Can Masdeu
Encyclopedia
Can Masdeu (ˈkam məzˈðew) is a squatted
social centre, residence and community garden in the Collserola Park on the outskirts of Barcelona
. A former leper hospital which had been abandoned for some 53 years before its eviction, the squat became famous in 2002, when squatters in lockons and on tripods nonviolently resisted the eviction. During a three-day standoff, police were unable to remove the squatters, resulting in the case returning to the courts. After three years, the case was won by the owners, but no eviction notice has since been issued.
Most Sundays there is an open house and from 100 to 300 people come up to participate in activities related to ecology, activism, and self-sufficiency.
Can Masdeu is located up the hill from the Canyelles L3 Metro station in Barcelona. There is a sign for it before the 0,5 km walk up a dirt road to the site.
The building was built on an ancient Roman
site, and was surrounded by vineyards before the city expanded into Nou Barris
. Of the existing structure, first the temple (masia
) was completed in the 17th century. In the early 20th century the living units, common space and kitchen were added. After functioning as a nunnery for some years, the facility was converted into a leper
hospital. It was ultimately shuttered and abandoned in 1948. Fear of leprosy may have been a factor in this large facility being left vacant for over half a century.
The police changed their initial strategy of forced removal with one of waiting for the squatters to get thirsty and hungry and come down. They waited for three days with growing local support and media attention. Hundreds of spectators came to see the occupation, many of them chanted slogans, and stopped traffic on the local highway. A Dutch solidarity organization organized an occupation of the Spanish Embassy in the Netherlands. After three days, the Barcelona judge overruling the case ordered the police to withdraw.
The judge's ruling specified that human rights and safety are more important than property rights.
There have been both civil and criminal cases brought against the occupants of Can Masdeu since 2002. Most of these cases have been lost by the community, but it continues to occupy the site, in part because the hospital which owns the facility does not have the financial capacity to renovate the structure. Further complicating the hospital's plans to provide a suitable reason for improving the Can Masdeu site is the fact that immediately next to it there is another larger abandoned institutional building, which could more easily be used than the more dilapidated older facility.
The community hosts monthly or bi-monthly potlucks with local gardeners and there are regular meetings to manage the affairs of the garden. In 2006 a large second terrace of gardens was recovered from the surround bush lands and additional local gardens were planted. There are three tiers of gardens, the lowest is the new local gardens, the middle tier is production garden for the community and the top tier is the original local gardens. These neighbors initially came from the Nou Barris district, but increasingly locals involved with these community gardens who move to nearby locations continue to come to this site and maintain their plots..
A vegetarian meal served for which a donation is requested. The meal typically features food which has been harvested from the communities gardens or traded with other local farms.
The Social Centre and the rurbar, a cafe serving local and organic meals and drinks, is open most Sundays from noon until evening. Activities are listed on the website and in the newsletter Infousurpa.
The community runs a bike shop and repair clinic, bakes bread for itself and local customers, provides space to the local high school for meetings and performances, and it also hosts meeting of progressive and resistance groups.
and Spanish
, but as it is an international group, English
, Italian
, French
, Basque
, and Esperanto
are also spoken.
The community hosts some guests who are either friends of the community or involved in service projects or movements which the community supports. The community receives far more requests to host people than it has the capacity to provide.
Unlike most squats and even intentional communities, Can Masdeu has quite low turn over, with no new vacancies over the last 2 years (2007 and 2008).
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
social centre, residence and community garden in the Collserola Park on the outskirts of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. A former leper hospital which had been abandoned for some 53 years before its eviction, the squat became famous in 2002, when squatters in lockons and on tripods nonviolently resisted the eviction. During a three-day standoff, police were unable to remove the squatters, resulting in the case returning to the courts. After three years, the case was won by the owners, but no eviction notice has since been issued.
The name Can Masdeu
Can means "property of" and "Masdeu" comes from the Masdeu family who once inhabited the farmhouse at the center of the valley. Thus, Can Masdeu can refer to any of the following:- the masiaMasiaA masia , more commonly known as mas in Catalan , is a type of rural construction common to the Iberian Peninsula, particularly during the ancient Kingdom of Aragon which have their origins in the Roman villas...
- a traditional Iberian patriarchal mansion or plantation house - the valley, or the community gardens which inhabit it
- the community of squatters
- the social center or the ecological project associated with it.
- the nunnery or leper hospital which once inhabited the masía and the valley.
Grounds, location and early history
The grounds governed by the squat include almost a hectare of land in use as gardens, an abandoned nunnery and hospital facility and about 15 hectares of mostly hilly forests. The building spans four floors and is draped over the side of a hill. It includes 24 different rooms of various sizes including a large hall.Can Masdeu is located up the hill from the Canyelles L3 Metro station in Barcelona. There is a sign for it before the 0,5 km walk up a dirt road to the site.
The building was built on an ancient Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
site, and was surrounded by vineyards before the city expanded into Nou Barris
Nou Barris
Nou Barris is one of the ten districts into which Barcelona has been officially divided since 1984. The name refers to the original nine neighbourhoods it was composed of, even though nowadays it's made up of fourteen...
. Of the existing structure, first the temple (masia
Masia
A masia , more commonly known as mas in Catalan , is a type of rural construction common to the Iberian Peninsula, particularly during the ancient Kingdom of Aragon which have their origins in the Roman villas...
) was completed in the 17th century. In the early 20th century the living units, common space and kitchen were added. After functioning as a nunnery for some years, the facility was converted into a leper
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
hospital. It was ultimately shuttered and abandoned in 1948. Fear of leprosy may have been a factor in this large facility being left vacant for over half a century.
Occupation and legal status
An international group of activists spent over a year searching in Barcelona for the best location to occupy a site and in December 2001 they moved onto the abandoned hospital. Can Masdeu became famous in April 2002, when over 100 national police came to evict 11 squatters. Using passive resistance over three days the squatters were able to hold off the police's efforts at forced removal. The squatters used a number of techniques to retain control of the space including, significantly, locking themselves to various precarious perches outside the building. This created a situation in which the police risked serious injury to themselves or to squatters in attempting to remove them. Some dangling occupiers locked themselves to the building, others balanced on a long seesaw, from which no single occupant could be removed without dropping the other. Many were suspended outside the building on frames and even a bathtub was used.The police changed their initial strategy of forced removal with one of waiting for the squatters to get thirsty and hungry and come down. They waited for three days with growing local support and media attention. Hundreds of spectators came to see the occupation, many of them chanted slogans, and stopped traffic on the local highway. A Dutch solidarity organization organized an occupation of the Spanish Embassy in the Netherlands. After three days, the Barcelona judge overruling the case ordered the police to withdraw.
The judge's ruling specified that human rights and safety are more important than property rights.
There have been both civil and criminal cases brought against the occupants of Can Masdeu since 2002. Most of these cases have been lost by the community, but it continues to occupy the site, in part because the hospital which owns the facility does not have the financial capacity to renovate the structure. Further complicating the hospital's plans to provide a suitable reason for improving the Can Masdeu site is the fact that immediately next to it there is another larger abandoned institutional building, which could more easily be used than the more dilapidated older facility.
Local relations
Relations with the surrounding local population has been a focus of the efforts of the residents of Can Masdeu. Immediately after the occupation, the community encouraged local gardeners to come plant on their gardens on the grounds. About a dozen people at first, mostly older women responded to the offer and began planting mostly produce and some flowers.The community hosts monthly or bi-monthly potlucks with local gardeners and there are regular meetings to manage the affairs of the garden. In 2006 a large second terrace of gardens was recovered from the surround bush lands and additional local gardens were planted. There are three tiers of gardens, the lowest is the new local gardens, the middle tier is production garden for the community and the top tier is the original local gardens. These neighbors initially came from the Nou Barris district, but increasingly locals involved with these community gardens who move to nearby locations continue to come to this site and maintain their plots..
Social centre activities
For most Sundays of the year there are public workshops offered in the social centre, the PIC, or Punt d'Interracció de Collserola. These workshops and presentations cover a variety of topics including:- environmental issues
- permaculturePermaculturePermaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
and organic farmingOrganic farmingOrganic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm... - communities movement
- political resistance
- independent filmIndependent filmAn independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
presentations - music, dancing and cultural expression
- walking tours of the community grounds and building
A vegetarian meal served for which a donation is requested. The meal typically features food which has been harvested from the communities gardens or traded with other local farms.
The Social Centre and the rurbar, a cafe serving local and organic meals and drinks, is open most Sundays from noon until evening. Activities are listed on the website and in the newsletter Infousurpa.
Renovations and functions
A substantial renovation was necessary to make the space livable. Squatters cleared out rooms and repaired them and moved on to the adjacent space for a period of over 3 years. Residents enjoy a low energy, low impact lifestyle with few low power electrical fixtures and a couple of fireplaces for the sprawling complex.The community runs a bike shop and repair clinic, bakes bread for itself and local customers, provides space to the local high school for meetings and performances, and it also hosts meeting of progressive and resistance groups.
Current status
As of 2008, more than 28 people live in and share the house. Community participation includes bi-weekly meetings, organic gardening, housework, and two collective meals per day, and each member contributes roughly 25 euros/month to food costs. The working languages of the house are CatalanCatalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, but as it is an international group, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
, and Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
are also spoken.
The community hosts some guests who are either friends of the community or involved in service projects or movements which the community supports. The community receives far more requests to host people than it has the capacity to provide.
Unlike most squats and even intentional communities, Can Masdeu has quite low turn over, with no new vacancies over the last 2 years (2007 and 2008).
See also
- De-growthDe-growthDegrowth is a political, economic, and social movement based on environmentalist, anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist ideas...
- Social movementSocial movementSocial movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
- SquattingSquattingSquatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
- Direct ActionDirect actionDirect action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
- EcologyEcologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
- PermaculturePermaculturePermaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
- Consensus decision-makingConsensus decision-makingConsensus decision-making is a group decision making process that seeks the consent, not necessarily the agreement, of participants and the resolution of objections. Consensus is defined by Merriam-Webster as, first, general agreement, and second, group solidarity of belief or sentiment. It has its...
- Environmental movementEnvironmental movementThe environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
Sources
- Website of project
- Can Masdeu: Rise of the Rurbano revolution
- Notes from Nowhere (Organization) [2003]. We Are Everywhere: The Irresistible Rise of Global Anticapitalism, Verso Books, ISBN 1-85984-447-2.