Centro de Apoyo Mutuo La Olla Común
La Olla Común is a community based Mutual Support Center in the urban center of Rio Piedras that born as a collective response to the government’s abandonment and the hoarding supplies and food after the passage of Hurricane María. Since October 4th, just 14 days after Maria, La Olla Común has been serving breakfast and meeting other community needs. However, the project has grown from being a response to Maria into a grassroots project directed at community empowerment with the firm belief that all people have the right to a dignified life. It proposes the rescue and rehabilitation of adjacent abandoned buildings as a way to produce more base projects and as a true form of grassroots urban development.
They also organize study groups with volunteers and community members to develop reading projects focused on social justice and community empowerment and autonomy. This, as well as workshops, health fairs, recreational activities and other community services. Most recently they’ve begun work to start a vegetable garden in the nearby streets to start producing their own sustain and to encourage urban agriculture and food sovereignty.
Currently La Olla serves breakfasts from Mondays thru Thursdays to approximately 85 people daily.