Entrepreneurs and project partners from Spain and Portugal met in Soria on 4 and 5 November 2026 for the final RootRural exchange.
The programme combined visits to local businesses with a public presentation of the project’s results and an educational guide for other rural communities.
RootRural · Roots and Horizons, an Erasmus+ project developed by Tierras Sorianas del Cid in Spain and Rural Move in Portugal, brought participants together in three villages in Soria. Each stop offered a different perspective on rural entrepreneurship, from developing a tourism venture to restoring old vineyards.
Rural tourism in Inés
In Inés, one of the project participants welcomed the group to their rural tourism venture. Visiting the business gave participants the opportunity to hear directly from the person behind it and discuss what it takes to turn an idea into a business rooted in a small village.
For entrepreneurs from Spain and Portugal, the visit was also a chance to compare experiences and talk about the role that local knowledge and connections play in developing a rural business.
Sharing the results in San Esteban de Gormaz
On 4 November, the Doña Jimena Adult Education Centre in San Esteban de Gormaz hosted the presentation of RootRural’s results. The session brought together project teams, entrepreneurs and participants, with others joining online.
The partners also presented an educational guide that draws on the project’s training and participatory workshops. It brings together practical methods and lessons for organisations that want to run similar activities in their own communities, from identifying local challenges to exploring how an idea can be tested on a small scale.
Bringing old vineyards back into production in Peñalba de San Esteban
In Peñalba de San Esteban, the group visited Bodegas Rudeles, a family-run winery working to restore old vineyards. The visit offered a closer look at how the family is keeping these vineyards in production and building a business around a resource with deep roots in the area.
Over the two days, participants were able to see local ventures first-hand, exchange experiences with people working in other rural areas and strengthen the relationships built between Spain and Portugal throughout the project. The educational guide gives other communities a way to build on that work and adapt the methods to their own needs.
Watch the video of the exchange on Instagram.
Roots and Horizons: Cultivating a Culture of Opportunities in the Territory
Funded by: European Union through the Erasmus+ (2025-1-ES01-KA210-ADU-000353379),in collaboration with the Spanish National Agency SEPIE.
The “ROOT RURAL” project is co-funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors, Asociación Tierras Sorianas del Cid and Rural Move, and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE). Neither the European Union nor the SEPIE National Agency can be held responsible for them.
