Sociedade Histórica e Cultural Coluna Sanfns was established in 2015 by commoners of the Froxán Common Woodlands Community as a tool to defend and engage local people and civil society with destructive mining, particularly the “San Finx” mine.
The “Sociedade”, in partnership with groups such as Verdegaia, ContraMINAcción and Yes to Life No to Mining, temporarily brought mining operations to a standstill, by exercising social, administrative and legal pressure.
To ensure long-term protection, the Froxán Commons and the “Sociedade” worked together to gain recognition by the UN Environment programme as the first “Indigenous and Community Conserved Area” in Spain. It also set up the “Montescola” programme for twinning common land communities with urban schools to restore woodlands threatened by degradation and extractivism.