For 15 years now, Lucía has woken up with the day and prepares breakfast for her children, clears the weeds from the meadows, rebuilds the most dilapidated furniture, tidies up the garden... And takes care of her cows 24 hours a day. During the cold months, she keeps them in the lower areas of the Somiedo Valley, close to Las Regueras, where she lives with her family, and when she thaws, she takes them up to the upper part of the mountain to graze until the snow return.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg: the cows must be cared for, fed, assisted in calving, prevent the calves from getting infections and ensure that wildlife does not attack them. You also have to drive the tractor and clear the land. And she does all of this herself, part of the time, alone: "Farming is not enough to survive, my husband also has to go to work and then I stay with the cows."
This way of life is not new. “Transhumant cowgirls were already in these mountains four centuries ago and they also went alone when their husbands went to work. We women were already in the fields, no matter how much livestock farming has always been linked to men, ”she says. Of the approximately 740,000 people who are currently employed in the agricultural sector, only 177,000 are women: that is, for every 100 men there are 31 women, according to the 2022 analysis of the Active Population Survey prepared by Funcas.
Of course, the differences between autonomous communities are striking, with a ratio between women and men employed in the sector of 70/100 in Asturias (where Lucía is) and Cantabria, compared to a ratio of 10/100 in Extremadura. In a context of masculinization, depopulation and aging that characterizes the rural environment, women play a decisive role in maintaining the population in the territory, according to this analysis.
Hence the importance of creating job opportunities that contribute to improving their social and labor situation. The incorporation of women into the rural labor market entails not only their greater economic independence, but above all, making visible and recognizing the feminine contributions to the society of our towns and regions.
In 2018 Lucía received the national award for Excellence in Innovation for Rural Women. She says that she decided to dedicate herself fully to the cows one day when one of them went into labor and it got complicated. "Then I saw that veterinary training was essential for the women who dedicate ourselves to this, I created a WhatsApp group with other farmers and managed to get them to teach us a veterinary course."
Since then, Lucía has promoted training courses related to livestock activity in which more than a hundred Asturian women have participated. On the other hand, she has managed to publicize a profession, on many occasions, invisible in society, through her social networks. She says that her followers are surprised to see a woman in charge of a cattle farm: "People also do not know what it is to be a cattle farmer, they think that you are beating the cows and then, when they see me kiss them, they are fascinated ; and I love them, they are my life”.
"As well as making visible the role of women in the fields and in livestock, what I do on my social networks must help society know where what they eat comes from, it is essential," she says. For this informative work in networks there has been a determining factor: technology. Thanks to her, Lucía can tell her day-to-day through Instagram and communicate with her followers. Technology also helps this cowboy through an app, Digital animal, which, from a collar worn by the cattle, notifies when the animals go into labor or allows them to be located via GPS.
"Having 5G in rural areas is essential, not only for outreach tasks like mine, which can help the inclusion of women in it, but also for people to see that they can live and work here and come check it out" . To help preserve professions like Lucía's, the role of telcos is essential. One example: among Telefónica's initiatives to prevent the depopulation of rural areas is offering one of the largest fiber and 5G networks in the world, with coverage for more than 80% of the population.
The goal is to have Internet for everyone with 100% fiber optic coverage by 2024, something that can especially benefit the development of rural areas in a context in which 42% of all Spanish towns are at risk of depopulation, according to the Bank of Spain. With this action, it is intended to end social (with special emphasis on women) and geographical inequality by making technology accessible to everyone.
Precisely, the Telefónica campaign
From having 15 cows when Lucía took over the reins of the ranch, today she already has more than 100. they prevent fires because they clear the field of weeds, and that with that quality meat we take care of people", adds the farmer, who would like her two children, Samuel (13 years old) and Ainhara (4 years old), to continue their Steps. "And to my young followers who are thinking about livestock, I tell them that if you have a dream, start breaking the ice to achieve it."
