Social centre 'Adelante', Sofia's leftist experiment

Adelante (meaning 'come in / forward / ahead' in Spanish). The entrance. 

Like many cities, Sofia has got its own alternative left-ish community. Some of it revolves around the social centre 'Adelante'.

Zapatista coffee, organic honey.

The centre, a social experiment itself, has been operating for nearly three years now. It aims to provide and enlighten the local community via initiatives such as free classes (IT, languages), lectures, things-and-clothes-swap (the centre's free market in one of the corners of the premises: bring what you don't need and pick what you find useful), as well as free internet.

Guerrilla detergents.

A small cafe/bar counter works at the premises - profits from it go towards paying the rent for the house (alternatively, you can donate some money to keep the centre running). There is also a mini shop selling goods made by independent, organic, radical, guerrilla, etc. producers.

The 'free shop'.

For example, here you can buy Zapatista coffee grown in the Chiapas region of Mexico by a co-operative of indigenous farmers. The profits would go directly to them, and that would be much fairer than buying the usual coffee packaged by the dominant corporations, as the centre's information material advises.

Among other goods are organic soaps and cleaning liquids produced by squatters of an abandoned detergent factory in Greece. The profits also are said to go directly to the manufacturers. Then, you can also find organic honey and creams from Bulgarian farms as well as several zines, booklets and books for sale.  

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A presentation at 'Adelante'.

To read about a presentation I have been to, click here for organic gardening and here for permaculture. 

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Social centre 'Adelante', Gurko 27, Sofia.
Website: http://www.sc-adelante.org/?p=708&lang=en.

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The staff at the centre claim that they do not want to be labeled ''left or right wing'' and that they are looking for their ''own alternatives based on equality, anti-hierarchy and anti consumerism''. [update, 3 November 2013].

Text and photos (c) Agne Drumelyte, 2013.