ECONOMIC DIMENSION

In the community of Amalurra, sustainability has been based on emotional ecology, according to which the human being is a micro-universe that belongs to a macro-universe (the Earth, the social and environmental dimension).

Economic sustainability has been based on values ​​such as trust, generosity, responsibility and the common good, both towards the community and towards the people who have visited us. From the economic point of view, most members of Amalurra have obtained their family or individual income working for themselves (freelance) or for others, outside the community. Exceptionally, some of them were hired to work in the kitchen, in the hotel reception, or in cleaning and maintenance positions. From time to time, and especially during the resort’s high season, some local workers were hired.

Each family has made an economic contribution as a way to participate in the public limited company that owns the community’s lands and buildings. The holding company was constituted by all the partners who own the property in equal parts and have an equivalent participation in it. This is the typical way of functioning of a cooperative, a unique concept taken from the business field of the Basque Country and which is being studied internationally for its positive results.

In addition, all the members of Amalurra have done voluntary work (auzolan in Basque) in the community. Investments have been jointly decided in sharing circles based on common conditions and needs.

On the other hand, the resort, the Amalurra social enterprise , made up of a rural hotel and hostel, restaurant, cafeteria, spa and wellness center with health treatments, has been a source of income. The earnings obtained from it have been invested in the materialization and maintenance of the place, in maintenance and administration expenses, in solidarity projects with other organizations, in youth education or environmental sustainability initiatives, among others. Those profits have never benefited the partners, since the purpose has always been the collective and the common good. Finally, the cafeteria has offered a meeting point where we have sold local and artisan products.

Good practices

Circular economy and social economy

The Eco Hotel & Retreat Center Amalurra has implemented a new way of management, seeking to have a positive impact both on an environmental and a social scale.

As a contribution to the local sphere, we promoted the consumption of “kilometer zero” products, grown in ecological local gardens. On the other hand, the social enterprise has hired people residing in the area.

At the environmental level, constant attention was paid to preserving the environment. In this sense, pellet boilers, geobiology, solar panels and photovoltaic systems were used to obtain heating and hot water. Likewise, the use of led bulbs was promoted, prioritizing renewable energy and sustainability.

The social enterprise, Eco Hotel & Retreat Center Amalurra , was born as a model that prioritized the use of resources and the optimization of materials and waste, based on values such as equity, solidarity or commitment to the social environment.

Spaces

Eco Hotel and Restaurant

The Eco Hotel and the Amalurra restaurant constitute the social enterprise that has sustained part of the economic and social sphere of the surroundings.

Ecological vegetable gardens

In them, we grew food respecting the principles of ecological farming and without using synthetic chemicals. Moreover, composting has been practiced to turn organic waste into natural compost without chemical fertilizers.