The CIC moto: ‘social transformation from below through self-management, self-organization and networking’

My colleagues at the P2P Foundation and I have long been interested in exploring the ‘CIC model’ as an organizational template for the transition to a commons-oriented economy: with that purpose in mind, Michel Bauwens and some colleagues from the P2PF had visited the CIC for two weeks in 2015. This experience prove to be very fruitful, convincing them that the case of the CIC merits further study. So, when the opportunity arose, the P2PF asked me to travel to Catalonia in order to study the CIC more extensively, with the aim of documenting its organizational model.

Doing fieldwork in the CIC means I lived with CIC activists for about two months so as to familiarize myself with their activities. Using the building of AureaSocial – the unofficial headquarters of the CIC in Barcelona, where I had the luck to be hosted – as my ‘base’, I embedded myself in the cooperativa, taking part in its daily life and visited many exciting projects which are connected to the CIC, like the Calafou post-capitalist colony and the MaCUS makerspace.

Chatting with CIC members at the ‘Bioregional’ assembly in Ultramort in May 2016. Photo by Luis Camargo (https://bioregionalnordcic.blogspot.gr/2016/04/album-de-fotos-de-lassemblea-duitramort.html)

The result of this research experience is this special report, which has just been published by the P2P Foundation and the Robin Hood Coop on the Commons Transition website. I hope that fellow commoners and co-operators will find it interesting!

Photo by cuboctahedron

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SOM Pujarnol at night

The tower  (which is known as the tower of Pujarnol in Banyoles) and the seventy acres of land surrounding it belong to a Foundation, which has leased it to the CIC for a period of fifteen years in exchange for a thousand euros per month, with the proviso that the cooperative will repair those parts of the tower which have suffered the wear and tear of time. That is, besides, the main reason why the rent of a 600 m² tower is that low, as the ones responsible for its restoration are the members of the group living here, which is presently made up of nine persons, including two children.

For the purpose of decision making, the group has an assembly once a week, in which its members make decisions about the management of the project based on consensus. As for routine tasks like cooking and cleaning up common spaces, they are assigned through a system of job rotation, so that all members participate equally in carrying them out.

The “wheel” used by SOM Pujarnol members for the purpose of job rotation

SOM Pujarnol’s relationship with the CIC is not a relation of economic dependency, but one of collaboration based on common principles,[1] as the community no longer receives any financial support from the cooperative. Thus, for the economic viability of the project, SOM Pujarnol depends on income from three main sources: it produces and sells products – like falafel, sauces (e.g. ketchup), veggie burgers and humus – through the local eco-network in Girona and CIC’s Catalan Supply Center (CAC); it organizes events, such as jam sessions on Fridays; and it provides “bed & breakfast” accommodation for travelers who wish to spend a few days at the tower.

Music night at SOM Pujarnol

Notes

[1] It is indicative of the nature of that collaboration that SOM Pujarnol performs the function of the CIC committee that is responsible for the recruitment and induction of new CIC members (the so-called “Comissió d’Acollida”) in the province of Garrotxa.

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