La Ponte
2011
Centro Tecnológico El Sabil s/n. 33115, Villanueva de Santo Adriano, Asturias
+34 985 76 14 03
The La Ponte-Ecomuséu project was born in 2011 with the aim of mobilizing a series of heritage resources in a mid-mountain municipality in the central area of Asturias (northwestern Spain). This territory, like others in rural Asturias, presents important socio-economic problems, clear socio-economic needs, demographic decline, migration of the young population, withdrawal of traditional economic activities and low diversification of the existing ones, dependence on public administrations, etc.
In this context, the Ponte-Ecomuséu was constituted by professionals related to various sciences, mostly related to heritage (archeology, ethnography, history, etc.), as a possible way to provide solutions to some of these problems. This communitarian initiative gave rise to the creation of an ecomuseum, coordinated by experts, technicians and neighbors.
Throughout the years, the ecomuseum has carried out research, protection and dissemination of heritage, involving different groups in the processes of heritage and its socialization, and betting on a horizontal organization that works in a communitarian way. One of its greatest achievements has been to achieve that the public Administrations, for the first time in Asturias, delegate the management of a public asset of special protection to a civil association. This action has been a way of calling on the responsibility that each individual has over their territory and heritage, and to the processes of Critical Culture that must be linked to a project like this.
La Ponte is a permanent laboratory of ideas and actions. A “social enterprise of knowledge” that utilizes parameters of the business environment within an economic rationality, that works with a model of communitarian participation and communal lucrative purpose, and that intends, through knowledge, to apply traditional and academic knowledge to a particular reality.
Jesús Fernández Fernández. Director (info@laponte.org)
Violeta Gomis García. Dissemination and Interpretation Manager (info@laponte.org)
1 director, 1 person employed, 15-20 people from the Network (volunteers and/or staff paid per activity carried out), the community of the Santo Adriano Council.
The ecomuseum’s members and collaborators have different educational backgrounds, from professional training, intermediate and higher education programs, degrees in various areas of knowledge, to postgraduate level training: masters and doctorates. The most frequent disciplines in which they are trained and qualified are:
The ecomuseum’s training activities are carried out: (1) internally, for members of the team (hired and volunteers); (2) and externally, for members of the community and outside community members. It should be noted that La Ponte-Ecomuseu is an association that arises from members of the community itself, so some of the training activities are carried out by people who belong either to the ecomuseum team or the community of the Council of Santo Adriano.
Internal training is mainly dedicated to deepening the methodology for the dissemination and the interpretation of the region’s heritage, the creation of itineraries and technical specialization for the work with the community, the territory and the heritage.
Training for the community (and members of the ecomuseum team) is focused on offering tools, methodologies and innovations applied to the territory, as well as on the recovery of traditions, knowledge and know-how, and oral memory. Thus, can be highlighted courses and workshops on agroecology, wellness and health or oral memory of adults
The ecomuseum, on the other hand, states that it has training needs in management and administration of organizations and economic resources, communication skills in traditional and digital media, image improvement and analysis of the impact of its communication and marketing, and aspects related to skills in local relations with members of the community, especially with the adult population.
| COURSE | DESCRIPTION | TARGET | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECOMUSEUM MEMBERS (TECHNICAL TEAM) | LOCAL COMMUNITY | ||
| Interpretación del Patrimonio | Course centered on learning the methodologies of heritage interpretation. | X | |
| Agroecología | Several courses and workshops for the implementation of sustainable farming and the use of organic fertilizers | X | X |
| Música tradicional | Workshops for the teaching of playing traditional musical instruments | X | |
| Arqueología | Course carried out in collaboration with the University of Oviedo for carrying out archaeological work. | X | X |
| Itinerancia | Local management training project developed in Cantabria, where La Ponte was a partner-trainer. | X | X |
| Taller Andechando cola Tradición | A series of workshops to recover the community's knowledge: bread making, wool spinning and spinning, cider making, etc. | X | |
| AREA / FIELD | DESCRIPTION | WAY OF TRAINING (VIRTUAL / ON-SITE / WORKSHOPS / ETC.) | TARGET | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECOMUSEUM MEMBERS (TECHNICAL TEAM) | LOCAL COMMUNITY | |||
| Management | Administration and management of institutions, accounting, etc. | All | X | |
| Comunication | Communication techniques in diverse media: creation of corporate image, communication with traditional media, social networks, etc. | All | X | |
| Memory management | Training to apply knowledge of oral and collective memory in order to have an impact on the Present. | In-person | X | |
| Presentation of projects and grants | Development, drafting and submission of research projects and grants from local, regional, State and international calls for proposals. | All | X | |
| Social skills | To deepen the methodologies to establish empathetic contacts with the local population. | All | X | |
| Sustainable way of life | Fostering other forms of consumption | All | X | |
La Ponte-Ecomuéu is a non-profit association that considers itself a social enterprise of knowledge. Its objectives are focused on raising awareness of the socio-territorial reality in which it is located and the generation of resources to promote social, cultural and economic development. This vision means that its funding is aimed at supporting activities and projects in this direction. However, one of its goals is to obtain stable jobs within the organization and the remuneration of professionals who carry out specific jobs for the organization.
The fixed expenses that the ecomuseum has are derived from the consumption of electricity, telephone, insurance, the agency that performs the administrative and accounting management tasks, and the only permanent contract of the entity. On the other hand, some other variable expenses that arise each year are design and layout (web page, brochures, books, magazines, etc.), drafting and preparation of projects and subventions, and the contracting of technicians in charge of courses, workshops, projects, etc.
Funding for the ecomuseum comes from different sources:
The ecomuseum considers that rather than innovation, they are diversifying the spaces in which they can obtain financial support. The structure of the entity and the diverse profiles that compose the team allow them to have multiple financing. In addition, it allows them to make one of the cornerstones of the entity become a reality, which is not to depend on a single source of income or a single institution to provide it.
It is true that such diversification and the vision towards a critical culture, where scientific knowledge and local knowledge merge and dialogue, has meant that the way to innovate is, in the words of part of the team: “to shoot high and look upwards, towards Europe, for example”.
At present, they continue to develop projects to expand the sources of financing which, of course, have an impact on the local economy and the territory. Local consumption and agroecology groups are a great potential for sustainable production and consumption that would generate economic activity in the area.
The activities of the Ecomuseum are designed for the population of the council and the foreign population (visitors-tourists). The participation of the community in the activities organized by the Ecomuseum is about 15-20 people, which may seem a low figure, but we must be aware that the population census is 250 inhabitants, although residents are around half of them. This participation is bidirectional: they participate in the activities and propose activities and actions. It should be specified that some of the population is of older age, which makes their participation in some of the actions more complex. In this regard, the team we interviewed gave the example of the oral memory workshop on health, which traditionally depended on local women. It was a challenge and hard work to involve all the women due to socio-demographic and cultural aspects.
Regarding the visitor population, most of them are national tourists, mainly from Madrid and Asturias. The average number of visitors per year is about 1000 people, except in the post-confinement year, 2021, which was 250, since school visits were cancelled.
The public visiting the ecomuseum’s itineraries is usually of three categories: (1) a specialized public that demands a specific offer and carries out the activities in small groups; (2) larger groups that come on a circuit arranged with a travel agency, with less knowledge and less time for the visit; (3) captive public groups (mainly schoolchildren), to whom a didactic visit appropriate to the curriculum of their educational level is offered.
The involvement of this sector is reduced, but in relation to type (1) there are sometimes people who have become associated with the entity and have even proposed activities.
The participation mechanisms are as follows:
The participation channels are as follows:
It is not being carried out. According to the declarations of the team members, this is due to a lack of time and staff. They recognize that it is a lack and that it should be one of the actions that the ecomuseum should carry out. Indeed, the digital visualization (website, social networks, etc.) is only a minor image of what the project really is and what it means for the territory and the community.
| Only information | Chance to suggest actions | Complaints or Compliments | Purchase of tickets | Open access or under registration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
| Proposing museum objectives | On funding issues | About museum planning | On accessibility |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
X |
X |
| Receipt message is sent | The proposal is discussed at the museum management level | Results of the discussion are sent |
|---|---|---|
|
X |
X |
X |
The main interaction of the ecomuseum is done through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube channels and the comments left by users on the website.
The ecomuseum is founded on the premise of social innovation, i.e.: “new ideas or processes that both meet different social needs (more effectively than alternatives) and contribute to the creation of new relationships and/or collaborations. In other words, they are innovations that are good for society while improving its capacity to act”. It is therefore understood as an innovation that goes beyond technological, industrial and business aspects. Any process and/or product of innovation must start from the social level and must have an impact on it.
The very existence of La Ponte is an innovation in its territory. Without this initiative, most of the actions and projects developed by La Ponte would not be carried out. The innovation lies in the fact that it unites the rigor of research with local needs, with the knowledge of the population and with the participation of the community. This involvement of the local population in the management of knowledge and its impact on the present is what makes it an innovative project.
The examples of (social) innovation of La Ponte-Ecomuséu have to be considered from the whole of the project itself, which implies, on the one hand, that all research that is developed must be connected with the current reality and, on the other hand, to manage the collective memory.
Some examples would be:
| PROJECTS / ACTIONS | SHORT DESCRIPTION | SDG |
|---|---|---|
| Interpretive itineraries | Interpretation of the heritage for an understanding of its historical, social, cultural and economic dimensions. | 3, 11 |
| Saludriano | Project developed by the city council and the ecomuseum to improve health and wellness. | 3 |
| Historical consciousness | Workshops for the recovery of collective memory. | 4 |
| Workshops with schools | Pedagogical activities. | 4 |
| Project to make women's work and memory in rural areas more visible | There is a working group for gender topics that works on the recovery of memory. | 5 |
| Gender Working Group | Research and dissemination of women in the prehistory, women in the history of the rural world, etc. | |
| Employment contract | La Ponte's goal is to generate a sustainable economy and jobs. | 8 - 8.9 |
| Workshops, conferences, projects, etc. | It is the core activity of La Ponte-Ecomuséu. | 11 - 11.4 |
| Agri-food exchange group | Focused on sustainable production and ecological use of the territory. | 12, 13 |
| Agreements with other entities | Ecomuseum has created a network at local, state and international level. It works and collaborates with professionals from different countries and disciplines, and with entities such as the Bishopric, the Principado de Asturias, the Ministry of Culture, etc. | 18 |
The way in which La Ponte-Ecomuseu understands sustainability does not conform to the established standards. Sustainability is intrinsic to local (rural) populations. Their way of life and their survival depends on making their environment sustainable and adapting to the changing times and contemporary evolutions.
One of the parameters of the ecomuseum is the sustainability of non-locatable resources, such as the cultural and patrimonial manifestations of the Romanesque, the caves with parietal artistic representations, the generation of local employment, etc.
Activity during the confinement was at a minimum. The alternative was virtualization, but the Assembly of the ecomuseum decided to paralyze the actions and to wait for the return to normality. The main reason was that their work is developed with resources from the territory and with the community, an aging population. The main objective was to preserve the health of the population. This had an impact on the cancellation of outreach work, workshops, itineraries, etc.; and the cancellation of contracts that were not restarted until the beginning of 2021.
However, scientific activities were maintained: publication of books and the journal, dissemination through the writing of articles, project proposals, etc.
Óscar Navajas, Manuel Parodi-Álvarez, Julio Seoane
Leandro França, Barbara Kazior, Óscar Navajas, Manuel Parodi-Álvarez, Lisa Pigozzi, Raul dal Santo, Julio Seoane, Maristela Simão
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. The content of this website reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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