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Weaving networks, bodies and economy: what we have achieved with the international projection of Metzineres merchandising

A few months ago, we embarked on an ambitious journey: we not only wanted to raise awareness of Metzineres’ values beyond our neighbourhood of Raval, but also to find sustainable sources of income that would allow us to continue supporting this community project over time, based on our own bodies, stories and resistance.

Metzineres was created to provide safe environments for women who use drugs and survive multiple forms of violence, helping them to regain confidence and collective support. With this reality, maintaining the tools that allow us to continue accompanying, caring for and weaving networks has always been a political and practical priority.

The project we are sharing today has not been a one-off task, but a collective construction that has involved reflection, listening, diagnosis and the implementation of processes that, until now, were not defined or systematised.

What have we achieved?

First, we have built a clear merchandising distribution strategy, focusing on the coherence between our feminist, community and anti-stigma values and economic operations. Because it is not about ‘selling for the sake of selling’, but about thinking about how to generate income without losing our voice or our purpose.

This plan did not come out of nowhere: it was developed from our internal discussions, from recognising our operational capacity, from knowing what we expect from the project and what we are not willing to do.

Gaining financial autonomy without losing sight of our goals

One of the clearest commitments of this project has been to break away from the idea of almost total dependence on subsidies or external support, and to move towards forms of income that arise from our relationships, our stories and our community aesthetic.

Merchandising—when well thought out—is not just an object to sell: it is a narrative tool. Every T-shirt, every tote bag, every product linked to Metzineres carries with it a story of resilience, of dialogue with stigma, of desire for social transformation. The fact that these objects are distributed, sold and enjoyed in broader contexts is also a way of making the invisible visible, of highlighting what is often left out of statistics and public policies.

At the same time, it allows us to begin to weave economic and symbolic networks beyond the Raval, connecting with collectives, shops and spaces that share our vision for change.

Beyond the numbers

Although part of the systematisation of this project requires us to account for sales, analyse channels and measure results, what really matters to us cannot be reduced to figures. What matters to us is that:

• the value of our collective work is recognised,
• the collective strength of people who, from the margins, generate their own transformative economic proposals is made visible,
• and that these proposals reinforce our practices of care, sisterhood and resistance.

This project has also taught us that the economy can be feminist and transformative when it is not only at the service of profit, but also at the service of life projects.

We continue to move forward, learning and expanding. Every time we see a product leave our hands and reach other hands, we feel that this gesture is an act of political visibility and emotional sustainability.

With the support of

The Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE), funded by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of the Spanish state, are strategic initiatives aimed at transforming the economy across different key areas. One of these lines focuses on the social economy and care, seeking to strengthen and consolidate alliances among research centers, organizations, cooperatives, and entities across the country that work within the social economy and the care sector. The Innova Cuidados group—made up of the cooperatives Mujeres Pa’ Lante and Metzineres (located in Barcelona) and La Comala (located in Madrid)—received support from this PERTE from February 2024 to September 2025, enabling them to strengthen their capacities, weave alliances, and generate practical tools to improve care, enhance management within each cooperative, and reinforce inter-cooperation efforts.

At Metzineres, this has resulted in significant institutional strengthening. This process allowed us to develop key tools to consolidate our organization: the Metziverse and the 5-year Strategic Plan, the pilot Plan for Internal and External Training, Human Resources Policies, the draft of the Equality Plan, and the Volunteer Plan. In this way, we move towards a more solid, well-cared-for, and sustainable cooperative. In terms of technological innovation, we have reinforced processes related to internal ICT infrastructure as well as the Metzintranet project (our own internal database). The outcome in terms of transformation, modernization, and innovation is highly satisfactory, rooted in the use of free/libre software tools, locally based technological services, and a shared techno-ethical awareness.

La Comala, in turn, also concludes this process strengthened. The support from PERTE helped clearly define its structure, governance, and organizational communication. It also enabled the development of the second viability plan, which supports economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Digital tools have strengthened the administrative management system. Training in ICT, life skills, professional certification, and occupational risk prevention, among others, has contributed to team consolidation and personal and cooperative growth. It has also strengthened key alliances within the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE). We have progressed greatly, and still have work ahead to fully consolidate what has been achieved.

For the Mujeres Pa’lante Cooperative, this grant provided the momentum needed to reach the next level and continue growing: expanding the workforce, opening a new business line, and creating more employment. It also enabled the updating of equipment and tools, the renewal of the organization’s website, and the strengthening of the communications area. In the words of one of its members, “today we are a stronger, more visible brand with greater impact in a highly feminized sector.”

As a collective conclusion, we can say that the 2024–2025 PERTE has contributed to a qualitative leap for the Innova Cuidados grouping, made up of the cooperatives Mujeres Pa’ Lante, La Comala, and Metzineres. Overall results show that we strengthened our internal processes and management. At the same time, we improved equipment, services, and staffing to take better care of one another. We innovated by creating or enhancing new business lines and digital tools adapted to our realities. We conducted assessments that allow us to move towards more agile and resilient cooperatives. We promoted awareness-raising and advocacy efforts by organizing the national conference on a new model of care, held in Barcelona in June of this year and titled “Caring in Community,” which brought together sector-based organizations from different parts of the Spanish state.

In the face of current global challenges and adversities, this shared journey demonstrates the power of cooperation and the Social and Solidarity Economy. We continue to weave alliances to transform care from a community-based perspective.

The Harm Reduction International Conference 2025 “Sowing change for harvesting justice” held in Bogotá, Colombia became a vibrant space of political articulation, situated knowledge, and collective action. This year, Metzineres wasn’t just present — it disrupted, questioned, and reimagined the global paradigm of harm reduction.

From the very first day, our participation was powerful. Silvie Ojeda, our Director of Communications and Advocacy, brought the critical voice of oppressed communities in colonized territories to the opening plenary:   where Silvie shared the space with Sam Rivera as chair, Alí Bantú Ashanti from Colectivo Justicia Racial, Colombia, Kojo Koram from Birkbeck College, University of London, UK and Kokila Annamalai from  Transformative Justice Collective, Singapore. From the stage, she denounced how colonial structures uphold the war on drugs — a war that, through militarization, harms, excludes, and kills innocent lives with a disproportionate impact on racialized, impoverished people, women, and gender-expansive communities. Her intervention shook the audience and challenged them to rethink which bodies are considered worthy of public policy and which remain criminalized.

That same day, founding director Aura Roig spoke in a parallel session organized by UNODC, focusing on good practices that tackle gender-based violence against women and gender-expansive people who use drugs. With clarity and strength, she highlighted how institutional responses often reproduce more harm than care, asserting that harm reduction must also be a feminist tool against machista violence. On Tuesday, Aura spoke again in a central panel on gender perspectives in harm reduction, alongside international peers like Judy Chang and Wangari Kimemia. She positioned Metzineres’ intersectional, community-based approach as a disruptive alternative to dominant biomedical models — one where care is political, collective, and liberating.

Meanwhile, Silvie Ojeda participated in a special radio broadcast of “Dosis Mínima” hosted by Colombian media outlet Mutante, where she emphasized that beyond substances, it is exclusion and poverty that generate discrimination. Minutes later, she joined “Mujeres Psicoactivas,” led by RIA Institute of Mexico, where she explored how drug policies disproportionately impact women and gender-expansive people. In these spaces, communication became a radical act — where lived experiences and collective reflections echoed truths rarely given a microphone.

In the afternoon, Metzineres took part in two critical events. At a dialogue organized by the Government of Colombia and chaired by Alexander Rivera from the minister of Justice, called Broad-spectrum harm reduction: what is it, how does it take shape, and what challenges does it pose?” This space was key in strengthening the social approach of the Drug Policy, integrating social determinants, a gender perspective, intersectionality, and inclusion strategies. We exchanged experiences that helped consolidate a policy based on care, inclusion, and the reduction of vulnerabilities. We reunited with long-time friends like Liz Evans, Inés Elvira Mejía, and Sarah Evans, Ester Aranda and Jamel Lazic. Together, we shared a rights-based vision shaped by lived experience and local knowledge, stating that Harm reduction isn’t just about drugs—it’s about housing, racial justice, economic justice, and more. The limitations of viewing harm reduction as isolated strategies were also emphasized, especially considering that Colombia has a rich history of community work and centering people. In this sense, they will incorporate lessons learned from Europe, without repeating the same mistakes

Later, Aura chaired the session on drug consumption rooms where experiences from different territories shared insights for building advocacy strategies, alliances, and sustainable models that place users at the center of decision-making.

On Wednesday, Metzineres continued to bring strong presence. At a session hosted by IPPF and AWID on feminist approaches to sexual and reproductive health and rights, Silvie spoke about how our community weaves together desire, pleasure, harm reduction, and bodily sovereignty. She also presented data on the disproportionate impact of the war on drugs on women, girls, and gender-diverse people. Finally, in a session on the criminalization and police violence against Black women, Silvie firmly denounced the systemic violence endured by our sisters and called for radical, active, and committed solidarity with dignified life.

What Metzineres brought to HR25 wasn’t just participation — it was transformation. They challenged audiences to be braver. They demanded that harm reduction truly mean inclusion. They reminded the world that care is political — and that those most criminalized are also those most equipped to lead. In Bogotá, Metzineres didn’t ask for a seat at the table. They built a new one — and invited us all to sit, listen, and act.

At the Harm Reduction International Conference 2025, it was deeply affirming to see all major awards go to women whose tireless work has not only advanced the global harm reduction movement but has also directly nurtured and mentored Metzineres. Inés Elvira Mejía Motta’s unwavering dedication to building inclusive drug policy in Latin America has been a guiding force for our own advocacy, offering both strategic support and heartfelt encouragement over the years. Judy Chang’s fearless leadership in centering the voices of people who use drugs has inspired us to remain unapologetically bold in our demands for dignity and rights. Liz Evans, a pioneer in compassionate care, has shown us what it means to build with integrity, compassion, and long-term vision—reminding us always to place people at the center. And Sue Purchase, with her grassroots power and commitment to sisterhood through Harm Reduction Sisters, has shown us the strength of collective care and the transformative potential of feminist harm reduction in action. These awards are more than recognition—they are a tribute to the women who have lifted us up, walked beside us, and reminded us that another world is not only possible, but already in motion.

We invite you to view photos and videos from this inspiring journey.