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Tortuga

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Spanish
  • Ecological
  • Rural

What we do

Proyecto Tortuga is a regenerative intentional community in the process of reviving an abandoned village in the Asturias region of northern Spain (Villanueva de Fíos, near Arriondas), with members also based in Barcelona, Madrid, and Bilbao. Founded in 2023, the project brings together 10+ adults and children with a shared mission to place life at the center — in harmony with surrounding ecosystems and for the well-being of present and future generations.

The community is guided by permaculture principles and deep ecology, with a holistic emphasis on sustainability, shared childcare, health and self-care, and food and energy sovereignty. Governance is practiced through Sociocracy, with four working circles (Rhythm, Care, Land, and Management). Members currently live on a multi-hectare land that includes a ruined village, forests, pastures, a stream, and views of the Picos de Europa, which they are actively restoring.

Legally, the community operates through two entities: a cooperative (Villanueva de Fíos S.Coop.Astur) for collective land ownership and economic management, and an association (Fondiando’l vuelu) for community activities. The group holds regular in-person gatherings and welcomes volunteers.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Languages
  • Spanish
  • English
  • German
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Sustainability practices
  • Renewable energy systems
  • Water conservation and management
  • Waste reduction / composting
  • Regenerative agriculture or permaculture
  • Natural / low-impact building
  • Ecosystem
  • Temperate Forest

Commemorative dates

  • November 24, 2023
  • First in-person meeting
  • November 15, 2024
  • Signing the Contract

Video

Gallery

  • 7 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
  • Open to volunteers
Total
10

How to join

Start by reaching out over email. We will get to know you and invite you to our online meetings. 

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Decision-making process

  • Consent-Based (Sociocracy)

Decisions proceed unless someone has a reasoned objection.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Economic model

  • Membership Fees/Dues Structure

Regular payments for community services and maintenance.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Vehicle accessibility

  • It would be easy / doable to live in this community without a car
  • There are one or more community vehicles

Frequency of communal meals

  • Approximately 1 meal per day

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Growing our own
  • Locally sourced
  • Wildcrafting / Foraging

Nature of social activity

  • People in the community regularly socialize together

Property status

  • Leased

Property owner

  • By a Land Trust, Home Owners Association, or corporation

Ecosystem

  • Temperate Forest

Moderate climate with distinct seasonal changes
Includes deciduous and mixed forest types
Examples: Eastern North American Forests, European Broadleaf Forests

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Community type

  • Ecovillage

    Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.

Community type

  • Entirely or almost entirely built or remodeled with recycled or environmentally friendly materials, and/or using natural building methods

Sustainability approach

  • Renewable energy systems
  • Water conservation and management
  • Waste reduction / composting
  • Regenerative agriculture or permaculture
  • Natural / low-impact building

Land practices in our community

  • The community is working to build soil using only natural methods

Community type

  • Entirely or almost entirely built or remodeled with recycled or environmentally friendly materials, and/or using natural building methods

Some or all of the buildings are...

  • Entirely or almost entirely built or remodeled with recycled or environmentally friendly materials, and/or using natural building methods

Self-produced energy

  • Over 66%

Energy sources used

  • Radiant Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Guest Book

3.0
2 ratings

Visitor’s overall experience3.0 / 5

Accuracy of information3.0 / 5

Responsiveness 3.0 / 5

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Promoted Needs and Offers

Offer
  • Communities with Openings
9 months ago

Join us in the mountains of Western North Carolina

Coweeta Heritage Center/Talking Rock Farm is located in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Coweeta is located in a beautiful and diverse temperate rain forest. It feels very remote here yet we are just 12 miles from Franklin, NC. Winters can be mild. Coweeta is blessed with springs and a stream, pristine forests, and abundant wildlife. Power is provided by a hydro-electric system which is not connected to the grid. An organic garden and trout pond provide healthy food that is also shared with the local community. Hiking, kayaking, and other outdoor activities are just out the back door. Coweeta is looking for others who would like to join together to form an Intentional Community embracing the principles of Voluntary Simplicity. Simply put (no pun intended): We wish “to live simply so that others may simply live.” It is a recognition that nature provides us with valuable services and resources that we can use to enrich our lives. Utilizing local resources, appropriate technology, and working cooperatively, we can discover creative ways to meet our needs as “directly and simply as possible.”. An example of this, in the tradition of many Indigenous People”, is to gather, and use wildcrafted foods as part of our diet. There is great joy in going to nature’s grocery for our sustenance. Voluntary Simplicity is based on the recognition that “very little is needed to live well” and that “abundance is a state of mind.” Living lower on the economic ladder allows us more time and freedom to pursue other life goals: community and social engagement, family time, artistic or intellectual projects, more fulfilling employment, political participation, sustainable living, spiritual exploration, and more. According to the Voluntary Collective, “The grounding assumption of Voluntary Simplicity is that all human beings have the potential to live meaningful, free, happy and infinitely diverse lives while consuming no more than an equitable share of (the world’s) resource
Offer
Offer
  • Communities with Openings
3 months ago

2 Bed / 2 Bath | A Rare Opportunity to Live Intentionally in Fresno, CA

For sale for $300k. I am willing to do a rental also $2200/m (everything included except gas/electricity). I’m passing the keys to my beloved 2-bedroom, 2-bath home here at La Querencia (LaQ), Fresno’s one-of-a-kind intergenerational Cohousing community. Thoughtfully designed and lovingly lived in, this unit has the perfect mix of private comfort and communal connection. Highlights: • Light-filled open layout with 2 spacious bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms (upstairs unit) • Open kitchen and living room concept, very light • Easy access to shared green spaces, community kitchen, gardens, and workshops • Energy-efficient design in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood At LaQ, you’re not just buying a home, you’re joining a vibrant, supportive community rooted in connection, cooperation, and care. Whether it’s sharing meals in the Common House, borrowing a tool from a neighbor, or joining a spontaneous sidewalk conversation, this is intentional living at its best. I’m only moving down the path to a bigger unit because once you live here, you never want to leave. We have tours of our community the last Sunday of every month starting at 4:30PM at the Common House (CH). The CH is located in the Northeast part of our community across from our community garden. You will be greeted by a few community members, taken on tour of our community and end in a potluck where you can meet your potential neighbors and learn more about what intentional living means. We are a diverse community ranging in ages from 3-92. We have retirees, business executives, teachers, professors, those that stay at home and everything in between. Please reach out if you have any questions.

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A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

Organizations

An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).

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