From 25th of June until 3rd of July our PRO members Pavel and Olalla went on a job shadowing activity hosted by our colleagues from Rural hackers and Anceu Co-living in Galicia (Spain). What for? Inspiring ourselves from their community-building initiatives in the smal village of Anceu, understanding new types of funding schemes available to small NGOs and build on future partnership projects.
“And we finally made it to Anceu! After quite a long road, we settled down among chetnuts and pinecone trees to open our ears and minds. During the visit we dove deeper on the many different projects implemented by Anceu and Rural Hackers like “Pegadas do Recordo”, “Anceu Fest”, “CRAB spaces”, and “a Fuchiqueira”.
We got insights on role division among people in the organization, co-livers and the neighbors in the village and discussed about funding programmes, application and reporting characteristics of different funding schemes (i.e. Ministry of culture, Ministry of Industry, Culture Moves Europe, Creative Europe, etc.)
Aside from long conversations with our hosts Ignacio, África and other key memebrs of the organization like Augustín and Noelia, we also had the chace to do networking with people from other NGOs like Cowonders and the European Peace Ambassadors Network.
One of the most special local visits was “Tía Ni”. Opened in the 1930’s, the building that nowadays hosts this cultural venue was used as a rural school for children of the village of Gaxate until the late 80’s. In 2008 Nieves, originally from a nearby municipality, opened there an antiquary and second-hand book shop. Tía Ni is known in the area for hosting social events to the community, from knitting and book clubs, to music evenings and DIY workshops open to everyone.
Another highlight was the tour with Oitavén Life, a local initiative combining neighbors and members of the Regional Forest Association. They showed us their work opening new forest trails, removing invasive eucalyptus, and offering nature activities. The team picked us up in 4×4 vehicles and took us to one of their points of interest, explaining their methods along the way. Lunch in the forest and an afternoon of water activities made the experience both educational and enjoyable.
We also visited the Casa do Pobo community houses in Anceu and Ventín. It was inspiring to see how these spaces serve as hubs for local activities and are enhanced by artworks from artists who completed residencies at Anceu.
On the last day we reviewed all the activities of the past days and discussed with the team partnerships between Shokkin Group and Rural hackers (with whom we have a youth exchange planned in November 2025) and with Anceu (we are planning to host a project writing retreat as part of our accreditation in the facilities of Anceu in March 2026).
Reflecting on the week, the experience highlighted the importance of a more collaborative and flexible approach in our own work. Observing the rhythm of the coliving space emphasized the value of allowing time for group processes, delegating tasks, and trusting team members, which also contributes to a more relaxed pace and balanced workflow. These insights are already inspiring changes in how we plan projects, run workshops, and structure teamwork within Shokkin Group, and they will influence future collaborations with Rural Hackers, including the upcoming projects for young people and NGO managers.”
Pavel and Olalla
“Community in Action” was co-funded by the European Union and supported by the Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps Agency for the Erasmus+ program (euroopanoored.eu)