Eskalera Karakola

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Eskalera Karakola (EKKA) is a feminist, self-managed social centre in Madrid, located at Calle de Embajadores 52. It grew out of a women-only occupation that began in 1996 after women squatted a former bakery at Calle Embajadores 40 in the Lavapiés district. The project was formalized in 2005 when the group moved to the new building at Embajadores 52; the Embajadores 40 bakery was evicted and later demolished.

EKKA works on autogestión (self-management) and focuses on issues like domestic violence and the precarity of women under post-industrial capitalism. In 2002 it created the Female Workers’ Laboratory, and since 1998 has carried out anti-racist work with immigrant women.

The centre has been active in broader movements, taking part in LGBT Pride and the Women and Architecture forum, and joining alter-globalization events such as the European Social Forum. It is part of the European nextGENDERation network and publishes a review called Mujeres Preokupando. The Precarias a la Deriva research collective also formed from discussions at EKKA. During the COVID-19 pandemic, activities moved online.

Website: eskalerakarakola.org