The solidarity economy is a worldwide movement to build a just and sustainable economy. It is an ecosystem made up of practices – some existing, some new and emerging – that are in line with the values of the solidarity economy.
Economics is a social construct, not a natural phenomenon, and is shaped by a process of interplay between various dynamics in culture, politics, history, ecosystems and technology.
The solidarity economy requires a shift in the economic paradigm from one that prioritises profit and growth to one that prioritises living in harmony with other human beings and with nature.
Principles
- Solidarity, cooperation, mutuality
- Equality in all dimensions (race, ethnicity, nation, class, gender, etc.)
- Participatory democracy
- Continuity
- Pluralism
The solidarity economy as a movement serves to help imaginary cells to be able to recognize each other as part of a common agenda to carry out economic metamorphosis.
These cells then come together to create an economic system that has its own coherence, including the set of organs needed to survive in terms of finance, production, distribution, investment, consumption and the state.
Growth Space for the Solidarity Economy
The space for the growth of the solidarity economy can be described as five elements that interact with each other by applying the principles of the solidarity economy. The five elements are:production/reproduction, consumption/users, finance/authorised capital, distribution/exchange, and governance/systems. Each element consists of many entities (cells) that have a common consciousness to develop a solidarity economy. A visual aid produced by the Center for Popular Economics may be viewed (prezi.com) below.
Activities
- Developing pilot projects with Circa Handmade and a network of business actors in Bandung
- Pioneering the development of the solidarity economy with women making and selling traditional herbal tonics (jamu) in Sragen
- Hosting and supporting solidarity economy discussions
- Mapping of solidarity economic actors
- Development of a connectedness model of solidarity economy for CSO sustainability.