They also don't speak much Spanish there, as the Basques have their own ancient unique language (a non-Indo-European isolate actually) and culture due to their mountain isolation and resistance to everyone, even the Romans. The people I worked with there all spoke English.
You might try reaching out to these guys if you want to visit. They actually get a lot of visitors, and there's a whole tour program I did when I was there.
As far as the effectiveness of Mondragon, I agree that we shouldn't judge it by capitalist standards, but more ask: Can it survive within capitalism while still doing well by its people?
I worry that Fagor, etc. may point to that not being long-term true, but it has been around for a long time, so maybe not. I more think that their model is hard to replicate outside of their high solidary cultural environment, rather than predicting their demise.
You might try reaching out to these guys if you want to visit. They actually get a lot of visitors, and there's a whole tour program I did when I was there.
https://mondragonteamacademy.com/
As far as the effectiveness of Mondragon, I agree that we shouldn't judge it by capitalist standards, but more ask: Can it survive within capitalism while still doing well by its people?
I worry that Fagor, etc. may point to that not being long-term true, but it has been around for a long time, so maybe not. I more think that their model is hard to replicate outside of their high solidary cultural environment, rather than predicting their demise.