Project: ¡Alquila ho!
Clients: El Prial (Piloña) and Fundación Edes (Tapia de Casariego), with the support of the Government of Asturias
Year: 2024
Overview: Public awareness campaign addressing rural depopulation and the need for entrepreneurship in rural areas. Produced by Almost Red Productions in collaboration with Lionfreak, and directed by Roberto F. Canuto together with Hernán F. Joglar.
The campaign consists of seven short audiovisual pieces (30 seconds each), structured around interviews with key figures from Asturian cultural life. Through their perspectives, the project explores identity, territory, and the importance of generating new opportunities in rural communities.
Participants include Rodrigo Cuevas, Xosé Ambás, Arantxa Margolles, María Torres, Natalia Restrepo, Telina Álvarez, and Pau Santirso.
The pieces were designed for multi-platform distribution, including online media and potential broadcast on regional public television, forming part of a broader social impact initiative aimed at strengthening engagement with rural environments.
Since 2018, the associations El Prial (eastern Asturias) and Fundación Edes (western Asturias) have been developing the programme Volver al Pueblo, an initiative aimed at addressing rural depopulation and encouraging new settlement in the region.
One of the key challenges identified in this process is access to housing. In rural areas, long-term rental properties remain scarce, partly due to the rise of short-term holiday rentals, but also because of structural factors that keep a significant number of homes vacant.
In Asturias alone, more than 100,000 homes are empty, most of them located in rural areas. Reopening these spaces and bringing life back to villages is one of the central goals of the Alquila Ho! campaign, which requires the active involvement of both property owners and local communities.
The campaign uses audiovisual storytelling and the voices of well-known Asturian cultural figures to raise awareness, appealing to collective responsibility and highlighting the transformative potential of long-term rental as a way to revitalize rural territories.
