Category: Sustainability

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2025 at SenValos NGO: a year of inclusion, partnerships and measurable results

31st December 2025. We close the year with a mixture of quiet pride and responsibility. Pride, because 2025 has been a year of sustained hard work, of presence in the territory and of projects that have responded to real needs. Responsibility, because every piece of data we share and every story we accompany reminds us that social inclusion is not an abstract idea: it is a daily, demanding and collective task.

In a social context where progress coexists with uncertainty —and where, on occasion, we hear discourse that simplifies diversity or questions sustainability and interculturalism— at ONGD SenValos we have opted for a clear approach: to act with rigour, closeness and evidence, forging alliances to make opportunities more accessible to all and to make our communities more cohesive, safer and more prosperous.

This article is a summary of what we have achieved in 2025, the results we have attained, and our outlook as we enter 2026.

A key idea that has guided 2025: inclusion that is built locally

If anything defines this year, it is the combination of three elements:

  1. Territory: grounded projects with a real presence in municipalities and regions.
  2. Support: inclusion processes that are not resolved in a single session, but rather through sustained pathways.
  3. Partnerships: local government, community organisations, businesses and committed citizens.

Social inclusion, employability, education, community health and rural well-being do not depend on a single intervention. They depend on networks and continuity. That is why at SenValos we have prioritised networking, coordination with local agents and the ability to adapt each project to the specific reality of each location.

Main projects for 2025

1) Social inclusion of migrants in A Coruña, Negreira, Vilagarcía de Arousa and Chantada

During 2025, we developed various social inclusion projects aimed at migrants in A Coruña, Negreira, Vilagarcía de Arousa, and Chantada. The common goal was to reduce barriers and expand opportunities through support, guidance, community activation, and coordinated referral to resources.

These projects are based on a simple premise: inclusion does not happen ‘by inertia’. It requires accessible information, support at key moments, assistance in navigating procedures and resources, and also spaces where community ties can be strengthened.

2) European project: training in host languages using AI, in collaboration with Poland

Language is a key. It opens doors to social participation, education, employment and access to services. In 2025, we are promoting a European project for training in host languages using AI, in collaboration with Poland.

The focus has been on exploring more personalised and accessible approaches: different learning rhythms, adaptable itineraries and resources that reduce dependence on a single teaching format. Innovation, in our approach, does not replace the human element: it reinforces it. Technology is useful when it broadens access, reduces gaps and respects the diversity of contexts.

3) COIDAMUXÍA: promoting volunteering to alleviate unwanted loneliness in rural areas

Rural areas don’t just need services: they need community. In 2025, we launched a project to promote volunteering through COIDAMUXÍA, aimed at alleviating unwanted loneliness in rural areas.

Unwanted loneliness is a silent phenomenon that affects health and well-being. Responding to it requires sensitivity, continuity and a form of care that does not infantilise or invade, but rather accompanies with respect. Volunteering, when well designed and well managed, can be a powerful tool for strengthening bonds, activating neighbourhood networks and sustaining everyday life.

4) VALÍA: comprehensive itinerary for migrant women in vulnerable situations

In 2025, we developed the VALÍA project, a comprehensive programme for vulnerable migrant women. This work was based on a reality that must be stated bluntly: many migrant women face multiple barriers (administrative, employment, linguistic, caregiving, social isolation, and access to rights).

A comprehensive approach means providing support with a gender and rights perspective, coordinating resources and sustaining processes, not just ‘responding to specific demands’. At VALÍA, the priority has been to strengthen capacities, protect rights and expand support networks so that each person can build their life project with greater security and autonomy.

5) San Isidro Eco-farm: social and labour inclusion through regenerative agriculture

The ecological transition is not just an environmental issue: it is also a social one. In 2025, we are moving forward with the social and labour inclusion project through regenerative agriculture at Ecogranja San Isidro.

Regenerative agriculture connects employment, practical learning, sustainability and territorial roots. Working from this approach means thinking long term: healthier soils, lower-impact production, and at the same time, inclusion pathways that can open doors to employment and entrepreneurship in the agri-food sector.

6) Educational support for young migrants in A Coruña, with assistance in the form of school supplies.

Education is a right and also a predictor of future opportunities. In 2025, we continued the educational support project for young migrants in A Coruña, including assistance with the provision of school supplies.

Here, the objective is very specific: that the starting point does not determine the ceiling. Accompanying students in their studies, reinforcing habits, supporting educational continuity and reducing material barriers is a direct investment in the future, in self-esteem and in belonging.

7) Revitalisation of the agroecological production sector in the region of A Coruña

In 2025, we will participate as a driving force in the agroecological production sector in the region of A Coruña. Agroecology is a path to regional development with economic, environmental and social potential. Boosting the sector means facilitating connections, activating networks, raising awareness of initiatives and contributing to a more resilient production ecosystem.

This work has a strategic component: if we want vibrant territories and just transitions, we need local value chains, decent employment and sustainable production models that leave no one behind.

8) Promotion of migrant associations: support for initiatives in A Coruña, Betanzos and Costa da Morte

Inclusion is strengthened when there is community participation and organisation. In 2025, we will reinforce the promotion of migrant associations, supporting initiatives in A Coruña, Betanzos and Costa da Morte.

This support seeks something essential: that migrants are not only recipients of services, but also protagonists of proposals, spaces for coexistence and collective actions. Associationism is a vehicle for active citizenship and a key element in building more cohesive communities.

2025 results: data that speaks to effort and impact

Accountability matters. Not only for transparency, but because it allows us to learn, improve, and sustain social support for what works.

In 2025, at SenValos NGO:

  • We assisted 643 migrants throughout the year.
  • Sixty-three per cent were women, reinforcing the importance of maintaining specific approaches and measures that address structural inequalities.
  • We trained 95 people, promoting key skills for autonomy and employability.
  • We achieved stable employment for 34 people, a particularly significant indicator due to its direct impact on economic security and life plans.
  • We have had a positive indirect impact on more than 13,600 people through community actions, awareness-raising, networking, revitalisation and improvement of environments.

These figures are not an end goal: they are a starting point for further improvement. Behind each figure lies time, coordination, monitoring, and also the determination of those who trust in our programmes and participate in them.

What 2025 has taught us (and what we will not lose sight of)

This year leaves us with clear lessons:

  • Itineraries work better than isolated interventions. Inclusion requires continuity and follow-up.
  • The community approach multiplies the impact. When you activate local networks, the changes are sustained beyond a single project.
  • Useful innovation is innovation that bridges gaps. AI and technology make sense when they improve access, personalisation, and efficiency without dehumanising processes.
  • Rural areas require specific solutions. Unwanted loneliness cannot be addressed with urban solutions: it requires closeness, presence and respect for the rhythms of the territory.
  • Sustainability and inclusion are two sides of the same transition. There is no viable environmental future without social justice, nor lasting social justice without sustainable environments.

Vision for 2026: consolidate, scale up and take care of the essentials

We are entering 2026 with a practical and forward-looking vision: to consolidate what works, scale up what can be replicated, and strengthen the quality of our support. This involves:

  • strengthen employability and training pathways;
  • expand community-based and participatory approaches;
  • seguir innovando en aprendizaje de lenguas y metodologías accesibles;
  • strengthen actions that connect agroecology, employment and territory;
  • and take care of the team and volunteers, because there can be no sustained impact without well-cared-for organisations.

Thank you, and how to keep adding

None of this is done alone. Thanks to the participants, volunteers, professional team, collaborating entities, administrations, and the productive fabric that has walked alongside SenValos throughout 2025.

If you would like to contribute to the continuation of this work and help it reach further in 2026, there are several ways you can get involved: participate, spread the word, collaborate as an organisation, or support SenValos’ initiatives in your field. The important thing remains the same: to continue building community and real opportunities, with rigour and humanity.

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Every menu counts: SenValos in the Collective Catering PDE

SenValos’ participation in the Collective Restoration Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (PDE) promoted by the Paideia Galiza Foundation and the Juana de Vega Foundation has been an opportunity to send a clear message: the transition towards responsible collective catering in Galicia will only make sense if, at the same time, we strengthen the agroecological fabric and open up space for the labour inclusion and entrepreneurship of migrants.

At the round table of experts on organic production, SenValos brought this dual perspective to the table: territory and decent employment; ecological transition and social justice; healthy menus and life projects that take root in Galicia.

A PDE to rethink collective catering in terms of territory

PDEs are participatory workshops in which government, businesses, social organisations, research centres and other key players come together to identify challenges and business opportunities linked to the Smart Specialisation Strategy (RIS3). In this case, the PDE focused on how to promote collective catering – both public and private – that incorporates criteria of circularity, ecology and sustainability, and opens up new business opportunities in Galicia.

This PDE is part of Paideia’s Circular Challenge project, which works to support innovation and the circular economy in small Galician businesses, covering different productive sectors.

What we took away from the presentation by the Juana de Vega Foundation

The initial presentation by the Juana de Vega Foundation, entitled ‘Responsible collective catering: how to achieve it and overcome obstacles’ (5 November 2025), clearly outlined both the urgency and the potential for transformation that collective catering has in Galicia.

Some key ideas that invite action

  • The food system is at the heart of major challenges: around 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food; a third of food ends up in the bin; and millions of deaths each year are linked to unhealthy diets.
  • Galicia is a region with enormous agricultural potential, but it has been neglected: some 300,000 hectares of usable agricultural land have been lost since 1985 and some 500,000 hectares with good productive capacity are underused, with the consequent increase in the risk of large fires and the disappearance of agroforestry mosaics.
  • There is a high degree of external dependence on agri-food imports, especially for fruit, vegetables, potatoes and cereals. However, by recovering around 146,000 hectares of farmland, this dependence could be reduced by approximately 30% and progress made towards greater food sovereignty.
  • Organic production in Galicia is growing, but it is still far from reaching its potential: some 43,000 hectares (6–7% of the UAA), mainly pastureland, with very little organic land dedicated to fruit, vegetables, potatoes and cereals that actually feed collective canteens.
  • The regulatory framework is pushing in the right direction: the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy promote sustainable public food procurement. In Spain, annual spending on public food procurement is estimated at around €2.5 billion, which should become a lever for change towards healthier and more circular food systems.
  • The new Royal Decree 315/2025 on school menus sets minimum criteria for nutritional quality and sustainability: daily fruit and vegetables, a minimum amount of seasonal produce, increased consumption of legumes and fish, and the mandatory introduction of organic produce, with plans to extend these criteria to hospitals and care homes.
  • Galicia also has a new Food Quality Law (1/2024), which protects the quality, traceability and sustainability of Galician food products, and a law that incorporates the product life cycle as an evaluation criterion in public procurement.
  • School canteens are a decisive lever: there are 616 canteens and almost 77,000 diners, with more than 100,000 meals served every day in Galicia, but most of the concessions are in the hands of large companies based outside the region, which makes it difficult for small local producers to enter the market.
  • There are already inspiring examples that show it is possible: the municipal network of canteens in Ames, the EoAlimenta bioregion and Inditex’s sustainable corporate catering, as well as the ‘Ecocomedores da Biosfera’ in Mariñas Coruñesas and Terras do Mandeo, with an association of organic producers (ECOAGRA), training for kitchens and digital tools for marketing.
  • The main barriers are systemic: tenders designed for large batches, award criteria dominated by price, lack of logistics platforms, disconnect between supply and demand, and weakness of small farms in processing and marketing.
  • The solution lies in coordinating the entire value chain: local production, logistics, responsible purchasing, collective cooking and education for conscious consumption, working in a coordinated manner between administrations, companies, producers, cooks and social entities.

This analysis is fully in line with SenValos’ own mission: if land and value chains are not managed with social and ecological criteria, abandonment, precariousness and inequality will become entrenched.

SenValos’ contribution: agroecology and inclusion of migrants

At the PDE’s organic production table, SenValos has given a voice to those who are often left out of these conversations: migrants who are already supporting part of the food system, both in the countryside and in the restaurant industry, yet continue to face more barriers than opportunities.

Our commitment focuses on several areas:

  1. Supporting Galicia’s agroecological production network
    • Supporting small farms in their professionalisation and connection with collective catering channels.
    • Promoting partnerships between producers, school canteens, catering companies and local authorities, so that public and collective purchasing prioritises organic and locally sourced products.
  2. Facilitating the incorporation of migrants into this productive fabric
    • Designing job placement programmes that combine training in agroecology, sustainable cooking and cross-cutting skills with real labour needs in rural areas and the catering industry.
    • Promoting practices, contracts and social support that encourage workers to put down roots in the region, preventing migrant labour from being condemned to temporary and precarious employment.
  3. Promoting entrepreneurship with social and environmental impact
    • Supporting projects led by migrants in areas such as organic production, food processing and catering, helping these businesses to connect with local supply chains and responsible collective catering initiatives.

The message is simple: if we are going to redesign the menus that feed thousands of children, elderly people and workers every day, let’s take advantage of this effort to create decent jobs, diversify the business fabric and turn cultural diversity into an asset for the region.

From menus to life projects: next stop, Territorio Emprende

This vision will continue to take shape this weekend at the Territorio Emprende – Retiro Semente I: “O fogón e a foliada das alianzas” (Entrepreneurial Territory – Semente I Retreat: “The bonfire and the celebration of alliances”) event, organised by the Paideia Foundation. The retreat will take place at the Casa Rural A Casa Antiga do Monte rural guest house in Lestrobe (A Coruña), a space designed to combine reflection, coexistence and the design of impactful projects.

As part of the programme, on Saturday 29 November, the round table discussion ‘Inspiring Experience: Entrepreneurship with Impact’ will put a face and voice to this commitment to diverse entrepreneurship rooted in the region. Two migrant entrepreneurs supported by SenValos will share their experiences:

  • Marina, a Venezuelan agricultural innovator involved in agroecological production, is demonstrating that it is possible to combine technical knowledge, sustainable practices and an intercultural approach to food.
  • Mamadou, a Senegalese entrepreneur who runs the Faramaren restaurant, which incorporates local produce and gastronomic offerings that bring other cultures closer to the Galician palate, generating employment and revitalising the area.

This round table, moderated by sociologist and consultant Luisa Gallego, is part of a conference that also includes a co-creation ideas laboratory, film forum spaces on territory and sustainable future, and a collective closing ceremony of commitments.

Towards collective restoration that transforms territory and biographies

SenValos’ participation in the Collective Restoration PDE and Territorio Emprende is not an isolated event, but rather another step in a long-term strategy:

  • Linking the fight against rural depopulation and the risk of fires with the creation of decent jobs in the countryside and restoration.
  • Leverage the enormous volume of menus in collective dining halls as a tool to promote local organic production.
  • Ensure that migrants are included on equal terms in this ecological transition, whether through employment or entrepreneurship.

If you work in local government, a school canteen, a catering company or an agroecological farm, now is the time to ask yourself what role you can play. Every tender, every menu, every small supply agreement can be another piece in a fairer, more sustainable and inclusive Galician food system.

At SenValos, we will continue to focus on this: ensuring that every menu counts, and that every person who wants to build their life in Galicia can do so by contributing to a vibrant, diverse region with a bright future.