The road to Coops Day: Ride and shine!

25 June 2020

Ride and shine! Meet “La Pájara”

This is a special article as a part of our annual celebrations for International Cooperatives Day #coopsday. 

In early 2018, a group of people began planning a new project with Coopcycle, an open-source cooperative platform that offers software solutions to connect customers, retailers, and bicycle riders. The use of which, is subject to a charter of principles integrating democracy at work, and a wage status that provides better social security coverage. This is how “La Pájara worker cooperative” was born.  

In October 2018, they began working on the first collaborative projects with clients. As promoters of a small-scale economy, working hand-in-hand with other companies and social cooperatives, they share their knowledge with various initiatives at the local, national, and international levels. 

Nowadays, La Pájara has more than 500 users in their app, and they collaborate closely with businesses who also promote sustainability practices. For example, they have associated with local vegan restaurants who promote a plant-based diet. 

They rely in ethical practices, and they are committed to reducing their carbon footprint by delivering exclusively by bicycle. Furthermore, they aim to have a high-quality customer service while still promoting responsible consumption.  

Their main areas of work are: 

• Food delivery 
• Last-mile delivery  
• A courier service designed to transport any type of product by bicycle: documents, catering, eco-market purchases, and small removals
• Technical advice on cycling logistics through courses and events 

In addition, La Pájara continues to fight against the integration platform model within national and international networks and associations. 

“We want to be the answer to an obvious problem. We must have a decent salary and working conditions compared to those of our colleagues who work for delivery companies” says member Martino Correggiari. 

In La Pájara, they go by the belief that a cyclist should have the same rights as any other worker: “Anyone who rides a bicycle has the right to make ends meet, has the right be absent from work due to an accident at work, and has the right to receive a decent wage”, they say. By having a sustainable alternative to the traditional delivery companies, they are disrupting the system the most positive way imaginable: with clean energy. 

And what are La Pájara’s next plans? To convince all of the bike couriers in Madrid to join their cooperative, of course. 

It should not take long for this young and vibrant cooperative to thrive, as they have all the pieces ready to help combat climate change, while growing in a sustainable way, one ride at a time.  

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Would you like to read more about sustainable mobility? Take a look at our latest edition of Work Together.

The International Day of Cooperatives is an annual celebration of the cooperative movement that takes place on the first Saturday of July since 1923 and it is recognized by the United Nations. The theme this year is the contribution of cooperatives to combating climate change.