Announcing Crowdlending: Bajesdorp Continues – Bad Weeds Grow Tall

This year’s first of October marks the ten-year anniversary of the banning and criminalization of squatting in the Netherlands. Just five years before the prohibition, a community of squatters started living and working in the abandoned houses of the former Bijlmer prison-guards.

Fast forward to now, the Bijlmerbajes has been demolished, along with the former prison guard homes of Bajesdorp. However, after years of relentless lobbying, it was settled that the Bajesdorp community would develop a new project on the former grounds of the Bijlmerbajes: Het Nieuwe Bajesdorp – a vertical village rising from the ashes. For the first time in our city’s history, a group of future residents and artists will realize a cooperative, sustainable, and lasting refuge for artists and activists, consisting of almost 20 work- and living spaces.

And here we are now: Bajesdorp is entering a new phase. The preliminary design of the building is finished, now we need to arrange the funds to continue. Next to a bank mortgage, the most important part of the finances will have to come from crowdlending. Crowdlending allows us to be communally crowdsourced, by you, by other like-minded collectives in the city or abroad, by friends and family members and individuals with smaller pockets who want to support the project.

We are eager to start our campaign in October, exactly ten years after squatting was banned! We are currently planning an information-tour of several evenings and events about our housing cooperation and on how you can support us. If you know a suitable venue, please let us know as we are still looking. Also, you’ll find us every Tuesday evening at our Voku at the Muiterij if you have any questions. We hope to meet you at one of these events.

If you are interested in supporting Bajesdorp, contact us via: financieel@bajesdorp.nl
Find more information on www.bajesdorp.nl.