New horizons for 2025

Let's leave behind 2024. A year in which some seeds have begun to germinate and sprout. Some projects have already started their works (some after many years of waiting!) since Land of the Sea a Palamós, Cal Paler Nou in Cardedeu, until Walden XXI in Sant Feliu de Guíxols. Also we have reached Lleida, where the members of The Voliana they have already started living there. In addition, beyond Barcelona, ​​where we continue to work in Sant Andreu i Ch70, we have opened new paths to Lleida, Granollers, Manresa i Vilafranca del Penedès, showing that the commitment to cooperative housing is for an entire country.

Defending the right to housing

But Barcelona has also been a scene of hope and resistance. The year we remembered the 10 years of cooperative housing in the capital, with princess 49 as the flag of a model that never stops growing. We are back on the streets, accompanied by movement for the right to housing, to shout as loudly as necessary lower the rents. And we will return as often as necessary, also if the City Council stays with the stoppage of social housing in Barcelona. And we will continue to bring our claims both to Parliament, to guarantee decent options for seniors, as in the Ministries, for request that cooperative housing be also a state policy key to guaranteeing the right to housing. A model that is hoarding even international views, as it shows this documentary dedicated to us by the BBC.

Commitment from the base

Ours is one collective commitment organized from the base and self-managed, and we have experienced it again in spaces like the Meeting of Partners. In this meeting we have strengthened ties with other struggles and movements. Also, in theGeneral Assembly, we have firmly reaffirmed our commitment to stair jump. To the Congress of the 125 years of cooperativism, we participated actively remembering that we come from afar, from a tradition that pushes us to continue looking forward and that bets to avoid the effects of the climate catastrophe of capitalism. That is why this year we have also strengthened ourselves by betting on the sustainable construction and for save water in homes in a context of drought, and for sustainable mobility shared with ours first fleet of electric bicycles. A historical thread, that of cooperativism, which remains faithful to its spirit of solidarity and internationalism, which is why this year too we have sided with the Palestinian people, because solidarity has no borders. 

We have grown: from 1.407 partners in 2023, we are already more than 1.700! This growth speaks of collective strength and confidence in our model. And with this growth, we have renewed our image with a new logo which reflects expansion, renewal and future.

We focus on the future

And the future is precisely that our main challenge: thanks to everyone's support, we got one record funding of 31 million euros from the European Bank of the Council of Europe, the largest loan a cooperative has ever received and will make possible more than 350 cooperative homes. In this way, we are leading the expansion of cooperative housing in Catalonia with the management of a stock of more than 550 homes. And we remain true to our values ​​and principles, betting on public policies and reaffirming that only with cooperative strength can real alternatives be built. As it shows that too we have secured the future of Walden XXI with the support of Fiare and Caixa d'Enginyers, which will make possible the first cooperative housing for the elderly in Catalonia.

2025 is in our hands. With the same commitment and the same energy, we will continue to move forward make housing a right and never a privilege. Thanks to all the people who make it possible every day. The future is ours, and we will build it together.

Happy new year!

The partners of Sostre Cívic they wish you a happy 2025!