UMBRAL Towards Good Living
ESEN
Hills of Córdoba · Argentina

A community already exists.
Now it needs a home.

Help us open the doors of UMBRAL, towards Good Living: a Community, Educational and Cultural Center open to everyone.

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Secure card donations, in any currency, from anywhere in the world · About the campaign

150+
People reached
40+
Active collaborators
12
Organizations
100%
Community
Campaign · A home for UMBRAL

More than 20 years of community work, looking for a place of its own

In the hills of Córdoba, Argentina, people and organizations have been working for more than 20 years for education, agroecology, forest protection, human rights and community development.

Today we have a unique opportunity: to acquire a space of our own where we can bring all that work together, strengthen it and multiply it.

Imagine a place where children can learn, families can come together, young people can develop their projects, and the community can build a more caring and sustainable future.

That place can become a reality. But we need your help.

We are not starting from scratch: the projects exist, the people are committed and the network is already up and running. What we are missing is a home where all of this can grow.

Our story

A real house, a living cause

UMBRAL Towards Good Living is a space for gathering, learning and action, where we transform our reality through unity, trust and shared commitment. In the heart of Capilla del Monte, several organizations from the Punilla Valley come together to work for a fairer life, the solidarity economy, agroecology, feminism and the defense of human rights.

This house is already a community center. With your help, it can belong to all of us. Our dream is to buy the property we currently use (and rent) so we can sustain and connect our spaces for gathering and production.

For some time now we have been renting a meeting house at Alem 767, in the Balumba neighborhood, which has become the heart of our activities. It hosts workshops, gatherings, solidarity lodging, cultural events and productive projects that change lives. Today we have a real chance to buy that house for USD 100,000.

At UMBRAL we believe that no change is small when it is shared. Every person, every seed and every child who takes part is part of a deep transformation that builds community from the ground up.

UMBRAL poster: land, community and a regenerative future
Alem 767 A place to learn, cook, share and transform.
The property

A multipurpose space

The house we hope to buy is large and versatile. It already works as a community center: the goal is for it to be ours.

10 bedrooms

Each with a private bathroom, furnished with bed, mattress, wardrobe and new fixtures.

Commercial kitchen

With a pastry oven and stainless steel countertops.

4 apartments

Partly built, on the upper floor.

Dining hall

Spacious and air-conditioned.

Workshops

For sewing and screen printing.

Fiber-optic WiFi

Throughout the property.

Campaign · Open the Umbral

A real opportunity to secure our center

USD 100,000

You are not donating to a dream. You are helping to sustain something that already exists. This house has a history. You can help write its next chapter.

  • Property value: USD 100,000
  • Owner’s terms: a USD 40,000 down payment + 40 installments of USD 2,000
  • Opportunity: the owner has given us priority to buy
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Campaign progress

Updating progress…

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“The Umbral is already open. It just needs to become ours.”
Our goal

Strengthening something that already exists

We invite you to help us buy the property and consolidate a community center that is already up and running. This is not a utopia: it is a reality that needs strengthening.

Giving back

As a way of thanking donors, we offer:

  • Agroecological food from our projects
  • Stays at the community house
  • Online and in-person therapeutic services
  • Sponsorship of native trees
  • Products from Taku and the Almacén del Buen Vivir

Who we invite

  • Socially minded people, whether or not they share our views
  • Companies with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs
  • Allies who can spread the word and amplify the campaign

Alliances and support

Organizations and institutions we already work with:

  • Instituto Houssay (agreement in progress)
  • INTA (Argentina’s National Institute of Agricultural Technology)
  • Public and private universities
  • Trade unions and labor organizations
  • A network across 14 provinces to spread the word
  • Centro Oftalmológico Che Guevara (international contacts)

Learn more about our work

Read or download the UMBRAL Project presentation document (5 pages, in Spanish).

Download PDF
Already underway

Our initiatives

Food production, fair trade and popular education that are born in, and sustained by, the house.

Solidarity economy Taku Cooperative · Oct 2023

Taku: a gluten-free agroecological mill

Taku was born at the heart of UMBRAL: a worker cooperative that is transforming the production of organic, gluten-free flours. Our mill not only produces healthy food, it also creates local jobs and strengthens the community economy.

Nationally registered · A certified agroecological mill that provides healthy products to the community and creates sustainable local jobs.

Our products

  • Organic buckwheat flour
  • Brown rice flour
  • Quinoa flour
  • Special gluten-free blends
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Our circular economy model ensures that every stage of production is designed to minimize environmental impact and maximize social benefit. We use locally grown grains produced with agroecological practices, with full traceability from field to table.

With Taku, every purchase is an investment in health, sustainability and community development. Our products go straight from the mill to your table, with no middlemen, guaranteeing freshness and a fair price.

Sustainable agriculture UMBRAL community · Oct 2023

The Escobas Project: community farming that transforms

On the land of Escobas, a small rural village, we have created a model of community agriculture that not only feeds bodies but also nourishes souls and strengthens bonds. Here we grow vegetables and fruit, and produce pure native-forest honey and natural bio-inputs.

50+ families take an active part in the project, growing more than 30 varieties of vegetables and fruit using 100% organic and sustainable methods.

From the land

  • Seasonal vegetables
  • Aromatic and medicinal herbs
  • Pure native-forest honey
  • Natural bio-inputs
  • Heirloom and native seeds
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Working together in the fields has not only fed the participating families, it has also created a new circle of fair and healthy trade that benefits the whole region. Every seed planted is a seed of hope and food autonomy.

Our approach

Our community farming model is based on the principles of permaculture and agroecology, respecting natural cycles and promoting local biodiversity. Each plot is a living laboratory where we learn and teach ancestral techniques combined with sustainable innovation.

Our seasonal vegetables include tomatoes, lettuce, carrots and beets. In Escobas, every harvest is a celebration of life, and every family that joins is a victory for food sovereignty in our region.

Fair trade Producers’ network · Nov 2023

Almacén del Buen Vivir: fair trade in action

The Almacén del Buen Vivir (Good Living Store) is more than a shop: it is a bridge between local producers and conscious consumers, cutting out middlemen and guaranteeing fair prices for everyone.

We connect small producers and cooperatives directly with consumers, promoting fair trade and responsible consumption in our region.

Our products

  • Organic flours from Taku
  • Fresh vegetables from Escobas
  • Pure native-forest honey
  • Products from local cooperatives
  • Community crafts
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Here you’ll find products from our own initiatives (Taku, Escobas) together with a careful selection from other local producers who share our values of sustainability and social justice.

Every purchase at our store is a vote for a fairer, more sustainable economy, where value is shared equitably between producers and consumers.

Popular education UMBRAL community · Dec 2023

ECOS: School of Trades and Community Knowledge

ECOS is our community school, where traditional knowledge meets modern innovation. It is a space for collective learning where everyone can teach and learn, building the skills needed for everyday life and work.

Workshops in farming, carpentry, healthy cooking, basic technology and more, always with a focus on sustainability and community well-being.

Our workshops

  • Organic farming · sustainable growing
  • Basic carpentry · building and repairs
  • Healthy cooking · nutrition
  • Basic technology · digital tools
  • Crafts · traditional and modern techniques
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At ECOS we believe knowledge is a common good that should circulate freely. That is why our workshops are open, participatory and adapted to the real needs of our community.

At ECOS, every workshop is a chance to strengthen bonds, share knowledge and build together a more resilient and self-reliant community.

The network that transforms

There are lots of us

At UMBRAL Towards Good Living, many organizations from Capilla del Monte and the Punilla Valley in Córdoba come together to work for a fairer life, the solidarity economy, agroecology, feminism and the defense of human rights.

Movimiento Popular La Dignidad, Almacén del Buen Vivir, Movimiento Plurinacional Disidente y Feminista de Capilla del Monte, Cooperativa Taku, Merendarte, Teatro de Títeres Pa' Los Gurises, Espacio Agroecológico Escobas, Fundación Reforestar, CeProFa, Medicina Serrana, Nodo Agroecológico Tinqu, CoPaTe Comunicación, Red de Brigadas and Vecinxs Autoconvocados (self-organized neighbors).

Logo of the UMBRAL Project network of organizations

Movimiento Popular La Dignidad

A social and political organization that builds grassroots community power, promoting popular education and fighting exclusion. Its work includes cultural workshops, meeting basic needs through community kitchens and after-school snack programs, and promoting health and gender equality.

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It has also helped create educational spaces such as the Popular High Schools (Bachilleratos Populares), which aim to build an education for action and social transformation. In the City of Buenos Aires, the Movement has developed political and educational practices that strengthen people’s power.

Omar Grillo · IG @ladignidadcapilladelmonte · FB La Dignidad Capilla del Monte

Almacén del Buen Vivir

The marketing arm of Movimiento Popular La Dignidad and part of the popular and solidarity economy network in the Punilla Valley. It connects family farmers directly with consumers, promoting agroecological food grown without agrochemicals under fair-trade principles.

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Through its ties with the Frente Rural and the Taku Worker Cooperative, the store offers flours, cheeses, jams, preserves and baked goods, all from sustainable, self-managed practices. It also takes an active part in community fairs, workshops and cultural events that strengthen food sovereignty and cooperative work.

Alina · FB Almacén del Buen Vivir Capilla del Monte

Plurinational Feminist and Dissident Movement

A grassroots organization that, since 2017, has led collective action in defense of the rights of women, LGBTQ+ people and marginalized communities. It works with other groups along the Route 38 corridor to build support networks, expose structural violence and promote safe spaces.

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Its approach is based on intersectional feminism, recognizing differences between identities and striving for unity in diversity. The movement has played a leading role in mobilizations such as 8M (International Women’s Day), ethical trials against patriarchal justice, and cultural activities that denounce austerity and institutional cruelty.

Liliana Martín · +54 9 3548 63-5413 · IG @movimientoplurinacionalcapilla

Fundación Reforestar

A non-profit organization that, since 2017, has worked with rural communities in north-western Córdoba to conserve, restore and sustainably manage native forest, with a focus on gender and environmental justice, across more than 6,300 hectares.

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Through agreements with the National University of Córdoba, they carry out forest inventories, biodiversity studies, native seed production and land-use planning proposals. They are driving the creation of the first Forestry Production, Technology and Research Hub in central Argentina: a triple-impact social enterprise that aims to produce one million native trees a year, train forest brigades and create more than one hundred jobs, primarily for rural women.

Celeste Bigliani · +54 9 351 530-0791 · YouTube @FundacionReforestar

CeProFa · Family Protection Center

Provides social support for people facing family, gender-based and child violence. In a context of overwhelming complaints and little institutional response, the center offers a place to be heard and guided for those who find no answers from official agencies.

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Beyond direct assistance, it runs training initiatives that empower women, such as the Creative Writing Workshop, designed as a tool for expression and violence prevention. With almost two decades of grassroots work, it has built strong ties with key institutions.

03548 40-2262 · [email protected]

“Pa' los Gurises” Puppet Theater

An artistic project with more than four decades of history, founded in Concordia, Entre Ríos, in 1984 and based in Capilla del Monte since 1992. Created by Carlos Danza and Patricia “Pachi” Franco, it produces original shows that combine puppets, theater and popular storytelling.

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They bring back legends, tales and characters from Argentine folklore with a playful, thoughtful approach for all ages. They have toured the country taking their shows to schools, neighborhood centers, independent venues and festivals, and they run workshops that promote puppetry as an educational and expressive tool.

Carlos · +54 9 3548 58-0334 · FB Títeres Pa los Gurises

Other organizations

  • Huerta Comunitaria Águila BlancaCommunity garden · Isis +54 9 3548 40-7566
  • Red de NodosNetwork of community organizations · Quiya
  • Medicina SerranaMother tinctures, floral waters and other herbal remedies · Alina
  • Red de Brigadas ComunitariasCommunity work brigades · Isis +54 9 3548 40-7566
  • CoPaTe ComunicaciónCommunity communications team
Testimonials

Voices from the community

Thanks to the Escobas Project, my family now has access to fresh, healthy food that we help grow ourselves. We’ve also learned sustainable farming techniques.

M
María42 · Escobas Project

ECOS gave me the chance to learn basic carpentry. Now I can do repairs at home, and I’m thinking about starting a small rustic furniture business.

J
Juan28 · ECOS

As a small producer, the Almacén del Buen Vivir has let me reach more customers without having to sell at unfair prices. It’s a model that truly works for everyone.

R
Roberto50 · Almacén del Buen Vivir
How we organized · 2025

Building the path together

UMBRAL didn’t come out of nowhere: it is the result of a process of organizing and coordination that began with the first joint meeting called by Movimiento Popular La Dignidad in Capilla del Monte.

  1. First meeting

    At 3 p.m., representatives of 12 organizations met with the shared goal of creating a comprehensive community center. There was unanimous agreement to move forward with buying the property, and a first circle of trust was formed to lead the project. It was agreed to seek an agreement with the Bernardo Houssay Institute (Digital Marketing program) and to reach out to companies such as Giardino.

  2. Fundraising strategies

    “El Gallego” joined, bringing communications and digital marketing experience. Fundraising strategies were defined and a raffle with prizes donated by the organizations was agreed.

  3. Materials and website

    Micael Lopez from Giardino was contacted for professional support with the campaign, presentation materials were proposed, and a 15-day deadline was set to launch the website.

  4. Raffle and community stew

    Amaru joined to edit videos. The raffle moved forward (300 tickets at ARS 2,000 each or 3 for ARS 5,000), with the draw scheduled for Saturday, August 30, alongside a community stew (olla popular).

At the first meeting

  • Plurinational Feminist and Dissident Movement
  • Fundación Reforestar
  • La Falda Family Protection Center
  • Red de Nodos
  • El Faldeo Neighborhood Node
  • Cooperativa Taku
  • Escobas Agroecology Project
  • Huerta Comunitaria Águila Blanca
  • Pa' los Gurises Puppet Group
  • Almacén del Buen Vivir
  • Movimiento Popular La Dignidad

Fundraising strategies

  • Community raffle: 300 tickets and 14 prizes donated by the organizations
  • Workshops: bokashi composting, building, puppets for spring
  • Space rental: the back hall for a dance school
  • Credicoop Fund: a non-repayable grant to strengthen spaces
  • Monthly events: to spread the word and raise funds

“What a great meeting! There’s a real spirit of working together.” When organizations come together around a common goal, they can achieve real change in their communities.

Join us

Join our cause

Your contribution helps real people in real situations. No empty promises. Real results.

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