Chusa González, current volunteer chief in one of the second hand shops of ‘Koopera’
Chusa González Villanueva grew up in Burgos. She is now 68 years old, she has three sons and lives in Algorta, Getxo. She is the person in charge of all the volunteers of the second hand clothes shop of ‘Koopera’ in Algorta. She has been involved in this project for 17 years, and she previously worked as a volunteer with elederly people, a project promoted by ‘Caritas’. Furthermore, she now gives, also as a volunteer, cooking classes. Last one, for example, was about pastries. Since a very few months, she is also the sixth vicarage’s counselor in ‘Caritas’, and she attends the board with the other vicarage’s counselors.
Chusa, what is ‘Koopera’?
‘Koopera’ is a cooperative without profit wills, created more than twenty years ago. This project is focused on the social reintegration of people with few resources. ‘Cáritas’ is part of its presidency, and helps on all the projects carried out by the cooperative. It has different programmes, in which we can include the second hand shops, ‘Reciplana’, a project that fights for social and laboral reintegration, and also ‘Repara’, which collects used electrodomestics and repairs them for people who can’t afford a new one, and many more.
It all started in Zamudio, but with the years, the cooperative has reached places all over Spain such as Valencia, Almería, Murcia or Ciudad Real.
And, how did this shop get started?
‘Koopera’ second hand shops were started in replacement of the wardrobe people. Some years ago, every person who wanted could give clothes to their nearest church. There, wardrobe people would organise all these clothes, and give them to the people in need. Suddenly, all this disappeared and I was asked to be in charge of the volunteers of a brand new project, a second hand shop. All this happened 17 years ago, and now, thank god, the project has grown, and is now formed by 17 volunteers.
Which process do clothes go through before reaching the shop?
All the products on sale are taken from the clothes containers located around towns. From them, clothes are sent to a factory in which they are selected. Everything that isn’t worth selling is used to make textile fibre in other factories, and used, for example, as stuff for car seats. The worthy clothes are selected, valued, and after being priced, they are sent to the shops. People must know that these garbs aren’t sterilized, as all the cleaning process is so expensive, and would make the prizes be much higher.
How long have you been involved in the project?
A little more than twenty years ago, my family started to be more independent. My sons went to university, and therefore, didn’t need their parents so much. I was free and I thought that I had to help whoever I could. That is why I started accompanying elderly people. It was a labour that completely fulfilled my expectations. Seventeen years ago, when this store was created, I was asked to stay in charge of it, and I soon accepted. Indeed, I like being part of all these projects, as I think they play a fantastic role in our society.
Why do you consider its role so important in our society?
Everyone can come to the shop. And in fact, they do. People who want clothes for a party, for their daily life, for a one time use… They can find it for a very low price. But they buy it, and furthermore, they choose it. Some years ago, when people in need asked for something to wardrobe people, they were given anything on
stock, no matter if they didn’t need it. No one likes to be given, and this way, families with less resources can feel part of the society, they don’t feel weird or special. I think that it’s a gorgeous social project, as, under my point of view, helps a lot of people in need, who have no resources or less than us, to be reintegrated in our society.
What kind of helps does Koopera give to its customers?
On the one hand, ‘Koopera’ works with ‘Acogida’, a project carried out by ‘Cáritas’. This consists of helping immigrants and people with no resources at all. They take a look at their licenses and more legal aspects, so that they can stay here. And, depending on their situation, they are given some coupons to take clothes from the shop. ‘Koopera’ each year keeps some money for this, so that people who have nothing at all can have some clothes for free. On the other hand, the shop gives to anyone who asks for it, a fidelity card, with which people receive a 5% discount on every product, and they even get a message on their phones informing them about the latest offers.
How is Coronavirus affecting the shop?
It has a huge impact, as we are having less volunteers now. Most of them are agedness people who are now scared because of the huge amount of people that get into the shop every single day. None of them wants to stop coming, but they are currently on ‘standby’. The volunteer we have now is a provisional one coming from another shop. Apart from this, Coronavirus has also forced us to reduce the shops’s capacity. There are lots of people who get in here, and they take no care of what they touch. However, we are respecting all the established measures as much as we can, and we are here, so that’s, for the moment, a victory.
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