"We are a women's cooperative dedicated to drone service and training. We specialize in advanced technologies and sustainable development projects," explains Tània Garnica, founder of the Somos Dron cooperative. Within the aerial drone services, the entity offers audiovisual services, agricultural services, technical inspections, emergencies, topographies and a long list of possibilities. "We do everything you can imagine, and we do it using drones. In fact, we could say that many of our services have not yet been invented," says Garnica. The Somos Dron cooperative operates in Catalonia and Spain and has instructors in the Balearic Islands, Galicia, the Valencian Community and Catalonia. "We specialize in international cooperation. We have supported the creation of a women's cooperative in Bolivia, 'Las aviadoras del futuro,' and we are now working on the creation of a drone training school in Mozambique," says Garnica.
In Cunit, in the Baix Penedès, the entity is developing a drone project applied to emergencies. "Since 2022, we have been collaborating with the Cunit City Council to apply the use of drones in maritime rescue and monitoring of the municipality's beaches," Garnica points out. "The collaboration arose after a complicated rescue, where an alert was given for a possible drowning and when the lifeguard arrived, two people were found. This situation, with a drone, would have been identified much earlier and could have been dimensioned much better. Fortunately, everything ended in a scare and the two people were able to be rescued," adds David Marquínez, councilor for New Technologies, Information and Transparency of the Cunit City Council . Since then, a technical team of more than fifteen people has been formed with professionals from the Cunit Local Police and professionals from the Environment, IT or Urban Planning departments of the Cunit City Council. This year, it is planned to expand the applications of these innovative technological resources and use the drones to carry out technical inspections of the municipality or supervise the cleaning of ravines or streams in the municipality.
"I think that when we talk about technology, it's not the what, but the why. The uses of technology can be as many as our imagination. Drones open up a range of possibilities for taking care of the municipality and this translates into a return to citizenship", reflects Marquínez. "Historically, the technological field has been very little open to women. From here, I encourage other girls to opt for technological disciplines. I think the field really lacks the love of women", comments Juliana Rodríguez, aeronautical engineer and student of the remotely piloted aircraft course at the Public Institute of Safety and Mobility of Barcelona Guineueta , who have done the practical sessions in the natural spaces of the municipality.