Cal Cisteller belongs to the people! We’ve signed the purchase of the farm

Today we signed the purchase of Cal Cisteller in Vilafranca del Penedès!

As we explained, Fundació Emprius is now the owner, and we’ll soon sign a lifelong right-of-use agreement with the rural networking co-operative El Cistell. The agreement ties the land to its use as an Ateneu Rural — a community centre to strengthen local life in Font-rubí and the Penedès region.

Our deepest gratitude to the over 150 people and 50 organisations who backed the Ateneu Rural and contributed to the collectivisation campaign of recent months (we raised over €31,000 in donations!); to the ethical and solidarity finance co-operative Coop57 for backing the project; and to all the people who contributed capital or loans.

We commit to stewarding Cal Cisteller as communal land for everyone.

We’re building the foundations for the Ateneu Rural of the Penedès and setting up management areas and working groups. This is a perfect time to get involved and help shape this collective space.

Cal Cisteller is open to connecting with local groups and organisations. If you’d like to organise an activity or just get in touch, write to calcisteller@disroot.org.

Festival of Gratitude#

On 20 September — the autumn equinox — we’re hosting an event to celebrate what we’ve achieved together and thank you for your support, with workshops and training sessions. For more, visit calcisteller.noblogs.org.

If you’d like to make another contribution to the project, you can do so via the Emprius website.

Long live the new Ateneu Rural and the tornalloms of the Penedès!

Cal Cisteller belongs to the people!

Years reviving the tornallom and farmers’ mutual aid#

If you haven’t read it, we recommend the article explaining how Cal Cisteller and local farmers have spent years reviving the “tornallom” tradition in the Penedès:

“Mutual aid and collective work: years of reviving the ‘tornallom’ and building an Ateneu Rural in the Penedès”.