Santiago, Spain - APOTHECA Business Co-op
OVERVIEW
OUR COMMUNITY
We are located in the beautiful Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela. Santiago is the terminus of the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage that has seen an incredible resurgence in recent years. For centuries, Santiago has been the destination of people searching for answers, connection, and hope and the people here have adopted the Camino’s spirit of solidarity.
Santiago is located in the region of Galicia, the home of a distinct people, language, and geography that come together to create a unique culture. Santiago is the seat of the regional government, the home to an influential university, and a significant incubator of arts and culture. It is a small, vibrant city of 90,000 residents yet feels bigger thanks to its activity and influence in the region.
OUR WORK
Our work is Integrated Community Transformation. Apotheca is a local non-profit organization in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It is dedicated to promoting the social economy and investing in small businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals who use their skills to benefit their communities.
The name "Apotheca" is derived from the Latin word for "Storehouse." Historically, this term referred to a place where people would gather to share their resources and meet communal needs.
Through its initiatives, Apotheca invests in small businesses using sustainably recycled capital to fund local enterprises and community projects. This approach allows Apotheca to provide strategic advantages to its partners, fostering business growth while sustainably supporting the community.
In a place like Santiago, where the churches are closed or empty, co-working puts you in a relationship with Christ and with people daily, where going to church doesn’t. Through APOTHECA, doors are opening to experience how God is working through the skills of local business owners, farmers, outsiders, and believers to co-work together with Christ in their lives and communities.
Learn more about our work at apothecasantiago.com.
INVESTMENT SUMMARY:
Our first investment is a 50/50 partnership with a couple who run a small grocery market to empower them to continue serving the vulnerable in their neighborhood and to save their business from the COVID-19 financial crisis. Through solidarity and financial investment, we are sustaining three projects through the store partnership:
Local Product Baskets: A cooperative initiative with local farmers in Santiago de Compostela to grow and deliver seasonal fruits and vegetables weekly to city dwellers.
Agricultural Workshops: Connecting consumers with local farmers through workshops that include farm visits, hands-on cultivation, and learning about the farmers' stories and the value of their work.
Soap Making: Providing employment and support groups for women in vulnerable situations by producing handmade soap, along with offering workshops on artisanal soap making.
Through solidarity and reinvestment of profits, Mercado Apotheca aims to exemplify social economy in partnership with A Horta da Avoa.
Our second investment is an apothecary business to make environmentally sustainable soap to provide:
Soap-making workshops to foster community, connection, and peer support for women who have experienced abuse.
Tranche 1 (July 2021) - Legal setup and launch of APOTHECA, first business partnership, and the launch of an apothecary business.
Tranche 2 (mid-late 2022) - Building for APOTHECA and a place to do workshops, and a third business partnership.
Key Metrics for Growth and Impact:
Owning a stake in a local business enables APOTHECA to generate 10% revenue to further invest in ICT community projects that are developed through its partnerships, causing a cycle of finances for future ministry project funding.
Acquiring 50% of a local business to expedite the engagement of ICT projects in Santiago, save a local grocer from going bankrupt from the COVID-19 financial crisis, and create two new job opportunities.
A shared space for entrepreneurial training workshops, and a storehouse to make soap and provide two new jobs.
Mobilize new One Collective workers to Santiago through projects created and unique needs uncovered.
Bring together believers with the broader community through co-working spaces.
