Radio Barullu is a radio and cultural mediation project developed by La Benéfica de Piloña in collaboration with Fundación “la Caixa”, with the aim of promoting the active participation of citizens and young people in rural communities. The project encompasses a range of initiatives, from partnerships with cultural and educational institutions to work with local associations and community organisations. More information about the project can be found at radiobarullu.com.

The radio projects on the climate crisis developed in three public schools in rural Asturias, specifically in the municipalities of Piloña and Cabranes, emerged from a collaboration between La Benéfica de Piloña and the Climate Biennial. The partnership sought, on the one hand, to foster alliances between cultural and educational institutions and, on the other, to integrate and learn from rural schools in addressing the challenges of the present.

In this context, radio became both a learning tool because of its pedagogical potential and a contemporary artistic practice capable of connecting disciplines and encouraging the active participation of pupils. Through a co-design process involving Alex Martínez, mediator at La Benéfica de Piloña, and the teaching staff at each school, three initiatives were developed around the thematic axes of the Climate Biennial, while responding to the specific needs of each school, its pupils and its local context.

Between November 2025 and June 2026, the projects were integrated into the schools’ curricula, supporting the development of a range of subject-specific competencies. Each school also collaborated with an Asturian artist who helped strengthen its respective line of inquiry:

• CRA La Coroña (Alba Matilla): Radio dramas developed through research into the abandoned industrial and workers’ heritage of Piloña.
• CEIP L’Ablanu (Raposu Roxu): An audio guide for a cooperative game created through questioning human relationships with nature in symbolic play.
• IES Infiesto (Sara García): A radio drama exploring the traditions and uses of maize in Asturias and its connection to Antroxu, the Asturian Carnival.