On 10 August a magnitude 7.4 earthquake shook Cali and caused structural damage to Casa Sorora – a feminist space that has helped countless women build something more durable than concrete: agency, independence, and community.

Thankfully no one was hurt, but the structure is damaged. We need to raise £15,000 to make the building structurally safe again.

Casa Sorora isn't just bricks and a roof. It's where women have found the confidence to launch a business, the community to lean on when things are hard, and the safety to talk about the things that are hardest to say out loud. Help us rebuild the house, so Casa Sorora can keep building community.

Casa Sorora: https://www.instagram.com/casa.sorora?igsh=MWpma3JzZTlkb2I5Nw==

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More Than a House

Casa Sorora was founded by Melany Salas, a communicator, feminist, and proud Caleña who set out to change what economic and emotional independence could look like for women in her city.

The idea started as her Master's thesis. Living in Colombia, Melany saw how a deeply machista culture puts up barriers to women's emotional and economic independence.

So Melany built a house that answered both needs at once. In two years, that house has supported more than 350 women in Cali. From Casa Sorora, vulnerable women:

Receive training on how to grow a brand and a business, from the ground up,

Access affordable co-working space designed with them in mind,

Join a network of other women entrepreneurs who trade knowledge, referrals, and support,

Access a space and community to showcase and sell their products and services,

Access psychologist-led support circles, aimed at strengthening their understanding of healthy relationships and address emotional isolation.

Have a safe space to talk openly, build trust, and be supported, especially for women navigating unhealthy or abusive relationships.

Casa Sorora, in short, is a house built by women, for women, to help women support each other.

Then the Earthquake Hit

On 10 August, the ground shook, and Casa Sorora shook with it. Part of the ceiling came down. Cracks spread through the walls. An initial assessment has confirmed that the house is uninhabitable due to the damage sustained.

The damage has also left Melany without a home, the space she works from, and without the only income that supports her.

Your Donation

Engineers estimate that the reparation will cost up to £25,000, but we are aiming to raise £15,000 to make the house functional again. These donations will fund:

• Professional structural assessment and engineering

• Repairs to walls, ceilings, and other earthquake damage

• Structural reinforcement, to make the building safe and usable again

• Restoring the spaces where Casa Sorora's programmes for women take place

Whether you can give £10, £20, £50, or more, every donation brings Casa Sorora one step closer to reopening its doors.

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