Philosophy

OBJECTIVES

To sustainably support the local community through cultural and agricultural projects.
To create a zero-impact initiative that is self-sufficient and rehabilitates and revitalizes the local agricultural and architectural structures.
To foster a social and cultural interchange by hosting multidisciplinary artists from a wide range of backgrounds.
To engage in an innovative and creative dialogue inspired by the local nature, history and culture.

SUSTAINABILITY

Since inception, Ras de Terra has counted on the support and work of local professionals. They have helped restored the architectural structures on the property, construct new spaces and cultivate the land.
The complex relies on solar energy, helping achieve the initiative’s zero-impact goals, while blending into the natural landscape, architecture and local traditions that surround it. Ras de Terra is built on the pillars of education, awareness, research and innovation. This encourages inclusion, regeneration and development of the local economy in La Vera and Extremadura.

Landscape

Sometimes beauty and fragility unite in unexpected ways. Take the tobacco barns of Extremadura, these structures that sprout sparingly across the region, are seemingly simple and ingrained in the local landscape. Yet years after they were first erected they are now in danger of extinction.
Despite their dilapidated state, the tobacco barns in La Vera are part of the heritage stand for an era where the social and economic prosperity of the region was interlinked with nature.
Se estima que en la zona hay unos 4.000 secaderos, la mayor parte de ellos en estado de abandono. Ras de Terra propone revalorizar este elemento arquitectónico, un lugar capaz de ser reconvertido y reutilizado como un espacio dinámico y versátil, cuyos diferentes usos favorezca el desarrollo económico y la preservación de los valores culturales, paisajísticos e históricos de La Vera.

CONSERVATION

Our passion for the arts, social awareness and respect of nature drove us to rehabilitate one of the many tobacco barns within La Vera with the aim of establishing a residence for artists. A project interlinked with a proposal to farm the land, in a sustainable and practical way.
The residence for artists, within this rural landscape, addresses the need to decentralise culture. Creating new contemporary dialogues and collaborations in a local and natural setting, while coexisting in shared spaces.
For the residents, it offers an experience that provides an opportunity to have a shared space for work and creative exploration. In addition, they have an opportunity to integrate within the local community experiencing its people, the nature, the gastronomy and puts them in touch with new cultural stakeholders, offering new and different perspectives.