At the start of this journey…

At the start of this journey, we created a common fund, each plot contributing the same amount of money so we could get basic materials. This tradition remains in place today. But it soon became clear that we would need another source of income if the project was to be all the things we dreamt of.

The council threatened to charge our water bill, and a dairy products company offered to install an advertising billboard to cover this expense. As always, the assembly debated this for too many hours, because contrary opinions are present in all groups of humans, but the HCM did not sell out. We used the situation to find new ways of self-finance.

So, we were bold enough to have a big fiesta. A fiesta not just for us but for the entire neighbourhood. A Spring Fiesta. Lots of people came, we ate paella and danced for hours. We made T-shirts which we sold without problems, and today the locals still wear them with pride, as if to say: «yes, I was there». The work and its rewards —strengthening the group— belong to us, but the fun belongs to all the neighbours.

It was a success, and we decided that this was how to do it. Since then, we are self-financing. There were many more fiestas, more hugs, more bonding. But more importantly, this was our first contact with our convening power, with our creativity, with the strength of the community. Since then, we have dared to go further, both within and outside the HCM.