"Matavenero": The life of the Spanish ecological village and its inhabitants

EVERY DAY PHOTOGRAPHERS AROUND THE WORLD looking for new ways to tell stories or to capture what we previously did not notice. We choose interesting photo projects and ask their authors what they wanted to say. This week we are publishing the project "Matavenero" by the Belgian photographer Kevin Feingnart, in which he captured the life of the inhabitants of the ecological village of Matavenero in the Spanish backwoods and found out why people abandon everything and move to the wilderness - closer to nature.

I am a social worker by education. After graduating from Ghent University three years ago, I got a job there as a laboratory technician. But this work did not bring me pleasure at all, so after a few months I quit. It was the best day of my life. I finally decided to do what I truly love - photography. Financially, of course, it’s hard, but worth it. I am a self-taught photographer, I attended several evening courses and workshops, plus I studied, assisting experienced photographers during filming.

At first, I was eager to make a classic documentary project about life in the Matavenero ecovillage - about why people move to the wilderness, away from civilization, what they do there and why they decide to give up their previous life. A Spaniard friend told me about this place: according to him, in Spain there are many abandoned villages and gradually they are inhabited by people who lead an eco-friendly lifestyle and do not want to depend on the benefits of modern society, causing damage to nature. I began to look for more information about Matavenero, read about local customs and was very impressed. The life of the inhabitants of this ecovillage has nothing to do with the modern way of life with its high productivity and the same consumption rate. The locals themselves built a village in the middle of the wilderness and feed exclusively on their own garden and garden. I have not found any other way to deal with curiosity, except to go there, see everything with my own eyes and hear the answers to the questions from the first mouth.

I spent three weeks in Matavenero. It all started with a cultural shock, the first days I was very uncomfortable being there. At the same time, I lived in India for a year and a half and in general it is difficult to frighten me, but I was not ready for what I saw in Matavenero. It is difficult to explain why it happened. Locals - strong and complex personalities. When you see how they live and what they do, at first it becomes deadly boring, but over time you get involved. I had to make an effort to adapt to this way of life. To win the trust of the locals, I helped them in everything: I plowed the ground, washed the floor, dug ditches, fed donkeys. However, the main merit was the library of Matavenero, which I cleaned, reorganized, and generally brought in a perfect view. After that, I was respected by many locals. Belgian chocolate, which I brought with me, also helped me to endear the villagers.

Most of the inhabitants of Matavenero did not want to be photographed - many of them prefer to live in solitude. Although there were those who were happy to talk about their views and participated in my project. People whose portraits I managed to take became my friends. Later, the residents had a dispute that was never resolved: should Matavenero remain closed to the outside world by the community, where entry would not be allowed to anyone who does not share local views?

Residents of Matavenero abandoned everything and moved into the wilderness for a variety of reasons. Someone could not stand the pressure of a society that puts efficiency above all else; others wanted to live closer to the earth and nature; others escaped from personal problems, while others found peace and an ideal place to paint pictures. Despite this, all the inhabitants of the village share a common outlook on life. They strive for independence, respect the environment, live in harmony with themselves and nature and try to respect everything that surrounds them.

I admire their perseverance. They created with their own hands a magical village with houses of strange shapes, running water, narrow paths and even an observatory. They take nature as carefully as possible. Anything that enters the village can only be brought here on a donkey, horse, small cart, or brought on its shoulders. It will take three hours along the mountain path. All the garbage is either recycled, or is disposed of in the same way. Plastic bags are used here many times until they are completely worn out, and almost no money is spent. In Matavenero, there are people who bring to life everything they believe in, and this costs them incredible efforts.