Initiative #4: Lokala (Urrugne, France)

On March 9th, when I arrived on the Basque coast, I went to discover the Lokala association. I was welcomed by Rachel, Elysabeth, Sandrine, Aline and Anne Sophie, 5 volunteers of the association. But what exactly is this place?

An associative third place, just like at home This is a colourful place, where what is called the Noyau Doux is made up of 14 people, 11 women and 3 men. This core is the association's board of directors, but the volunteer team is made up of a total of about thirty people. Today, Lokala has more than 550 members who are welcomed in its 100 m2 premises. A pretty garden with a vegetable patch is also available in fine weather.

Many things take place at Lokala! Among them, there are different workshops (well being, yoga, sophrology, percussions, caring education, singing...) but also conferences, events, concerts, karaoke nights, open stages, picnics... Some workshops take place every week, others are only available once a month.

For the evenings, Friday evenings are reserved for Zen Evenings. This can be a play, a comedy show, a reading of tales, a classical concert... A variety of content to suit all tastes! Saturday nights are more festive! Once a month, a Karaoke and a Jam session are organised. On the other two Saturdays, various concerts are programmed. The bar and tapas side is managed by the volunteers, hence the need to be numerous!

The place origines At the very beginning, this space was run by a private individual who wanted to cook there. He started to fit out the space, and as he was not allowed to cook inside, he did it outside and then served people inside. The experiment lasted a while, then the person passed the torch to Aline, who proposed to create an association to keep the place alive. Two memberships are possible: a yearly membership for 7€, or an evening membership for 2€. Rachel even told me that some people choose to pay an evening membership each time they come, in order to support the association financially! This place has a real social vocation, creating links and human development. The association is managed by wonderful people, motivated and involved in the associative life of the Basque country! This kind of place is totally in line with the ecological transition by creating an associative network of ideas and creativity. Thanks again for the welcome :)

Learn more about Lokala : https://lokala.assoconnect.com/page/1518340-presentation