As some of you know, I have been involved with the Asociación AVANFUER for a few years now. The association successfully ran the Sodade Turtle Rescue Centre in Morro Jable as well as many other environmentally sound projects on and around Fuerteventura. Their latest venture was this First International Conference for Environmental Volunteers in the Canaries held on the 4th and 5th of November, that saw environmentalists, enthusiasts and volunteers gather together to learn about and discuss ongoing projects in other parts of Spain as well as other islands such as Cape Verde and Isla de Principe.

The support was outstanding and we enjoyed talks from members of other associations in their respective fields update us on their progress and latest achievements. On the first day we learned about how to correctly rescue a beached whale or dolphin in a practical course right on the beach and on the second day, we enjoyed going out to the Presa de Los Molinos (Los Molinos Dam) to observe the birds and other wildlife there. After the rains we’ve had, it was pretty awesome to see the dam so full of water and to be mere spectators in a whole other world where birds of many species gather and peacefully co-exist without any outside interference. We did of course have a bird specialist on hand to provide interesting tidbits on the birds we were observing.


After my supposed holidays (all business owner’s nightmare trying to get time off to clear the cobwebs away) and quarterly taxes this month, I am catching up on my writing so this article is reaching you a little later than it should.

Since last month, business owners no longer have the obligation to have the “Libro de visitas” or Work Inspection Book at their premises. This book is used by Work Inspectors for Social Security as they carry out their duties, checking the legalities of employees in the work place and up until recently, it was an obligatory material to have onsite either in its common paper format or in the newer digital version. Social Security have now seen fit to release business owners from this additional burden and forego the purchase of this book.


As crazy as the header sounds, it is true, in essence, the Spanish Government is holding the sun for ransom and I reported on this subject back in July 2013 when this topic first hit the media. At the time, a government official claimed when asked about the new draft of the decree that the goal is to “balance the electric system in a definitive way, to prevent new instabilities and guarantee the consumer’s electric supply at the lowest price possible and in a more transparent way”. These new measures would see a raise in tariffs (what has been called “sun tax”) for those who generate their own electricity at home despite efforts made in numerous countries to increase awareness for green power, not Spain however. This country’s officials prefer to penalize those who take the initiative to do something pro-environment and even go as far as taxing a source of energy that no one person, no institution, government nor monarchy has ownership of.


The Parliamentary Group, “Ciudadanos” has submitted a Proposal of Law to Congress that includes measures to reform labour conditions for sole-traders. Albert Rivera, the group’s leader has informed Europa Press that said measures have been backed by PSOE and PP political parties also. What do these proposals include and how will they benefit business owners?


I have been meaning to upload this article for the past week and have finally been able to do so now that I am on “holiday”, go figure! Anyhow, La Oliva Town Hall has launched a new app that can be downloaded from AppStore™ for Apple devices and in GooglePlay™ for Android devices to allow residents to easily establish contact with the Administration and vice-verse.

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