Vale de Figueira, and São Vicente do Paúl, Portugal are the two communities chosen by the Portuguese partner for the piloting of NetBox.  They were chosen because of the close links between the two villages and their close proximity, only 14 kilometers from Santarém.  Rural depopulation has been a concern of both communities; however it has affected them both very differently. In the parish of Vale de Figueira, the movement of residents out of the parish has led to the community losing their services and businesses, leading to the fears developing among remaining residents that their parish is extinguished and that they may lose more support services in the future. On the other hand, in the parish of São Vicente do Paúl the collapse of services and businesses has not been such a major problem.  While residents from this parish would welcome more employment prospects, they are happy with the existing community services.  This parish, as well as having a range of community supports and services, is also home to a business area composed of small businesses, and a Pastoral Centre which promotes learning.

Gmina Ryki, Poland is located in the north-western part of the Lublin region surrounded by the Wieprz and Vistula rivers.  With its picturesque and fertile countryside, Ryki has been traditionally associated with agriculture.  However with just under 50% of the employees of this region working in agriculture, this area has an unemployment rate of 15.8%.  Because of this, one fifth of the population now lives below the poverty line.  Women, having less employment opportunities than men, are particularly vulnerable.  In the traditional family model, women are confined to housework, which puts them at a comparative disadvantage in the labour market.  They also tend to lose their qualifications and skills during long periods of unemployment.  As the Ryki region is relatively poor, the local authorities are confined to providing only basic public services.  This community, however, is willing to actively support any initiative aimed at improving living conditions in the area and it is for this reason that they were chosen as a pilot community in NetBox.

Ştefan cel Mare, Romania has 3,450 inhabitants, and is located to the extreme north-eastern part of the county of Calarasi.  The town has a young and growing population.  Because of this, there have been more than 300 new houses built in the area in the last 20 years.  This expansion in population has been due in part to its location, not far from a major town, and also its access to the railway network.  There is no specific economic activity in the area.  There are only 2,000 hectares outside of the built-up areas of this region, and there are only 24 economic agents, most of who are engaged in agricultural and trade activities.  Having had the same Mayor for 22 years, having a homogeneous local council, and with a population that is open minded and eager to learn new things; the commune has a set of goals for the future.  These include connecting the area to a gas pipeline for domestic use; bringing cable TV to the area; building an ecological garbage deposit; establishing a medical-sanitary unit, planting trees in an area of 20 hectares of degraded land and participating in the NetBox Project!

Kulautuva, Lithuania is situated approximately 20 minutes from Kaunas city, and sits within the Kaunas district municipality, in central Lithuania.  It is situated on the right bank of the Nemunas River, and houses a population of 1,367 people.  The community has an existing infrastructure, necessary for various community activities.  The welfare of the community is ensured by the presence of service providers, including a children’s hospital, Kulautuva dispensary, the fire station, a pre-school, 2 schools, a cultural centre, a library and a community house.  The community has created a lot of new physical assets with the help of EU financial support, including a multi-functional playground, in which various sport activities, such as basketball, tennis and volleyball can be run, as well as a special playground for smaller children.  This community welcomes the piloting of the NetBox project to their region, in the hope that this will further support their own growth and development over recent times.