- Bees, sheep, insects, steppe birds, social inclusion, training, digitalization, wind tourism, recovery of centenary olive trees... All seen through the eyes of influencer @Agripilar and content creator Eli Pardos. An urbanite and a farmer who combine in-depth interviews in the studio with experiences throughout Spain to explore how clean energies coexist and develop the rural environment both economically and environmentally.
Farmer and rancher Pilar Pascual, better known on social media as @Agripilar, and social media content creator Elisardo Pardos, @elisardopardos, have joined their voices and life experiences to create a genuine and humorous dialogue in a new video podcast where we will discover how the countryside views the city and how the city views the countryside.
Thus, the videopodcast Conexión a Tierra is born, an open dialogue about how renewable energies coexist and develop rural environments, debunking false beliefs with data and expert voices. The protagonists are people who live in the countryside and know this reality: shepherds, beekeepers, ranchers, trainers, biologists, ornithologists, archaeologists... All of them have passed through the "Conexión a Tierra" set answering Pilar and Eli's direct questions. What would you say to those who criticize sheep grazing under solar panels? What would happen if we ran out of bees? What is an archaeologist like you doing in a place like this?
The microphones of Conexión a Tierra are also a window to the reality of rural Spain. In the 11 episodes of the first season, not only will you hear interviews with experts, but Pilar and Eli have gone out into the field, rolled up their sleeves, and experienced unique moments such as visiting a solar apiary, releasing protected birds, excavations at solar plants, and routes between wind turbines. But they’ve also gone to the city to see what people there know about the countryside... the results are surprising.
“We are convinced that the mutual coexistence and development between renewable energies, the primary sector, and the surrounding biodiversity is real, the synergies are continuous. From hiring local labor, promoting employment for people with disabilities, to integrating activities such as agriculture or livestock into our plants. Not to mention the development of entrepreneurship projects in the areas where we establish ourselves to create added value,” explain Daniel Romero, coordinator of Endesa's socio-economic plan in Andorra, and Ramón Valle, responsible for sustainability at Endesa, who participated in the presentation of the video podcast in Madrid alongside a hundred people.
At this presentation, it was also possible to see in the metaverse, as an additional innovative element, how a solar apiary looks, the result of the work of Endesa's Generation team. A group of twenty social agents who live daily with renewable energy installations were also present. From Paola Vecino, an expert in insects and bees, to biochemist Alba Ramos, and Jose Alfredo – creator of apadrinaunolivo.org. All of them have one thing in common: rural areas have great potential, they need projects that serve as engines for value creation, and we are here to share and defend that against the rumors around us.
“People from the countryside and the city need to understand each other in order to support each other,” said Pilar Pascual during the presentation of the video podcast. “Conexión a Tierra will allow people in rural areas to learn the benefits that renewable energies bring us. Throughout the episodes, they will see what each one contributes and, above all, how they can be compatible with what already exists. For example: flocks of sheep with solar panels. Or how to make solar energy compatible with honey production and insect protection. Likewise, city people will understand the needs of those in the countryside and the hard work behind it.” She also reminded everyone that without the willingness of farmers and ranchers to welcome renewable energies and work with them to continue producing both food and energy, “city life wouldn’t be possible.”
“The city definitely needs to get closer to the countryside,” confirmed Eli, co-presenter of Conexión a Tierra, who in each episode has been “discovering how close we are, yet how far we feel. I was surprised to see that both in the countryside and in the city, there’s a lot of misinformation about each other. We hope to shed some light and open up a healthy debate like the one we’ve had in this video podcast.”
About Endesa
Endesa is a leading electricity company in Spain and the second in Portugal. It is also the second-largest gas operator in the Spanish market. It operates an integrated business of generation, distribution, and electricity commercialization. It also offers electric mobility services, where it is the leading operator of integrated energy solutions and charging points in Spain, along with other value-added services focused on the electrification of energy uses in homes, businesses, industries, and public administrations. Endesa is firmly committed to the UN SDGs and, as such, strongly promotes the development of renewable energies through Enel Green Power Spain, the digitalization of networks through e-distribution, and corporate social responsibility. In this last area, we also operate through the Endesa Foundation. Our human team totals around 9,000 employees. Endesa is part of Enel, Europe's largest electricity group.