At the foot of the Palentina Mountain, in the heart of depopulated Spain, a local project teaches 3D modeling to residents of all ages. The initiative seeks to create remote employment and promote digital leisure as tools to curb the exodus of inhabitants. Participants learn to design three-dimensional objects, opening doors to jobs in video games, prototyping, or 3D printing without needing to emigrate.
Technical training for a digital future in rural areas 🖥️
The course covers open-source software like Blender, allowing students to model everything from industrial parts to virtual scenes. Refurbished computers and newly installed fiber optic connections are used. Local instructors teach retopology and texturing techniques, adapting exercises to available resources. The goal is for each participant to be able to offer freelance 3D design services to national companies, taking advantage of low competition and the low cost of living in the area.
Goodbye shepherding, hello right-click 🐑
Now the locals swap the crook for the mouse, although some admit that modeling a sheep in 3D is more complex than caring for a real flock. That said, at least there's no need to get up at dawn to milk polygons. The irony is that while cities pay for air conditioning, here they enjoy the mountain breeze while designing the next video game character. Depopulation's days are numbered, or at least the polygons are.