• The project combines rental housing and employment opportunities to attract new residents.
• The initiative links local administrations and businesses, facilitating the search for personnel.

The Aragonese region of Somontano de Barbastro, like many rural areas in Spain, faces a double challenge: on the one hand, the lack of available housing, which makes it difficult for new residents to arrive; and on the other, the need for labor in key sectors of the local economy. To address this situation, "Somontano Rent and Employ" was created, a LEADER project that links access to housing with job opportunities, with the aim of securing the population and offering solutions to local businesses.

Its implementation reflects the importance of collaboration between government agencies, businesses, and local development stakeholders to address the demographic challenge and ensure the continuity of economic activity in a region with great future potential.

A project with a dual focus

The project articulates its action in two complementary axes:

1. “Somontano Emplea”: supports companies in defining professional profiles, disseminating vacancies, and searching for candidates at the regional, national, and international levels.

2. “Somontano Alquila”: reactivates vacant homes in Barbastro and other towns in the region, offering owners legal support, standard contracts, insurance, and energy certificates.

In this way, the project facilitates both access to housing and the arrival of new workers to local companies.

Results so far

Since its inception in 2024, the initiative has achieved:

• The installation of 8 families in the region.

• More than 30 hires in around twenty local companies.

• A historic drop in unemployment, with fewer than 900 registered claimants in April 2025.

The restored homes are intended for young families, entrepreneurs, professionals who work remotely, or individuals who find Somontano an ideal location to settle in.

Who is it for?

The program seeks to involve two large groups of beneficiaries:

1. Owners of vacant homes receive support with paperwork, legal advice, and guarantees to rent their properties safely.

2. Companies in the Somontano region are finding support in their search for workers, promoting their job openings, and recruiting suitable talents.

Participants and funding

The project is promoted by the Somontano de Barbastro region , the Barbastro City Council and three business associations:

• Association of Entrepreneurs of the Somontano of Barbastro (AESB).

• Association of Entrepreneurs of the Valle del Cinca Industrial Estate.

• Association of Businesswomen of the Sierra de Guara.

The management falls to the Somontano Development Center (CEDER Somontano) , which also supports newly arrived families through the “Pueblos Vivos” project .

The initiative has European funding through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) , the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Government of Aragon , within the framework of the LEADER program of the CAP Strategic Plan .   of Spain for the period 2023-2027.