Residents of small Catalan municipalities continue to depend on cars to buy basic products, even when they live in towns with municipal services in operation or about to be launched. In Ribera de Cardós, seven out of eight hamlets do not have a grocery store, and the only one that exists, in Ainet, only operates normally during the summer.
The contradiction appears in daily life. In environments where a store is essential for retaining population, the lack of commerce forces residents to travel more than 25 kilometers from some hamlets to buy bread or everyday food items. Llorenç Sánchez, a resident of Ribera de Cardós and mayor of Vall de Cardós for twelve years, summarizes this routine with daily trips to Llavorsí or Sort.
Ribera de Cardós forces residents to go down to Llavorsí or Sort for daily shopping
Sánchez describes a constant dependence on the outside to meet minimal needs. In his account, residents have to travel every day because something is always missing, and if they don't, they end up consuming bread from several days ago.
"We have to travel every day, because one thing or another is always missing. Either you eat bread from the week or you have to go down every day to buy it in Llavorsí or Sort, and that's more than twenty-five kilometers from some hamlets" - Llorenç Sánchez, resident of Ribera de Cardós and mayor of Vall de Cardós for twelve years
The problem affects almost the entire municipality. Seven out of the eight hamlets lack a grocery store, and the establishment in Ainet does not maintain regular activity throughout the year, as it only operates normally during the summer season.
Bovera will open its first multi-service store in a municipal building
While some municipalities continue to struggle with this daily access to shopping, Bovera plans to open its first multi-service store in a month and a half. The town council is adapting a municipal building to launch the service.
Òscar Acero, mayor of Bovera, states that the project has already generated interest among potential managers. The municipality currently has a bakery and also a bar, which was added two months ago, but it does not yet have a store of this type.
"We already have three interested parties in taking over the management of this service" - Òscar Acero, mayor of Bovera
In addition to the opening calendar, the mayor links the viability of the establishment to its daily use by the residents. Acero defends that having a shop is basic in a small town and adds that prices must be competitive to attract purchases within the municipality.
Bovera currently has a bakery and, for two months, a bar, while the new multi-service shop will open in a month and a half in the municipal premises that the town hall is adapting.