ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES AND JOBS IN PENADEXO

In today’s connected world, all you need to generate income is a good internet connection plus an online presence and you are good to go. However not everyone likes to work behind a computer. The following list contains (agricultural) resources in and around our village that can provide a livelihood as an entrepreneur or employee.

FARMING

1. Chestnuts is the most obvious choice. We inherited hundreds of trees that once fed hundreds of people. Today they are neglected, but alive. With some maintenance and grazing around the trunks to ease harvesting, they will once again yield vast amounts of chestnuts. There are several companies who will buy them. In the supermarkets here they sell at 5 euros per kilo, farmers can expect a price of 1-2 euros per kilo.
2. Livestock: One thing we will certainly have to do to save on mowing, is have a couple of sheep or goats. There is also a small region specific breed of cows with highly prized meat, Cachena. Our neighbour has good results with these and is increasing the size of his herd. Nowadays there are electronic collars with GPS that replace the need for fencing.
   In addition you could consider raising chickens, ducks, sheep, fish tanks with trout. Or feed plentiful amounts of acorns to the famous Iberian pigs, the ham of which can easily fetch 100+ euro’s per kilo.
3. Game: an avid hunter or poacher can earn a good (side) income with the amount of wildlife we have. A deer or boar in a chest freezer gives you organic, tax free meat for a whole year. One can consider reintroducing the rabbit, which was hunted/trapped to extinction in our area. They feed on the ever present brambles in winter as well as other noxious weeds such as ferns.

4. Beekeeping, or apiculture, has been practiced for millennia. There are three ancient albarizas in our valley. These are traditional round stone structure meant to create an optimal climate for bees and keep out hungry bears. A little clean-up and they are good to go. Many supporting businesses are located nearby.
5. Forestry: not all of the chestnut trees in our valley are worth saving. The wood is remarkably rot-resistant so even a dead tree is still useful.. Furthermore there are mature oaks and of course plenty of pine trees. A few lots were planted with forest-fire prone eucalyptus when that was still legal in our area. Those can be harvested every 8 years or so.
6. Vineyards: wine is big in this part of Spain. We are on the outskirts of the Ribeira Sacra, a two-thousand year old wine growing region known among others for the mencía variety of grapes. Penadexo is at 800 meters so a little challenging, but we do face south and receive plenty of sunshine. Our neighbour in O Busto introduced vines from France that do well at 1100 meters.
7. Cider: This spring we planted a couple of apple and pear trees. We saved several overgrown apple trees but have yet to see if these are any good. Every tree can produce 30 to 100 kilos of apples or pears, with juice making up two thirds of that weight. The process of making cider is easy and straightforward.
8. We found the following edible species still growing after 20 years of abandonment: apple, pear, prune, peach, walnut, figs, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, grapes, mint, thyme. Its a good indication of what grows well here.
9. The list of potential crops is nigh endless, so I will highlight a few candidates that I consider interesting:

• High altitude offers an advantage when cultivating any type of fruit, because your harvest time will differ from those growing at lower altitudes and you can potentially get a higher price.
• Mushrooms is a high value crop that feeds on dead wood of which there is no short supply. Perhaps a knowledgeable person can already collect valuable mushrooms from the forest.
• Potatoes are anything but a high value crop but they are easy to cultivate, easy to sell and store well for personal consumption.
• Blackberries are everywhere, so a commercial cultivar is likely to do well. My test plant is doing excellent. Same for raspberries and other rose family members.

NON-AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES:

10. Within the parish here are two quarries that are still commercially operated. In Penadexo we own a quarry with the same type of decorative rock. According to some elderly folks, the quality of our quarry surpasses that of the other two located nearby.
    However, our quarry is right behind the village, and having huge & noisy excavator working there would ruin our quality of life. We can however approve some extraction in order to create more flat land.
11. Woodworkers will love it here: we have chestnut, oak, elm, pine and many other species. Besides the resources, the low cost of living makes it a perfect location for any type of artisan or small scale factory. Where else in Europe can you drink a glass of wine at a restaurant for 1 euro, and have a steak for 12?
12. We have limitless amount of firewood. Many bakeries in this part of Spain use wood ovens for it simply makes economic sense when firewood is almost free. Any process that requires moderate heat can be done very cheaply.
13. Water: there are at least two springs in the valley, one of which is feeding our water system. The lower spring is very rich in iron which makes it interesting for bottling. The stream running through our valley has a potential of around 500-1000 watts hydro power on several locations where there used to be watermills.

TOURISM

The biggest tourism draw in Galicia is the pilgrim trail to Santiago de Compostela. We are located within 10 kilometers of a lesser known trail, which is too far to benefit in any significant way. There are many B&B’s in the area and not that many tourists to begin with.

If I were to develop something touristic, I’d give it a special angle. Imagine a retreat style accommodation; not another pretentious yoga ‘retreat’ but a more down to earth type of place for people who for example want to quit smoking, process grief, heartbreak, overcome writer’s block or burnout. Penadexo is very tranquil and pretty, and combined with a community that makes you feel welcome and at home, it exudes innate therapeutic power. This can be boosted with the possibility of outdoor activities and participation in construction and farm work.

Or consider this angle: aim for the libertarian crowd and digital nomads. Create a regenerative web3 tokenized shared office hub start-up incubator buzzword filled crypto blockchain friendly center. I know, Penadexo is quite different from a hip city, but every digital nomad deserves a break sometimes from traffic, loud parties and bad air.

Now that I mention parties, we will have our annual festival again on July 27, and we will increase the number of events as our accommodation improves over the years. Penadexo will not be a sleepy retirement town. Our elderly residents will party till they drop, have their hips replaced and continue partying. Fair enough, that is obviously an exaggeration. Just to say that we shouldn’t be boring as age does not exclude having fun. That way our children don’t have to go all the way to Madrid to score some decent dope.

WHAT ABOUT NORMAL JOBS?

There are certainly plenty of jobs that pay very well when compared to the cost of living in this corner of Spain. However one needs to adjust expectations if you don’t want to commute for an hour or more. If you are looking for specialized work, you are unlikely to find it. Even in metropolitan areas most people work in another field than the one they once studied for. In the countryside almost everyone does so.

For people whose identity and sense of self-worth does not depend on their job description, there is plenty of work. For men, it’s mainly maintenance, construction, plumbing, electrics, road work, forestry, agriculture, gardening. For women it’s mainly in the field of personal care and hospitality. Nursing and helping all the elderly residents, keeping everyone well fed, well groomed and healthy. Currently there is a hair salon looking for a new owner. Bars and restaurants are always on the lookout for staff, which is an excellent opportunity to get paid while learning Spanish!

Many of the locals work multiple small jobs: The owner of one of the mini-markets also drives a taxi. A farmer’s wive supplements her household income by driving a municipal bus service for the elderly. Even the mayor himself also works as a veterinarian.

In a small society it is immediately clear that every job counts. There is no such thing as menial work. Everyone contributes to keep everything running and can take pride in that. While take-home pay might not seem much, when you have no mortgage, negligible energy bills, and are a productive gardener and/or hunter , it is more than adequate to live well.

So you see, there are plenty of options besides working online. Also, a lot of this work can be done informally, as a side income, or sporadically. Come visit us to learn more!