Aldaia

Permanent residents: 8
Year of foundation: 1998

Open to new members? Yes.
Do they welcome volunteers? Yes.
Do they welcome visitors? Yes.

Suspended between the sky and the forest, Aldaia is one of the most welcoming and lively of the elven communities. Eight kilometres from the road and so-called “civilisation”, the village can be reached on foot, following a path that seems to take the visitor back in time: to the land, the cows and the dances.
Founded 27 years ago, Aldaia is now home to around eight people, although the number fluctuates with the seasons and transitions. Life here revolves around agriculture and animal husbandry, with a garden that provides fruit and vegetables for self-sufficiency, homemade preserves and jams, and cows as the mainstay of the village. Their milk is used to make yoghurt and cheese, which are consumed within the community or exchanged with other villages, depending on the abundance.
Those who arrive in Aldaia often find themselves involved in seasonal work, such as haymaking. Once, during a walk, we stopped to help them make hay. A job that in these parts is not only hard work, but also a rite of cooperation and an opportunity for exchange. In the evenings, after work in the fields, we spend time together among books, games and musical instruments.
Every Sunday for the last five years or so, there has been dancing.
What started out as Romano’s passion has now become an event that is eagerly awaited and attended by everyone, including Nadir and Jessica. Folk dances have become part of the identity of the Aldaia, which welcomes them to the farm in the country bat