Mr. Cristóbal Colón Palasí
Cristóbal Colón Palasí, founder of the business and social project La Fageda and Honorary Academician of the Royal European Academy of Doctors (READ), was the subject of two feature articles published on December 19 in the digital newspapers El Confidencial and El Independiente. Both outlets echoed information released by the Servimedia news agency on the occasion of his admission to the Royal Corporation on December 18. The new member delivered the address «From the Asylum to the Royal Academy: Some Reflections on Plato’s Ideas», in which he explained the origins of the benchmark dairy company, created with the aim of restoring dignity and meaning to people with mental disorders who previously had no alternative other than admission to and residence in psychiatric institutions, integrating them into a community where real work enables a full life. He also addressed Plato’s ideas, especially his views on knowledge and the soul, which guided the philosophy of the project and continue to inform its decisions.
Both media outlets reported the words of the new academician as well as those of Jaume Llopis, Honorary Academician and Vice President of the Royal Corporation, who delivered the response address. «If at La Fageda we have tried to build something worthy of enduring, it has not been merely a business project, but a philosophy of life,” Colón Palasí stated in remarks collected by Servimedia and reproduced by El Confidencial and El Independiente. “The new academician undertook a socio-business project that began as a utopia and has ended up becoming an example of a sustainable and recognized company, with a profound and measurable social impact, a consolidated presence in the food sector, a real contribution to the dignity of vulnerable people, and a rigorous model of purpose-driven management», Llopis added, as reported by both outlets.
Both feature articles highlight that in his address the new member offered a life and intellectual journey through his career, beginning with his experience working in asylums, which gave rise to a project aimed at restoring dignity, meaning, and a full life to people with mental health problems through real work and community. «In his speech, he delved into Plato’s ideas, placing special emphasis on the nature of the human being, on principles and values, and on how these ideas have served as a compass in the genesis and evolution of La Fageda: ‘At La Fageda, before talking about economics or work, we first ask ourselves: What is a human being? What are we? And this is a profoundly philosophical question. It is the question upon which the philosophy of all times has pivoted. Men and women of all eras have asked themselves these questions. And the answers given determine the way in which they have built their communities’», the media reported.
«The human being, even in the fragility of mental illness, retains an inviolable dignity that flourishes when he or she finds work with meaning, a place where one feels useful and recognized. Meaningful work not only changes the world around us; it changes us from within. At La Fageda, we have been able to see that true change comes from within ourselves, when one discovers that one has value, that one can contribute, that what one does has meaning. In reality, what we truly devote ourselves to is not making yogurts, but recognizing one another», El Confidencial and El Independiente reported Colón Palasí as saying in his admission speech.
Trained in Psychology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Colón began his professional career in various psychiatric institutions in Zaragoza, Martorell, and Salt. In 1982, he founded the La Fageda cooperative in Olot as a response to the living conditions in former asylums. The project combines productive activities—farm work, gardening, the production of dairy products and jams, and guided visits—with a comprehensive support model that includes employment, training, housing, leisure, and psychosocial support. The uniqueness of La Fageda has sparked national and international interest and is studied in business schools such as IESE, ESADE, and Harvard University. The project receives thousands of visitors each year and is recognized as a success story in the social economy and people-centered management. Throughout his career, Colón has received numerous institutional distinctions, including the Creu de Sant Jordi, the highest honor awarded by the Government of Catalonia, in 2009, and the recent honorary doctorate from the University of Girona.
