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This coming Thursday, 21 May, from 4pm to 6pm, we will hold an online event at Barcelona Activa to show how the Social and Solidarity Economy and Self-Organized Socioeconomic Innovation are responding to the COVID crisis19. Members of a few participatory and collaborative initiatives will explain how they are contributing to the new situation with shared knowledge and distributed governance, in technological, productive and / or logistical innovation.
The event will highlight the connections between groups, answers given to the health emergency are only possible because groups of people were already organised to respond to other needs: for exemple women, producers farmers, riders in precarious situations, or had self-organized to create shared and open solutions, by makers. By the time new needs meet these already existing responses, the product (masks, respirators, screens,…) has a double value, the solution it offers and the way it has been produced (self-managed).
Participants:
Arran de terra, a cooperative dedicated to agro-ecological revitalization. With Ana Correro, a cooperativist.
She will explain how they are collaborating to strengthen agro-ecological networks with Abastiment Agroecològic (Agroecological Supply), a project by Arran de Terra and Pam a Pam, and how they lobbied the government to allow individuals access self-consumption orchards during confinement.
Networked Masks Project by Seamstress. Antonela Tossici, Carmen de la Madrid, Daniela Escobar and Joana Conill.
With the Pare Manel Foundation, Etcèteres and the Verdum Mutual Support Network (and the Community Action Service of Barcelona City Council) co-promoters of #MascaretesEnXarxa initiative with many other people and entities.
Cooperativa Mensakas, of riders organised outside the “capitalist” platforms for home delivery. With Nuri Soto (confirmation pending)
They will talk about how they have focused their activity on the distribution of organic food baskets, in collaboration with consumer cooperatives or farmers’ associations. They also bring prepared food to the Casa de Cádiz, an occupied homeless hostel. And they are in charge of supplying raw material to the volunteer seamstress who make the masks, and once they’ve been sewn distribute them.
David Franquesa, UPC researcher and co-founder of eReuseOrg for the reuse of electronic products
He will explain how eReuse and USOdy, with the maker group FAB Vilafranca, were able to manufacture a prototype respirator (with other waste managers such as Alberich) and thus contribute to OxyGEN respirator -one of the 24 respirators that were then being openly manufactured in the world- to become the respirator produced by Seat. He will also talk about how the makers of Vilafranca, after supporting OxyGEN, have been producing visors for hospitals and health centers, and how eReuse is facilitating the re-circulation of computer equipment at affordable prices for students who need them. https://circula.cat/ca/
Jordi Reynés, director of the Xarxa d’Ateneus de Fabricació de l’Ajuntament de Barcelona.
He will talk about how the Barcelona City Council’s fabrication centres have distributed, with @covidmakers_cat and @sindicatdeltaxi and many volunteers: Injection visors: 2,280, Laser-cut visors: 898, Mountable visors: 250, 3D printing visors: 40, Open doors: 365 , Ear protectors: 378