with existing public policies.
In recent years, this strategy has materialised through a series of progressive interventions supported by a network of facilities and public spaces, which serve as infrastructure for community life and for the development of new village dynamics. Through the study of local needs and a strategic vision, several improvement initiatives have been implemented, funded through AGADER’s annual grants for Model Villages.
The refurbishment of Praza da Festa restored a central gathering space for local residents, while the promotion of a communal kitchen with an associated dining area enabled the creation of a facility linked to care and social support, while also providing a space for training activities and community initiatives connected to agricultural production.
Meanwhile, the rehabilitation of a house for public accommodation, designed by PLP Atelier and recognised in the 2025 Gran de Area Awards organised by COAG, explores the recovery of vacant buildings to host temporary stays, enabling new residents or territory-linked projects to find a place from which to engage with, remain in and participate in village life.
A social centre for community and productive activation
Within the framework of the revitalisation strategy, a former house in a state of ruin, unused for decades and affected by the 2017 wildfire, was identified as an opportunity for the creation of a new municipal facility. The intervention simultaneously enables the recovery of built heritage and provides the municipality with a collective-use space capable of activating new social dynamics.
The project involves the rehabilitation of the existing building, located in the upper part of the settlement, transforming it into a landmark social centre for the village and its surroundings. The functional programme developed by Fundación RIA proposes a flexible space designed to host neighbourhood meetings, cultural and educational activities, as well as uses linked to care, entrepreneurship and the establishment of new economic activities, contributing to population retention and the arrival of new residents.
To develop the project, an architectural competition was launched by Carballeda de Avia Council, coordinated by Fundación RIA, with financial support from Fundación MOP and administrative support from COAG. The winning proposal, selected from around thirty submissions, was developed by Daniel Gómez Magide, Eduardo Dipre Mazza and Miguel Ángel Díaz González, and stands out for its sensitive integration into the landscape and its adaptation to the site’s topography.
Coliving as a tool for revitalisation
One of the main challenges for attracting new residents to rural villages is the difficulty of accessing housing. In Muimenta, as in many rural settlements across Galicia, there is a large number of vacant buildings, structures in ruins or properties with complex ownership situations, limiting the arrival of new inhabitants and the development of territory-linked initiatives.
In this context, the rehabilitation of a house for public accommodation represents a key intervention within the village revitalisation strategy, making it possible to provide residential infrastructure that supports processes of arrival, permanence and participation in community life. The recovery of this building also enables the exploration of models for reusing built heritage capable of responding to the contemporary needs of rural environments.
Through this initiative, rural coliving is introduced as a tool for territorial activation and revitalisation. The combination of permanent and temporary stays helps promote population retention, attract new professional profiles and foster initiatives related to entrepreneurship, care, culture and territorial innovation.
Through pilot programmes, temporary residencies and activities open to the community, this model makes it possible to test new ways of living and working in rural areas, strengthening community life and contributing to the retention of an active population.
A research laboratory
Over the years, Muimenta has become established as a space for research and experimentation around the challenges of the contemporary rural world, where social and academic activation initiatives form part of the same territorial revitalisation strategy.
The activities promoted within the framework of the project are participatory in nature and aim to generate a direct return for the village. The inauguration of the communal kitchen was organised as an open gathering involving local residents, producers and municipal representatives, led by cook and researcher Blanca del Noval together with Fundación RIA, in order to activate the new facility through the promotion of local knowledge, local products and the relationship between the village and its agricultural network. Similarly, alongside the competition for the new social centre, a programme of talks, public activities and exhibitions was developed to share the work carried out and create spaces for exchange.
