Cooperative housing in right of use is growing in Barcelona! La Balma it is the first project to start work among all those awarded by the City Council on municipal land in the tender of 2016. In addition, in the coming months we have also planned the start of work on the project Cirerers, another of the winners of the same competition that we promote in the Roquetes neighborhood.

During these three years, La Balma i Cirerers they have grown and evolved. The people who make them up have met and worked together, created bonds and a support network, and decided how they want to live after analyzing their needs and finding solutions together and democratically. 

And now a new stage begins! Last June 27 La Balma obtained the building permit, and this month we have already started the first actions to prepare the site and the entrance of the machinery. 

An opening party with all the agents of the sector

To celebrate the good news, yesterday we met at the Espronceda lot with the partners of Sostre Cívic, and different entities of the social and solidarity economy and cooperative housing. At the opening ceremony, led by Sílvia Bel and Álvaro Sáinz (members of La Balma) also intervened Juan Garibi, commercial director of Fiare Banca Etica; Lucia Martin, housing councilor of the Barcelona City Council, and Josep Vidal, director general of Social Economy, the Third Sector, Cooperatives and Self-Employment.

"These types of initiatives help to promote a social and solidarity economy: the commitment to the cooperative model in right of use and the public-cooperative collaboration allows us to break the neoliberal economic logic", affirmed the councilwoman. 

After the parliaments, the neighbors of La Balma they carried out a ritual of good omen while burying in the lot a box with personal items and wishes to attract good luck for the project and good coexistence. An unforgettable and very emotional moment to close this special day!

Ethical investment to fight speculation

To carry out the construction of both buildings and guarantee the right to housing for more than 50 families, we are launching a new campaign Tornassol with the issuance of a total of 1300 participatory titles (550 per La Balma, the 750 for Cirerers) with a value of 500 euros each title. We want to achieve, thanks to collective financing, a new impetus to face, in a self-organized way, the real estate bubble and speculation! 

The first campaign Tornassol that we did at the beginning of 2018 was a great success, and we managed to raise €450.000 in 20 days thanks to the support of citizens and entities, surpassing by €150.000 the initially planned amount. This first campaign of participatory titles "wanted to achieve a pioneering challenge in Catalonia: to recover a plot of private property and guarantee the right to housing for the residents of Cardedeu", as stated by theÀngel Estévez, project coordinator. 

Do you want to gain ground in speculation? Invest in La Balma i Cirerers!