This Goteo campaign will run for just 26 days (launched on 4 December) instead of the usual 40, so you can receive a gift voucher in time for Christmas if you wish.
SomPunt is the cooperative created to carry forward the legacy of what is still today the oldest active textile cooperative in Catalonia, based in l’Espluga Calba — a small rural village in the Garrigues region, one of the areas most affected by depopulation year after year.
In order to grow, strengthen the project and secure its future, we need support to help keep this cooperative initiative alive. Since 1969, the cooperative has provided — and continues to provide — employment for dozens of people of all ages, especially women from l’Espluga Calba and nearby villages.
The cooperative now needs to undergo an important transformation to ensure the long-term viability of the new project. This means increasing garment production, which will allow us to create more jobs, both within the cooperative itself and through collaborations with other cooperatives and organisations linked to the Social and Solidarity Economy.
What will your contributions support?
Through this crowdfunding campaign, we will be able to launch the inter-cooperative project Teixint Futurs (“Weaving Futures”), developed together with other cooperatives and organisations including DiomCoop, Associació Alba, Xarxa de Dones Cosidores and Associació Talma.
The project focuses on jointly producing large knitwear orders through collaborative production networks.
To make this possible in the medium term, we first need an initial production run that will allow us to train workers in this specialised type of garment manufacturing. Your contributions will therefore help fund the first batch of jumpers, while also covering paid training hours for new workers joining the project.
In doing so, we will also continue the legacy of the cooperative’s own clothing brand, which has been active since 2016.
Descripción del proyecto. Características, fortalezas y diferenciales.
The crowdfunding campaign launched by SomPunt is primarily aimed at ensuring the continuity of the textile cooperative project in l’Espluga Calba — a historic and deeply significant cooperative within Catalonia’s industrial and social heritage.
SomPunt carries forward a long-standing legacy rooted in textile craftsmanship and quality. Since 1969, the cooperative has played a vital role in generating employment and supporting rural economic development in l’Espluga Calba and across the Garrigues region, creating job opportunities for people of all ages. In addition, everyone working within the cooperative is also a worker-member, and the workforce is strongly feminised, with women representing around 80% of the team.
Through this crowdfunding campaign, we aim to raise the funds needed to help the cooperative grow by creating new jobs in a territory facing a serious risk of depopulation, while also opening opportunities for people who face barriers to entering the labour market and supporting a textile sector that has almost disappeared in Catalonia.
These funds will also help strengthen the social inclusion projects developed by the cooperatives and organisations we collaborate with through the Teixint Futurs initiative. This includes sharing knitwear expertise and providing machinery so that partner organisations can also expand employment opportunities within their own projects — many of which work with people at risk of social exclusion. In this way, we strengthen one another while deepening our commitment to the Social and Solidarity Economy.
With the goal of overcoming the difficult moment we currently face and continuing the cooperative’s story, we are launching this crowdfunding campaign through Goteo.
The financial support raised thanks to you will help cover manufacturing costs, materials and training programmes. If we are able to reach the campaign’s optimal funding goal, we plan to create new jobs within the cooperative and restructure both the commercial and production areas in order to become more competitive — both in the manufacturing work we do for other brands and in the development of our own collections.
The project will therefore allow SomPunt to continue developing and expanding the cooperative’s own clothing brand, which since 2016 has specialised in high-quality, locally made knitwear for men, designed and produced entirely within the cooperative using a KM0 approach.
This initiative is not only about protecting an important part of Catalonia’s industrial heritage, but also about committing to a more sustainable future for the local textile industry while preserving values of community, cooperation and tradition.
SomPunt’s crowdfunding campaign is ultimately a call for solidarity and mutual support — a collective effort to safeguard a valuable shared legacy while helping build a sustainable future for both the cooperative and the people of l’Espluga Calba.
Motivación y a quién va dirigido el proyecto
At SomPunt, we launched this crowdfunding campaign for several reasons. First and foremost, the impact of globalisation and competition from major textile corporations has placed enormous pressure on local cooperatives like the one in l’Espluga Calba, making it increasingly difficult to compete within the textile industry. At the same time, technological change requires constant investment in modernising equipment and facilities in order to remain relevant and maintain efficient production.
The textile sector is also going through a particularly difficult period as a result of the economic and social crises of recent years: the impact of COVID-19, followed by supply chain disruptions and rising costs for raw materials and energy. This context has left the cooperative in a financially vulnerable position.
On top of this, the shortage of workers — made worse by the depopulation affecting the Garrigues region — has created an additional challenge, making it increasingly difficult to find qualified staff. Although we are already developing strategies and partnerships to address these issues, we still need financial support to overcome these obstacles.
We believe that keeping the textile cooperative alive depends on having skilled workers — whom we will be able to train thanks to this Goteo campaign and its supporters — as well as the production capacity needed to take on future orders, which are essential to ensuring the long-term viability of the project.
Who can support us?
This project is aimed first and foremost at the local community of l’Espluga Calba, helping preserve jobs and strengthen the local economy in a region where agriculture remains the main economic activity.
At the same time, it also speaks to people who value fashion, craftsmanship and high-quality textile products, especially those who appreciate artisanal work and want to support long-standing cooperative traditions.
The campaign also seeks to connect with individuals and organisations committed to sustainability and ethical values within the fashion industry. Through this crowdfunding campaign, SomPunt is not only fighting to survive, but to actively weave its own future while remaining committed to quality, tradition and social responsibility.
Help us weave the future of Catalonia’s oldest textile cooperative. Follow the thread.
At the very least, we want to thank you properly
We deeply appreciate every contribution made to help preserve the history and future of Catalonia’s oldest active textile cooperative — and to help it continue growing so we can weave a future together.
Your support will help ensure the continuity of a project rooted in textile craftsmanship, tradition and quality. As a thank you, we have created a series of reward packs featuring exclusive knitwear for men, women and children, alongside unique experiences connected to the project.
Take part in our 26-day Goteo campaign (launched on 04/12/2023) to secure a gift voucher in time for Three Kings’ Day by making your contribution before 30 December. If the campaign reaches its goal, you will receive a special edition campaign jumper as a thank-you gift.
In addition, tax deductions may be an important consideration for our supporters. Contributions to the project may qualify for tax relief ranging from 35% to 80%, depending on your circumstances. For more information about possible tax deductions, you can consult the tax calculator.
Experiencia previa y equipo
My name is Montse, and I’m a worker-member of the textile cooperative in l’Espluga Calba, in the Garrigues region. I’d like to share a little of our story with you.
Since 1969, the cooperative has provided employment to more than one hundred people from l’Espluga and nearby villages, becoming an essential tool in helping people remain rooted in the territory and build their lives here.
Founded in 1970, the cooperative emerged as a driving force in the production of knitwear garments for women and men. It was originally created in response to the need for additional sources of income within the local community, especially given the uncertainty and instability of agricultural livelihoods. The project was launched by a group of visionary local residents, led by the village priest.
With a clear mission to reduce the migration of young people to large cities in search of work opportunities, the cooperative has always maintained a philosophy grounded in cooperative values such as work, democracy, solidarity and education. At the same time, it has remained deeply connected to the Ponent region and strongly committed to its local community.
Over more than fifty years, the cooperative has gone through periods of great success, more difficult moments and times of real uncertainty. Yet throughout all these changes, it has continued reinventing itself in order to survive and remain true to its purpose: being an economic and social engine for our region.
Canal 
