Errekaleor Bizirik

Errekaleor Bizirik is a project based in Gasteiz that is founded on the ideals of self-determination and communal life. It is a neighborhood that we have reclaimed from gentrification and real estate speculation and is now called home by over 150 people.

We organize ourselves using an assembly process, which allows us to build the overarching ideas of the project and to coordinate the many activities that are taking place in the neighborhood. Our project is based on the fundamental principles of self-management (autogestion), food sovereignty, feminism, Basque cultural reinvigoration, horizontal organization, and emancipatory culture. We regularly have concerts, movies, workshops and lectures, art expositions, and much more in order to encourage and create space for free cultural expression in Gasteiz.. All these events take place in the spaces we have built together in the neighborhood, such as a concert hall, theatre, social center, and more.

We have a 5-acre community farm and a bakery where we grow produce and bake sourdough bread, both for ourselves and for individuals who live in other parts of Gasteiz who want to know the true quality of their food. We also have free Basque language classes in our social center and a sports center where anyone can come to play pelota (a traditional Basque sport), participate in our boxing classes, or try out acrobatics. To build ties with other cooperative organizations, we have a printing shop where we create various types of pamphlets and books in collaboration with other organizations in the region.We have built a recording studio for local bands, where they can record for free and not tie themselves to labels or contracts. In Errekaleor Bizirik we have created these spaces, and many more, in order to continue to bring life into an abandoned neighborhood, creating a neighborhood full of life for all.

Energy Sovereignty

We are immersed in a system that requires a constant consumption of energy in order to propel constant economic growth. In an era where we have proven ourselves incapable as a society of rejecting fossil fuels, we have also reached the limits of our possible oil production. Peak oil will arrive in the coming decades, and we expect the same for uranium. As climate change effects clearly show, we are nearing the physical and biological limits of the planet, destroying the global ecosystem. The symptoms of this crisis go by many names: the energy crisis, the social crisis, the ecological crisis. But these are just symptoms, and the disease remains the same: capitalism.

In Errekaleor we work towards a different way of living. In a world where things are meant to be thrown away, we have spent four years turning rubble into homes, weed-filled land into gardens, and empty streets into a community. We have done this under the broad banner of self-determination and self-management. Now the time has come for energy sovereignty. Luckily, in Errekaleor the sun always shines! To accomplish this new task, we want to install around 550 solar panels in order to cover the energy needs of our 150 inhabitants, a process that will be accompanied by a large decrease in our consumption of energy overall and the use of alternative systems of refrigeration and water heating. We will do this in our communal way, which is to say that these solar panels will be accessible equally to all residents of Errekaleor Bizirik, and will be accompanied individual and DIY projects such as our new solar showers and bicycle machines that generate extra electricity for our communal living spaces.

This plan is organized to centralize the solar panels in the space that has the most sun, and to equally provide energy to all residents. With this, we will create the largest energy self-sufficient and off-the-grid space in both Basque Country and Europe. We want a renewable and ecologically-friendly neighborhood. We believe in creating a new model for energy independence. Will you help us accomplish our dreams?

Click here to support this crowdfund

Want to know more?

Webpage: www.errekaleorbizirik.org

Facebook: Errekaleor Bizirik

Twitter: @Errekaleor – Errekaleor Bizirik

Youtube: Canal Errekaleor Bizirik

Email: [email protected]

The post Errekaleor Bizirik Crowdfund: A Little Light In The Darkness appeared first on P2P Foundation.

We’ve already featured Acorn Community in one of our Podcasts of the Day. That was a fascinating conversation between KMO, host of the C-Realm, and G. Paul Blundell, a member of the community. Today we offer this follow up, featuring some texts from Acorn’s page including a passage on their governance system.

About Us

Acorn Community Farm is an egalitarian community founded in 1993.  We are committed to non-coercive, voluntary associations both within our community as well as within the larger community in which we find ourselves. We are also committed to income-sharing, sustainable living, and creating a vibrant, eclectic culture.

We are members of the Federation of Egalitarian Communities, which means that we hold in common our land, labor, resources, and income, and that we use this for the good of our community as a whole and our members as individuals.  While all members must be enthusiastic about a culture of radical sharing and working with one another, we do not share religious, political, or philosophical beliefs.  We use consensus decision-marking in our weekly meetings in order to make decisions about use of collective money, land, and resources.

Acorn is non-hierarchical.  There are no bosses, owners, investors, managers or supervisors.  Although structured in areas such as membership, we intentionally keep policies to a minimum (we have a policy of very little policy) preferring a calm anarchy to prevail. Of the few policies that are in place, our culture encourages personal responsibility rather than supervision, as well as taking issues on a case-by-case basis keeping in mind that needs of individuals vary.  Our community strives to create a stimulating and enriching social, political and intellectual environment.

Our thriving seed business – Southern Exposure Seed Exchange – is part of an exciting movement and growing network of farmers, gardeners and seed savers dedicated to organic, heritage agriculture and independence from the processed, genetically modified, corporately delivered “food” paradigm.

If you are interested in visiting us, interning in our seed business and garden or in other areas of our farm-based livelihood, check out our page on How to visit Acorn Community Farm.

We are looking for folks to live and grow with us.  Folks who share our vision of a vibrant, non-coercive, supportive, environmentally appropriate, self-sufficient community and have skills that are helpful in getting us to where we want to get to.  Skills such as: vehicle & farm implement  maintenance, repair & construction of our infrastructure, farming, livestock care, business management, customer service, healthy cooking, seed saving, organic gardening. Or if you lack specific skills but just like to work hard, get things done, and are willing to learn and take on responsibility, we would like to talk to you, so call us and schedule a visit.

Remember, this stuff is hard!  Living and working together, trying to have fun while at the same time running a business, making decisions together and sharing income, are all challenging every day.  These challenges give us many opportunities for personal growth.  So in addition to the above mentioned skills, we are interested in meeting people experienced in community-building, communication and facilitation, who interested in building a healthy, dynamic, supportive social culture.

Meetings and Decisions

Consensus

We make our decisions by formal consensus. Every member must agree to a proposal for it to be passed, or a compromise must be made that everyone is comfortable with. A member may choose to “stand aside” in a decision if they do not want to accept a proposal but do not feel comfortable blocking it. Full members may “block” a proposal, while provisional members may not. Provisional members’ input, however, is taken into consideration as much as a full member.

Meetings

We regularly meet twice a week to discuss community issues and check in with members. Meetings usually last about an hour and a half. We have one direct-focused community meeting to make announcements, coordinate work and trips, and decide on proposals. Every member has an equal chance to be heard. Our second weekly meeting is an interpersonal meeting where we get together as a community to discuss our interpersonal relationships and to resolve conflicts. We expect all visitors to attend meetings, and we encourage all members to attend and participate fully in community responsibilities.

Full vs. Provisional Membership

When an individual becomes a member, they have “provisional” member status, which lasts at least one year. Though rare, during provisional membership, the community may ask the provisional member to leave if community conflicts cannot be resolved, or in extreme situations of physical violence or violent communication. During provisional membership, the member has a three-month review of membership, as well as other meetings with the community to discuss how membership is going. This all culminates at a final meeting of decision for full membership.

Full membership offers two main benefits not available to provisional members: a full member may block a decision at a meeting, and the community covers their health care costs.

The post Project of the Day: Acorn Community appeared first on P2P Foundation.