Ambush with a donkey and TikTok

Alta GarrotxaBernat's growing online community follows the daily progress of his major project: renovating a ruined farmhouse in a remote part of Alta Garrotxa and becoming completely self-sufficient. Bernat, 39, appears on the TikTok platform under the name @mansiondelagranvida. Its content began to gain popularity thanks to the guest appearances of his donkey, Fino.

Through the principle of adverse possession, Bernat aims to obtain an abandoned property from the Generalitat (Catalan government) and rebuild a ruined estate. If after 20 years he can prove that he has only taken care of it, it will legally become his. He assures that he is not at all worried about anyone claiming or trying to buy the land: "Only a madman like me would come here." Building the house is just a small part of everything he has in mind. "It's about showing people, especially the younger generations, how people lived in the past, recovering lost customs, and demonstrating that it is possible to live outside of this consumerist society that has been imposed on us." His idea is that the house can also be a refuge for those who need it, but above all, he wants to encourage people to undertake similar projects in other places. "I want to invite people to come and give workshops, for this to be a space for sharing." Through TikTok, some have already selflessly offered to help him. He believes that through volunteering, and especially thanks to his perseverance, the project will advance more quickly: "All the crazy ideas I have, I end up putting into practice."

An unusual family

From a young age, Bernie (as his friends call him) was clear that he wanted that life: "My family were herbalists, unusual people, and that has left a deep mark on me." At just 9 years old, he earned his first salary selling cane for his neighbor's garden. Later, at 12, he decided he didn't want to be supported anymore and went to the market to sell incense, as he had learned from his parents. During his adolescence, a series of bad decisions derailed him, but he assures that he knew how to draw positive experiences that have led him to who he is and to launch this great project. He calls it "the mansion of the high life," since years ago he fell in love with a house he called that, and promised himself he would get it, albeit adapted to his tastes and interests.

Isolated but connected to TikTok

Bernat had always thought that social media wasn't for him. Through TikTok, he began to see content that interested him and decided to share his daily life. He also realized that his presence on social media helps people: "A person who was going through a bad time wrote to me and said they loved what I was sharing and that it was giving them a zest for life." His followers delight in the adventures of Fino, his donkey, who often disappears to go "on the town" with the neighbors' donkeys. He adopted him to help him with construction projects and to carry his luggage for his pools, as he's a mountaineer, but he hates carrying too much weight and always ends up carrying the heaviest items himself.

He maintains, however, that he's a disaster with cell phones and technology: "I always lose my phones and never remember my email passwords," he says. Aside from videos of his animals, he also shares his cooking recipes, herbal teas, and natural ointments. She will try to rebuild the house as it was before it fell to rubble, but she assures that the kitchen is the place where she will dedicate the most time and space. "Cooking is my greatest passion," she says. Her ex-partner, who often spends long periods at the camp, explains that when she returns to the city, they tell her she's the only person they know who comes back from the mountains fatter than when she left. "Since being here can sometimes be boring, meals create anticipation."

Under a plastic shed

Until the work progresses, Bernat spends his nights in a makeshift tent made of four poles and a piece of plastic. He says it's not an easy life, especially when it rains and is very cold, but the important thing is to always stay positive: "I take the heat out of anything. All problems are just rubbish." Solitude, for him, is a luxury, but he acknowledges it's not for everyone. He's currently joined by two friends who are collaborating on the project, both with labor and money for food and materials. Bernat had been a formwork worker, earning almost €4,000 a month, but quit at 36: "I always told myself to give it a go, that I'd retire at 40." He hasn't had a bank account for 15 years because, ultimately, his goal is to be self-sufficient. He's declining from "civilization" to the bare minimum. "Comfort is a vice, a drug," he asserts.

He says he's immune to colds. When spring begins, he hangs up his shoes and goes barefoot until October. If something gets stuck in his foot, he slices open the sole of his foot with a knife and digs it out. For now, the dilapidated house serves only as a dining room and pantry, and consists of four walls and a reed roof. "If the authorities come, I can say I'm alive. They've told me I can't live without glass in the windows, but I tell them I don't need that."

The School of Life

Although he has never associated himself with any ideological movement, he is clear about one thing: "I don't like the system and that's why I don't follow it, but I don't reject it either." His "school of life" was very different from that of his classmates, and he understands that this way of life isn't for everyone. Nowadays, kids are increasingly stingy; they go out to buy soft drinks and beg. juices 60 cents." He links depression and other disorders to the frenetic pace of consumption, and says that with his videos he aims to show that "you can live and be happy with little."