In contrast to institutional promises, three initiatives demonstrate how to care for the earth, manage urban consumption, and promote free access to information

The greatest success of climate diplomacy has been convincing us that the future of the planet depends on what two hundred people sign in an air-conditioned room. International meetings follow one after another with a script we already know by heart: agreements without a binding timeline, goals worded so as not to offend anyone, and a chasm between the technical language of the offices and the physical reality on the ground. People talk about ecological transition at solemn conferences, but decisions fizzle out as soon as it comes time to shoulder political costs or transform actual structures. Political paralysis has long ceased to be an accident; it is the insistence on managing the ecological crisis as if it were a mere accounting discrepancy.

Faced with this impasse, philosopher and biologist Donna Haraway issued a crucial warning in her essay Staying with the Problem. Haraway points out how we tend to get caught between two twin traps that are equally comfortable and useless: on the one hand, blind faith in providential technological solutions that will come to save us without requiring any change on our part; on the other, the resigned cynicism of those who consider the battle lost and take refuge in the notion that there’s nothing left to do.

That’s why, on October 24, International Day Against Climate Change, we shifted our focus. In the face of institutional promises that are decades away from being fulfilled, we turned our attention to the people who are already organizing real solutions from the grassroots level thanks to crowdfunding on Goteo: projects that demonstrate that cooling the planet isn’t about drafting manifestos, but about digging ditches to return water to the earth, democratizing the food that reaches our tables, and supporting the independent journalism that allows us to understand where we stand. Will you join us in glimpsing a little light amid so much darkness?

On land: dig ditches so the water doesn't run off

Learning to be present, as Haraway urges, begins with looking at the ground beneath our feet. In the Algars River region, between Catalonia and Aragon, Vall Rovira and Caseres cope daily with the demands of a semi-arid Mediterranean climate. In this corner of the world, adapting to drought has not been an abstract slogan, but rather a practical decision by the Boodaville Association to transform eight hectares of vineyards, forest, and almond groves through agroforestry.

Through the Rovira Regenerativa campaign, funded on Goteo in June 2026, the main goal was to collectively secure the land and implement a hydrological design. Four months later, excavators have already dug the first trenches on the hillside to slow runoff and allow water to infiltrate the subsoil, with plans to continue the work this winter. At the same time, the bottles of natural wine they produce have become their main social tool: a reason to get together with farmers and neighbors in the region to discuss how to restore the land’s fertility.

In the city: paying the price of food sovereignty

Caring for the land and retaining water at the source only makes sense if food reaches our tables without intermediaries who speculate on prices or squeeze out those who produce it. The other front in the climate crisis is being fought on the streets, where we decide which consumption model we support each week.

In Barcelona, Foodcoop BCN began as a cooperative and participatory supermarket to demonstrate that a different kind of relationship between consumers, small-scale producers, and the local community is viable. However, sustaining a commercial alternative in a hostile environment comes at a real cost. In 2024, the cooperative faced a critical financial crisis that threatened its survival.

The response from those around him was not resignation, but mutual support. The Goteo campaign helped cover basic, urgent operational expenses—such as paying salaries and utility bills—during critical months, and made it possible to launch their online store. Thanks to this online channel, members with limited mobility or who live far from the store can make their weekly agroecological purchases. Today, the daily involvement of hundreds of members demonstrates that the urban ecological transition requires sustaining physical infrastructure capable of covering payroll and utility costs to keep the doors open for responsible consumption.

In the story: pointing out those responsible without asking permission

No alternative—whether on the ground or in neighborhoods—can take root if public debate continues to be dominated by corporate greenwashing or defeatist reporting. Defending the climate also means supporting journalism that owes no favors to anyone.

In 2024, the news cooperative Climática called Goteo to safeguard its editorial independence. Financial support from its community made it possible to fund far-reaching, cross-border investigations without the threat of losing advertisers: from exposing The Metals Company’s plans for undersea mining in international waters to monitoring the impact of rare earth mining in the Arctic in collaboration with the ODG, or documenting how the shipping industry cleans the air while poisoning the Mediterranean with scrubbers.

But just as crucial as holding those responsible for the plundering accountable is highlighting alternatives. That same community spirit enabled them to organize an edition of La Uni Climática in 2025 entirely dedicated to solutions, laying the groundwork for a permanent section that demonstrates that the ecological crisis is not fought with resignation, but with rigorous proposals put on the table.

Rovira Regenerativa, Foodcoop BCN, and Climática have something else in common: they launched their projects on Goteo, secured funding from their own community, and today they are real solutions—not just promises. If what you’ve read inspires you, the path is the same one they’ve already taken: contribute to an active campaign or launch your own.

And if you’re interested in exploring how creativity, care, and participation can expand our capacity to make decisions together, you can read the editorial from the latest issue of the Platoniq Journal right here. Subscribe to our newsletter to continue sharing questions, insights, and ideas that will help us build a democracy more closely connected to our lives.