# Catalunya Bioregional Commons: New Entries and Connections ## Introduction Catalonia has a rich ecosystem of organizations, projects, and initiatives dedicated to bioregionalism and the commons. Beyond the entries already identified in the Knowledge Commons spreadsheet, additional actors play key roles across **energy**, **digital infrastructure**, **mobility**, **food systems**, **land and housing**, and **governance**. This report introduces these **new relevant entries** and examines their **connections** with existing ones – through shared goals, partnerships, overlapping themes (food, ecology, governance, culture, etc.), funding sources, or common participants. Both longstanding (legacy) initiatives and active recent programs are covered, in Catalan, Spanish, and English contexts. ## Additional Relevant Entries in the Bioregional Commons of Catalonia ### Community Energy and Digital Commons * **Som Energia (Energy Cooperative)** – Som Energia is Spain’s first renewable energy cooperative, founded in 2010 at the University of Girona. It sells green electricity to its members and invests in local renewable projects, providing a **community-owned alternative** to big utilities. With thousands of members across Catalonia and Spain, Som Energia demonstrates **energy as a commons** through cooperative ownership and democratic governance. It spread from Girona to Barcelona and beyond, inspiring local energy groups. * **Guifi.net (Open Telecom Network)** – Guifi.net is a free, open, and neutral wireless **community network infrastructure** started in rural Catalonia in 2004. It has grown to over **37,000 active nodes** and 71,000 km of links, making it one of the largest community networks worldwide. Guifi.net is **owned and operated by its users as a commons** and has a foundation to manage shared resources. It exemplifies bottom-up, commons-based connectivity, partnering with volunteers, SMEs, and sometimes municipalities to deliver internet access where commercial telecoms fail. * **Som Mobilitat (Sustainable Mobility Coop)** – Som Mobilitat is a Catalan non-profit consumer cooperative (founded \~2016) that offers **electric car-sharing** services to its members. Its mission is to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility through a shared fleet of electric vehicles. By **cooperatively-owned carsharing**, it reduces car ownership needs and carbon emissions. Som Mobilitat often collaborates with city governments and housing cooperatives to establish electric car hubs, linking mobility to community energy (e.g., charging with green electricity) and the social economy. ### Food, Agriculture, and Land Stewardship * **Pam a Pam (Solidarity Economy Map)** – *Pam a Pam* (Catalan for “step by step”) is a **collaborative map of over 1,600 social and solidarity economy initiatives** across Catalonia. Launched in 2013 by the Xarxa d’Economia Solidària (XES), it is the reference platform to visualize and connect alternatives in food, crafts, energy, mobility, etc.. Pam a Pam is defined as a “collective tool that contributes to social transformation to overcome capitalist logic”. It highlights local organic farms, consumer co-ops, farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) groups, and other grassroots food system initiatives practicing agroecology and food sovereignty. (Indeed, studies note around **160 consumer groups** for agroecological food in Catalonia, with \~60 in Barcelona alone.) Pam a Pam not only raises visibility but also encourages **inter-cooperation** among these projects, and its open-source model has been replicated in other regions. * **Xarxa per la Conservació de la Natura (Land Stewardship Network)** – Formerly Xarxa de Custòdia del Territori (XCT), this network (est. 2003) coordinates land stewardship efforts to protect biodiversity in Catalonia. It is a second-level non-profit comprising land trusts, environmental NGOs, park agencies, municipalities, and individuals. Its mission is to **promote land stewardship as a strategy for conservation and responsible land management** by providing information, training, and support. Through voluntary agreements, communities and NGOs take on the **custody of land** (farms, forests, river areas) to restore ecosystems and preserve the commons of nature. The network receives support from the Catalan Government’s environment department and works closely with initiatives like the *Observatori del Paisatge de Catalunya* (Landscape Observatory) on protecting cultural landscapes. By linking rural communities, landowners, and public entities, it exemplifies **bioregional governance of natural commons**. * **Aigua és Vida (Water is Life)** – Aigua és Vida is a broad-based citizens’ platform campaigning for **public, commons-based water management** in Catalonia. Since 2011, it has united neighborhood groups, ecologists, and social movements to push for *remunicipalization* of urban water systems. This movement, aligned with global “water as a commons” efforts, scored major victories: **Terrassa (215,000 residents) reclaimed its water service in 2018** after 75 years of private control. The city then established the Terrassa Water Observatory, a pioneering **co-governance body of citizens and city officials** to manage the water commons. Dozens of other Catalan municipalities (over 30) have pursued similar remunicipalizations. In Barcelona, Aigua és Vida pressured the metropolitan government to consider ending the private concession by Agbar; while legal challenges persist, the platform succeeded in making water a central public debate. The movement’s decade of persistent organizing – through local “Taula de l’Aigua” assemblies in Girona, Terrassa, etc. – demonstrates how **grassroots commons activism can reshape urban services governance**. ### Cooperative Housing and Communal Living * **Cooperative Housing Initiatives (Sostre Cívic, La Dinamo, La Borda, etc.)** – In response to speculative housing markets, Catalonia has fostered a growing cooperative housing sector based on the **cessió d’ús (grant of use)** model. Under this model, a cooperative owns a building collectively, and members have the right to use their apartment indefinitely, paying a monthly fee, but cannot sell or profit from it – keeping housing **de-commodified**. **Sostre Cívic** (founded 2004) is a networked cooperative that develops such projects across Catalonia, often acquiring or building properties and then onboarding resident-members. **La Dinamo** is a foundation that buys buildings to transfer to housing co-ops, providing technical and financial support. A flagship success is **La Borda** in Barcelona’s Sants neighborhood – **Spain’s first multi-story housing co-op using the grant-of-use model**. Started by future residents in 2012 and completed in 2018, La Borda has 28 apartments (home to \~60 people) built on city-provided land (75-year lease) with ecological design. It was co-financed by its members, ethical banks, and **support from Barcelona City and the Catalan Government**. This demonstrated that **affordable, sustainable housing can be created through community ownership**, inspiring other projects (e.g. Coòpolis incubates housing co-ops, and new co-ops like *La Balma* and *Llar Jove* have followed). Even earlier, in rural areas, **Cal Cases** (est. 2007 in Bages county) was Catalonia’s first co-housing cooperative, converting a farmhouse to communal living. Many such initiatives emphasize **community self-management, ecological building, and solidarity**, aligning with bioregional principles. They often partner with municipalities for land/loans and are part of the social and solidarity economy network. ### Integral Cooperativism and Alternative Economies * **Cooperativa Integral Catalana (CIC)** – The CIC (Catalan Integral Cooperative) is a **holistic grassroots network** founded in 2010 aiming to build an integrated alternative economy in Catalonia. As an “integral” cooperative, it seeks to unite all basic economic activities – **production, consumption, finance, and exchange** – under self-management and communal principles. It was born from the anti-capitalist and degrowth milieu (influenced by a 2009 Degrowth conference tour across Catalonia), and by 2010 a first assembly established its core principles of **direct democracy, consensus decision-making, and building counter-power outside the state**. At its height, CIC catalyzed **social currencies and barter networks (ecoxarxes)**, worker co-ops, consumer groups, and even a health cooperative, attempting to create a federation of projects that could enable members to live outside the conventional money economy. One notable project under the CIC umbrella is **Calafou**, an “eco-industrial post-capitalist colony” – a cooperatively managed rural settlement in a former factory colony in Anoia, bought in 2011. Calafou hosts alternative technology workshops, artisan manufacturing, and communal living spaces, embodying the *DIY deindustrialization* and rural regeneration ethos of the CIC. While the CIC faced internal challenges and transitions (and is less visibly active today), it left a legacy of **experimentation in commoning** – from local **social currencies** to **hacker spaces** – that inspired subsequent commons initiatives (for example, some CIC members later contributed to urban commons projects and the solidarity economy). The CIC’s vision of *integral revolution* complements more institutional approaches by demonstrating **grassroots self-organization at a bioregional scale**. * **Comunalitats Urbanes (Urban Communalities Program)** – *Les Comunalitats Urbanes* is a recent (2022–2024) **public program by the Generalitat de Catalunya** (Department of Labor and Social Economy) to foster local mutual aid networks and commons-based economic recovery. It funds 22 community consortiums across Catalonia (in neighborhoods or mid-sized towns) which bring together at least four entities each – e.g. co-ops, associations, informal groups, and city councils – to **reactivate the local economy through solidarity and commons**. The program was conceived as a Covid-19 recovery measure, recognizing that rebuilding would require strengthening community resilience and cooperation. Each *Comunalitat* supports projects like tool libraries, community kitchens, repair cafés, cultural spaces, time banks, care networks, etc., depending on local needs. For instance, Barcelona has multiple *Comunalitats* in different districts (such as Ciutat Vella and Sants), while towns like Amposta or Salt have their own. A central **support office (Oficina de Suport)** is coordinated by *La Hidra Cooperativa* (a research cooperative focusing on commons and public-commons partnerships). *La Hidra* helps these networks with training, methodology, and evaluation. The Comunalitats program illustrates a **public-community partnership model**: it is government-funded, but the initiatives are led by local civil society with an ethos of empowering communities to manage resources collaboratively. This connects government actors (Generalitat and Ajuntaments) with grassroots movements (many participating organizations come from the social economy and commons sphere). In essence, the program is knitting a **territorial grid of urban commons**, reviving the tradition of communal work (*treball comunitari*) with 21st-century challenges in mind. ### Culture, Knowledge, and Democratic Innovation * **Decidim and Democratic Digital Commons** – *(Decidim is already in the existing list, but worth noting context as part of Catalonia’s commons landscape.)* Catalonia, and Barcelona in particular, have been pioneers in **open-source civic tech** and participatory democracy platforms. The **Decidim** platform – initiated by Barcelona City Hall in 2016 – is a free/libre software for running participatory processes (from city budgets to policy co-creation) in a transparent, democratic way. It’s governed by its own community (Metadecidim) and used by dozens of cities worldwide as a digital commons for democracy. Similarly, **Vocdoni** (also in the list) provides decentralized, secure voting tools via blockchain, and emerged from Catalan civic tech innovators. These tools connect to many initiatives above by enabling **collective decision-making** within co-ops, associations, and even the Citizens’ Climate Assemblies of Catalonia. They highlight how the **commons paradigm extends to digital governance** and civic participation. * **Goteo (Open Crowdfunding Platform)** – (*Spain-wide but with strong Catalan roots*) Goteo is an open-source crowdfunding platform launched by the Barcelona-based **Platoniq collective** in 2011 to fund commons-oriented projects. It introduced the idea of “crowdfunding the commons”, requiring that projects provide collective benefits or open knowledge in return for support. Goteo’s presence reinforced the funding side of the commons ecosystem, and Barcelona’s City Hall even partnered with it for match-funding calls (e.g. the *Conjuntament* program) to support social projects. By rewarding open licenses and community contributions, Goteo helped many Catalan initiatives (co-ops, civic tech, cultural commons) get off the ground, thus feeding into the **knowledge commons and social innovation** environment. *(The above list is not exhaustive, but captures key additional entries across thematic areas. Other noteworthy mentions include:* **Ecologistes en Acció** (a confederation of eco-activist groups active in Catalonia’s climate justice and anti-pollution campaigns, often allied with ODG and XR movements), **Can Masdeu** (a longstanding peri-urban commune and community garden in Barcelona’s Collserola hills, emblematic of urban commons reclaiming public land for collective food growing and education), and **educational commons** like the *Escola de Pastors de Catalunya* (Shepherds’ School, already in the list, which sustains traditional ecological knowledge). *All these form a constellation around the central nodes identified in the Knowledge Commons map.)* ## Connections Between New and Existing Entries The following table highlights how each new entry connects with one or more entities already listed in the Knowledge Commons spreadsheet. Connections are based on shared themes (e.g., **social and solidarity economy**, **degrowth**), partnerships or funding relationships, overlapping membership, or collaborative projects. This illustrates the interwoven nature of Catalonia’s bioregional commons landscape, where government programs, grassroots co-ops, networks, and research institutes mutually reinforce each other. | **New Entry** | **Connections to Existing Entries** | **Nature of Connection** | | ------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Som Energia** (renewable energy coop) | • **Xarxa d’Economia Solidària (XES)** – Som Energia is a member of XES, sharing solidarity economy values and often present at XES events/forums. <br> • **Ajuntament de Barcelona** – The Barcelona city council has collaborated with Som Energia (and other energy coops) in promoting **energy communities** and during the municipal energy transition debates (Som Energia’s model influenced public policy). | *Shared network and goals:* part of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) network in Catalonia. *Policy partnership:* works with local government on community energy transition. | | **Guifi.net** (telecom network commons) | • **Ajuntament de Barcelona** – Barcelona and other city/regional administrations supported Guifi.net’s expansion (e.g., providing roof rights for antennas, or via the Barcelona Free Network initiatives). Guifi.net demonstrates a **public-commons partnership** where infrastructure is managed as commons. <br> • **Generalitat de Catalunya** – The Catalan Government acknowledged Guifi.net’s model in its digital strategy and sometimes provides grants for rural broadband – recognizing Guifi as aligning with **digital commons** and social innovation. | *Public-Commons collaboration:* works with government bodies to expand open internet access. *Commons model advocacy:* influences digital policy with its open infrastructure approach. | | **Som Mobilitat** (cooperative mobility) | • **Xarxa d’Economia Solidària (XES)** – Like other cooperatives, Som Mobilitat is part of XES, contributing to the **sustainable mobility** and responsible consumption facet of the solidarity economy. <br> • **Ajuntament de Barcelona** – The Barcelona City Council, through programs like **Barcelona Activa** and mobility plans, has provided support (such as parking spaces or promotional campaigns) for Som Mobilitat to grow car-sharing in neighborhoods, complementing the city’s mobility commons (bike-sharing, etc.). | *Network:* integrated in the SSE ecosystem (XES). *Municipal collaboration:* aligns with city’s sustainable mobility initiatives, receiving logistical support. | | **Pam a Pam** (ESS mapping platform) | • **Xarxa d’Economia Solidària (XES)** – Directly created and maintained by XES, Pam a Pam is essentially a project of the network to visualize its member initiatives and others aligned with SSE values. Many **entries in the spreadsheet (co-ops, eco-projects)** are also listed on Pam a Pam. <br> • **Bloc Cooperatiu – Coòpolis** – Pam a Pam has strong ties with cooperative incubators like Coòpolis (Barcelona Ateneu Cooperatiu) since mapping enterprises helps Coòpolis target communities, and both are supported by XES and the Generalitat’s SSE programs. | *Organizational parent:* it’s an initiative of XES (the SSE network) promoting visibility for members. *Ecosystem support:* informs and is used by cooperative support institutions (like Coòpolis) to identify and connect commons initiatives. | | **Xarxa per la Conservació de la Natura (XCN)** | • **Observatori del Paisatge de Catalunya** – Both XCN and the Landscape Observatory (an existing entry) collaborate on landscape-scale stewardship; XCN provides on-the-ground networks while the Observatory provides research and policy guidance on protecting common natural heritage (e.g., joint conferences on cultural landscapes). <br> • **Generalitat de Catalunya** – XCN (formerly XCT) receives ongoing support from the Catalan Government’s environmental department. The Generalitat often relies on XCN member organizations to execute conservation projects (habitat restoration, species monitoring) as part of its **ecological network**. | *Common goal:* aligned with the Landscape Observatory in conserving biocultural commons. *Government link:* funded and empowered by the Catalan government to implement land stewardship strategies. | | **Aigua és Vida** (Water commons movement) | • **Ajuntament de Barcelona** – The Ada Colau administration (2015–2023) was sympathetic to Aigua és Vida’s aims. They jointly attempted a referendum for water remunicipalization and increased public scrutiny of the private water operator. Some city council members were active in or endorsed the platform. <br> • **Observatori del Deute en la Globalització (ODG)** – Aigua és Vida overlaps with ODG (existing entry) and other social justice entities; ODG contributed research on water privatisation and its debt/legal implications, strengthening the movement’s case in Barcelona and Catalonia. | *Advocacy partnership:* closely engaged with Barcelona’s municipality on reclaiming a key urban commons (water). *Civil society coalition:* connected with ODG and others in broader fights against commodification of essentials. | | **Cooperative Housing (Sostre Cívic, La Borda, etc.)** | • **Ajuntament de Barcelona** – The municipality actively supports cooperative housing: it leased public land for La Borda and other projects, offers seed funding, and includes co-housing in its housing policy. The city’s **Institut Català de Finances** (with Generalitat) provided low-interest loans as well. The **Bloc4BCN** project (a hub for the social economy, in the list) even envisions providing cooperative housing services to its community. <br> • **Generalitat de Catalunya** – Through programs like **Habitatge Cooperatiu (Cooperative Housing promotion)** and the **Cooperative Housing Federation**, the Catalan govt. channels subsidies and a legal framework for these co-ops. Some co-housing communities are also involved in the **Assemblea Catalana per la Transició Ecosocial**, bringing a housing lens to degrowth discussions. | *Policy integration:* strong support from Barcelona’s city council (land & financing), making co-housing part of public housing strategy. *Wider government support:* Catalan government funding and recognition; co-ops participate in strategic forums on just transition (ensuring housing is included in ecosocial plans). | | **Cooperativa Integral Catalana (CIC)** | • **Research & Degrowth International** – The CIC was philosophically influenced by degrowth ideas; R\&D (existing entry) and CIC figures often exchanged knowledge. Degrowth scholars documented CIC as a real-world example of post-growth commons-based economy. They’ve co-hosted events on alternatives to growth in Catalonia, with CIC providing the grassroots perspective. <br> • **Fòrums and Fairs (e.g., Fòrum per la Transició Ecosocial)** – CIC members contributed to forums on ecosocial transition (some organized by existing entries like *Futurs Impossibles* and CGT’s Transició Ecosocial group). Ideas from CIC (like social currency or communal work) feature in these discussions of Catalonia’s future. Additionally, the **Commons Cloud / Free Knowledge** initiatives (akin to Decidim, etc.) have CIC DNA via former members. | *Ideological and personal links:* degrowth and integral cooperative movements reinforce each other’s vision (several individuals straddle R\&D and CIC). *Movement convergence:* CIC’s practices feed into broader ecosocial transition dialogues in Catalonia’s forums and assemblies, connecting with activists in Futurs Impossibles, etc. | | **Comunalitats Urbanes** (urban commons program) | • **Generalitat de Catalunya** – It is a Generalitat-driven project (Department of Enterprise and Work) directly. Many existing public initiatives in the list (like **Assemblea Ciutadana pel Clima** at Catalan and Barcelona levels) share the spirit of participatory governance that Comunalitats foster. <br> • **Coòpolis / Ateneu Cooperatiu** – Several urban *Comunalitats* work in tandem with local cooperative ateneus (e.g., Coòpolis in Barcelona) to engage cooperatives in community projects. For example, Coòpolis might advise a Comunalitat in Sants on setting up a community kitchen or makerspace. Also, **La Hidra Cooperativa** (whose members have roots in the Fundación de los Comunes, akin to Commons Agency in the list) is managing the support office, thereby linking to the **Commons Strategies** present in Barcelona’s activist-research circles. | *Institutional origin:* funded and initiated by the Catalan government to boost commons in practice. *On-the-ground linkage:* ties with cooperative development hubs (Coòpolis) and commons-oriented consultancies (like La Hidra) ensure that social economy enterprises and commons activism are directly involved in implementation. | *Table: New entries and their connections to existing spreadsheet entries. These connections span membership in the same networks, direct collaborations, aligned missions, or joint participation in programs and events.* ## Conclusion Catalonia’s bioregional commons landscape is a **tapestry of interconnected initiatives**. Energy cooperatives link with food co-ops and mobility co-ops under the umbrella of the solidarity economy; research labs and activist observatories provide analyses that bolster grassroots movements (from climate assemblies to debt and water campaigns); public institutions increasingly act as enablers of the commons (through match-funding, incubation spaces like Bloc4BCN, or co-governance frameworks); and legacy experiments (integral cooperatives, squatted social centers) continue to inspire newer generations of communal projects. This **web of connections** – across themes of ecology, economy, governance, and culture – suggests that the “knowledge commons” of Catalonia is not just a list of initiatives, but a living ecosystem where **collaboration and shared principles** (self-management, sustainability, solidarity, and democracy) reinforce each other. By recognizing and strengthening these links, Catalonia’s communities are actively constructing a bioregional future that is more just, resilient, and regenerative. **Sources:** The information above draws on official websites, open-access reports, and academic sources. Key references include the Pam a Pam collaborative map (visualizing 1,600+ SSE initiatives), reports on Catalonia’s ecosocial transition, the World Habitat documentation on La Borda co-op, and articles from *El Setembre* and research journals detailing new programs like Comunalitats Urbanes and the emergence of communalist foundations (e.g., Fundació Emprius). These illustrate the depth and breadth of Catalonia’s commons movement, past and present. Each entry and connection highlighted is part of this broader narrative of **commons-based regional transformation**.