Campus diversia: where nature and disability meet

Can sustainability be an engine for inclusion? This is precisely what Campus Diversia, a center of reference in social inclusion, employment and environmental education has achieved in the Valencian Community (Spain) in a natural setting covering 412 hectares irrigated by the Mijares River, amidst extensive forests, vineyards, olive groves and irrigated land.

Inclusion (and something more)

In this immense site with a huge nineteenth-century farmhouse, people with functional diversity can access paid employment adjusted to their personal abilities. The best part? Their work contributes to improving biodiversity and caring for nature, guided by the Sustainable Development Goals. In this space, families, professionals, organizations, experts and researchers exchange experiences to offer job opportunities in the rural environment and boost environmental and cultural activity in the area.

The center created by the AMICA association has been working for 2 years on innovative and sustainable social economy initiatives, always focusing on the capacity of people with disabilities and their rights. Through its work, Campus Diversia also contributes to the settlement of the population in rural environments and functions as a meeting place for inclusive tourism, for the promotion of innovation and new technologies at the service of people.

An experimental agent to improve the environment

The center, which has been operating since November 2020, promotes initiatives for better forest management and the landscape recovery of natural spaces. With each tree planted, they fight against deforestation and contribute to cleaning the atmosphere by absorbing carbon dioxide. To achieve this, they are working to increase biodiversity, starting with the planting of more than 50 native species such as the Valencian oak, linden and maple.

They are also recovering old traditional crops that were abandoned, such as vineyards, medicinal herbs and olive trees, and resuming activities such as beekeeping and the maintenance of organic vegetable gardens.

Did you imagine this synergy between inclusion and sustainability?