Carmen Sánchez, Galuriña seaweed company – Esteiro, Muros, A Coruña

In her company Galuriña, Carmen started a business based on the collection and processing of seaweed. A resource that was unknown to her at first but which, after years of effort and training, has become the mainstay of her business. ‘I was amazed when I heard about these plants and the potential we had here, so unknown and so valuable,’ she recalls.

The road to success was not easy. Carmen left behind her career in the textile sector in 2012 and decided to start from scratch in a completely new area. Economic and bureaucratic difficulties marked her first years as a freelancer. ‘The first years were very hard, I went through many ups and downs, but it was always clear to me that I wanted to live in the countryside and raise my daughters in this environment’, she explains. Innovating in projects such as hers means coming up against an administration that does not understand its value and taking on sacrifices imposed by periods without economic income if you do not combine the necessary time for the project to take off with another occupation or if you do not have the help of partners or family members.

However, this decision also meant confronting the gender inequalities that still persist in rural areas. Carmen stresses that women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of domestic and family responsibilities, even when developing entrepreneurial projects. Although her daughters are now independent, she admits that the connection with the home never completely disappears: ‘Women are not here to take care, we are here to share equally, but this concept of responsibility has been instilled in us since we were little and we have to break with it,’ she says.

Over the years, Carmen has learned to delegate and to stop taking on tasks that were not her exclusive responsibility. She reflects on the impact of this change on her personal and professional life. ‘One day I asked myself what I was doing and decided to let it go. Gradually, others assumed their responsibilities. Often it is we ourselves who perpetuate this burden,’ she says. This process, she says, is essential for women to move forward and focus on their own goals.

Carmen’s approach to her business also reflects her commitment to sustainability and the local community. For her, growth is not just measured by sales, but by the positive impact it can have on the environment and the people who live in it. ‘Beyond the products, there is a life we have to take care of. Water is a larder, if we don’t do it now, it will disappear faster than we think,’ she warns. This perspective also includes a call for collective action: encouraging neighbourhood meetings and demanding transparency in decisions that affect the territory.

As a rural woman, Carmen recognises the need to overcome the structural and cultural barriers faced by women in small communities. ‘We cannot accept decisions made by those who do not know our reality,’ she says with determination. She advocates for a more inclusive model of leadership in which local voices, especially those of women, are heard and valued.