Ciutadilla, Castellserà, Agramunt, Palacio de Anglesola, Bell-lloc, Bellvís, Alamús, Juneda, Bovera, Torregrossa, Torrefeta, and Florejacs… Bread ovens, especially small ones, have been proliferating in rural areas in recent years. Although still tentative, the opening of new businesses is counteracting a trend that seemed dramatic. "What was in decline until now seems to be a trend," says Toni Frias, the current president of the Bakers' Guild of the Lleida region. But this is no coincidence. At least, not in the eyes of the industry. "It was the result of time and a lot of dedication," Frias states. In recent years, the Guild has dedicated significant effort to promoting and organizing courses and training for new bakers and shopkeepers who have converted to traditional bakeries. "Now we are reaping the rewards," concludes the president of the organization.

One of the major problems facing Catalonia's primary sector is the severe lack of generational replacement. Although the demand for labor in this sector is very high, bureaucracy and the difficult conditions in which they work Farmers and ranchers seem to be discouraging younger generations from wanting to dedicate their professional lives to agriculture. The succession of family farms is at a critical juncture. At least, that's what this confirms. a technical dossier prepared by the General Directorate of Agri-food Companies in 2024 The study indicates that farmers under 40 years old represent only 11% of farms in the European Union (EU), while in Catalonia this figure plummets to 7%. "A combination of social, economic, environmental, and cultural factors affects the health of the agricultural sector and puts many current farms on alert, as they do not foresee a natural succession," the same study argues. And what is this natural succession? It's the children, who don't follow in their parents' footsteps.

More than a thousand people, most of them linked to more than 150 civic organizations from different Catalan regionsOn October 5th, they staged a massive show of force through the streets of Lleida. They were organized by sixteen entities, including the Assemblea Pagesa de Catalunya (Catalan Farmers' Assembly). the Pueblos Vivos platformThe environmental group Ipcena and SOS Vall del Corb all took to the streets under a common slogan: "We defend the land." What did they mean by this? They explain it themselves. "We want a new rurality, one that isn't dependent on urbanism and territorial imbalance," says Víctor Altés, an agricultural engineer and member of Pobles Vius. The activists warn that the rural world is under attack. "When we say attack, we're referring to all these large-scale energy projects that have nothing to do with the needs of the land, but rather with a colonization of rural areas without even consulting the people who live there," Altés argues. The protesters lament that large companies and investment groups are assaulting rural areas surreptitiously and maliciously.

Carles Llop, PhD in architecture (Lleida, 1958), is the human embodiment of the long-awaited fusion of city and countryside. He is a member of the Department of Urban Planning at the Polytechnic University of Barcelona (which he directed for seven years) and, together with the architects Sebastià Jornet and Joan Enric Pastor, has received multiple awards for numerous urban transformation plans (such as that of the Mina neighborhood in Sant Adrià de Besòs). At the same time, he has also been responsible for territorial planning projects and a large number of landscape intervention projects. His latest project has been the publication of a collective book by the Horitzons 2050 Private Foundation entitled Let's mobilize! Rural world! New ruralities for historic territories (Fonoll Publishing).

"It's not just stone. It's not just earth. It's a cry that awakens generations. It's the voice of a people rising up with dirty hands and a burning heart. It's a memory that doesn't kneel. It's pride that doesn't ask permission." These are phrases, almost verses, from Josep Maria Martí, a bricklayer from Alt Camp who a few days ago led a dry stone recovery workshop in Meüll, a small town in Castell de Mur (in Pallars Jussà). "It's more than stone, it's living memory," concludes Martí, who leads similar projects in other Catalan regions, such as Alt Urgell.