About Us

The neighbourhood union Kalk Solidarisch is a grassroots democratic organisation that focuses on solidarity, community and independence.

Our goal is to build structures of mutual aid that are supported by the people in the neighbourhood. We recognise that the problems people face are often deeply rooted in social structures and therefore need to be addressed collectively. We fight both for concrete improvements in our living conditions and for a fundamentally different society. In the neighborhood union, we fight against poor working and living conditions, stress with the job center, racism, and other problems. As a first step, we offer our members advice on legal issues. If that's not enough, we take to the streets together. Our principle here is touch one – touch all.

Who we are

Grassroots democracy: The Kalk Solidarity Neighborhood Union is a grassroots democratic organization. This means that we make our decisions through joint consultation. We have no bosses; the union belongs to its active members.

Solidarity & social: Our strength lies in mutual solidarity, which means that we are there for each other when problems arise and we care about each other.

From the neighborhood: We are people from different backgrounds in and around Kalk.

We look at the big picture: We are not social workers. We see structural causes in people's individual problems. Our aim is to understand and tackle problems as common issues, not to solve a single problem as quickly as possible. We want to create structures of mutual help and support that are supported by people in the neighborhood.

Free & independent: Our union is independent of government institutions, political parties, companies, NGOs, workplace unions, and religious institutions. This independence allows us to shape our goals, actions, and ways of thinking in a self-determined manner.

For Respect & Against Discrimination: We are committed to respectful coexistence, regardless of age, sexual orientation, gender, origin, or religion. We oppose all forms of discrimination. We assume that all forms of discrimination and prejudice—often

For respect & against discrimination: We are committed to respectful coexistence, regardless of age, sexual orientation, gender, origin, or religion. We oppose all forms of discrimination. We assume that all forms of discrimination and prejudice—often unconscious—are widespread in society. We are not immune to this either. Only by working together and showing solidarity can we overcome these attitudes. 


What we do

We fight collectively for our common demands as well as the concerns of individuals. Our strength lies in joint organization and mutual solidarity. This means that if a member of the neighborhood union experiences exploitation or oppression, we all help and fight together. By organizing together, we are stronger and can better enforce our demands on landlords, authorities, companies, etc.

We want to build structures outside the state that really help us. We question the prevailing politics because they often only serve the interests of a few and continue to burden those who already have less with cuts and restrictions.

By acquiring and sharing knowledge, we learn about struggles and organizing elsewhere and at other times in history.

We get involved and actively contribute to a just and resistant neighborhood culture.

Together with other neighborhood unions and groups in Cologne, other cities, and other countries, we pursue the goal of building an organized social movement from below.

We don't have an answer to every question, but we have many questions about every problem. We move forward by asking questions, as the Zapatistas say.