Bayárcal town hall, which is offering three free homes to anyone with kids who wants to go and live there, has been swamped with offers in the first week. In a sign of the economic times, 50 families from across the province have so far filled in application forms.
The tiny village of Bayárcal, up above Almeria in the Alpujarras, has seen its population dip below the level deemed necessary to keep the village school open. There are only 360 people in the village, most of them elderly, and just 14 children.