Nomadico Malaga Mountains

Every experience we make is as meaningful (or not) as the people we get to know. This place definitely makes us encounter the most heartwarming and welcoming people despite attracting so many diverse human beings with various kinds of views. I loved how much the interests of us colivers differ, but how close the values are we all carry along with us. Bringing it to the pueblo and taking so much caring energy from the pueblo wherever we go from here simply makes a difference in the way I see coliving amongst generations and nationalities and most of all human beings. Rooral is not just a coliving, for me it´s a living proof of community based tourism made even more beneficial for everone involved - by people not staying for a few nights, but for weeks or months. This is how community is created, this is how value is created on all kinds of levels, but most importantly measured in the quality and integrity of connections between human beings! We are still in touch even after two months which I am so grateful for and I only stays for two weeks. Two weeks honestly weren´t enough so I am already looking forward coming back for another time of pueblo life, working in nature and tuning into the rural routines. Many thanks to all the appreciated people making this possible in the first place!

This is truly one of the best colivings I've been to. The community is built in a way that you feel like a local from the first minute. My favorite place was the rooftop, where we would have some family dinners, deep talks, or just some chill time playing the guitar. Even though it is a small town, there's a number of things happening at any given moment, whether is a live gig at the bar, a workshop at town's multipurpose room, a class of art with the abuelas, or a padel session by the gym. Can't wait to come back!

I was only able to catch the last two weeks of the season and it was still one of the most profound experiences of my life. There is a lot said about the magic of Benarraba and Rooral, but equally what I’ve carried away since then is this responsibility to find ways to incorporate that magic back home. Even in the more urban setting of South Florida, Benarraba showed me that there is another, more community centered way to move through daily life and that there is great freedom in simplicity of the everyday. Of course, the people of Benarraba and Rooral are beyond comparison, some of the kindest and most inspiring people I’ve ever met. It’s a place where you go and instantly feel part of the town rather than just a tourist or a visitor. You’re an equal part of the weekly rhythm and routines, your “hola’s” matter (even if that’s the only Spanish you know!), you’re part of traditional celebrations from day one and have the rare opportunity to give back in ways that feel simple and genuine. I know I’ll find my way back soon, so grateful to Juan and team that make this experience possible.

It’s really hard to describe what a formative experience it was for me. It completely was more than I could’ve ever expected. For the first time in my life as a Western especially, I really felt that my trip someplace contributed in a healthy and positive way. Not only is it absolutely beautiful and relaxing and inspiring, but it’s so necessary to have these moments in life where we slow down. Where we appreciate the sound of the birds chirping. Where we say hello to our neighbours each time we meet them and we exchange goods in a way that is loving and kind. One of my favourite things is the quality of the time spent with people and how there was so little small talk, and a real desire to connect in a genuine human way I’m so grateful to have spent a month here and I honestly feel that I could come back at any time and they would remember me and welcome me because yo tango pueblo now 🥰

I’m back in my hometown after spending two months in Benarrabá, a small village in the hills behind Málaga. I went there with ROORAL, a coliving community that brings people to rural Spain to live and work alongside each other for a season. And It changed what the word "community" means to me. We throw that word around like it costs nothing. A company has "the community." A creator calls their 50,000 followers "my community," and not one of those people has ever spoken to another. Real community is smaller and harder. A few people building honest relationships to reach something they can't reach alone. We're walking into years of cheap AI content and chat that feels human but isn't. The more of that we get, the more it's worth sitting in a room with actual people. Especially people walking the same road you are. Every person who joins brings stories. Things they tried, things that worked, things that fell apart. Some of it could save you a year. You only get that when people show up for each other in the same place. In the pueblo, I shared family dinners, work, mountain walks, and a lot of slow conversation with people in the middle of their own life transitions. Some had quit their jobs. Some were starting over. We worked it out together, in person, over weeks. The people across the table when you're trying to figure out what comes next. That's the thing worth building. The future belongs to community builders who understand that value comes from real connections between people. So thank you, Juan and team, for letting me in. Two months I won't forget.