Coliving, nine families arrived since 2020

Attracting new residents to mountain municipalities by offering housing at extremely advantageous conditions, but also a period of accompaniment to foster mutual acquaintance between old and new inhabitants, inviting them to contribute in some way to the community. This is the philosophy that animates Coliving, a project launched in Trentino in 2020 thanks to a collaboration between various actors, which envisages the provision of housing by Itea, the Trentino Institute for Housing, on free loan for four years in exchange for a concrete project to make their skills available to the community. Inaugurated in Luserna, 1333 metres above sea level and with around 260 inhabitants, in the heart of the Alpe Cimbra, the project was then replicated in Canal San Bovo, a municipality of around 1480 inhabitants at 758 metres above sea level, the capital of the Vanoi valley. Selection is based on quantitative criteria, starting with the Isee index and number of children, and qualitative criteria, through a motivational letter in which candidates explain how they want to collaborate in community life. "In Luserna, for example, a photographer has moved with his family and has carried out photo shoots and commercials, in some cases free of charge, to promote the municipality's landscape and cultural heritage," explains Valentina Chizzola, senior researcher at the Franco Demarchi Foundation in charge of supervising the accompaniment and monitoring of the project's activities. "Two other people renovated a small gymnasium, which was then made available to everyone. Canal San Bovo, on the other hand, recovered its cinema thanks to the newcomers, who reopened it and organised a film forum. According to Chizzola, Coliving is 'a unicum in housing projects aimed at peripheral areas, because it tackles the problem of depopulation not only by thinking of an increase in numbers, but also by foreseeing an integration between the community of new inhabitants and residents. Work has not been a problem. There are those who work in smartworking by going in only once or twice a week, there are those who have even found work after relocating, notes Chizzola, to whom the project has given a lot of satisfaction: 'there has been a very strong participation from the communities, it has been nice to see them reborn.