Otra Economía

Informal work from the point of view of formality: Popular economy from the perspective off the reproduction of the workforce

Rodrigo Javier Agostino — 2016-09-12

In this paper, we try to address the issue of “informal work” from a perspective that understands it as a form of reproduction of the labor force outside of capitalism. From this perspective, we criticize the view that defines it as opposed to what is considered “formal work” and emphasize the reproductive reality held by the so-called “informal sector”.

Keywords: informality, popular economy, social economy, labor force.

Social and solidarity economy: Educational experiences based on cooperation and their contradictions

Paulo Alfredo Schönardie — 2016-09-08

The main theme of this study focuses on educational processes inherent to experiences of social and solidarity economy. The reflection emerges from the hypothesis that the social and solidarity economy constitutes, in the cooperation among individuals and collectives, privileged spaces of education. The processes of education and cooperation and social and solidarity economy, however, are not free from contradictions. In order to understand what we purpose, we first present the social situation from which the social and solidarity economy is derived. Later some experiences are described resulting from joint efforts made by collectors of recyclable materials. Based concrete experiences it was possible to reflect on the relationship between education and cooperation so that, at the end, we were able to approach the theme more critically, noticing limits, problems, possibilities, potentialities, contradictions and questionings. Methodologically the educational and work experiences of the researchers are important and represent the basis of participant observation. From this study we can say that individuals and collectives, when participating in solidarity- collective experiences, experience education through praxis, that is, the participants re-educate themselves in the role of protagonists, making the social and solidarity economy transcend the immediate borders.

Keywords: social economy, solidarity economy, education, cooperation, recyclable materials collectors.

The conceptions of welfare and the consumption. A literature review based on the civil economy and social sciences

Juan F. Mejia-Giraldo — 2016-09-08

The welfare model proposed from modernity is based on a positivist rationality of material accumulation and adaptation of the world according to standards of efficiency and anthropocentric hedonism. For that reason, in order to propose other forms of more sustainable consumption it is necessary to establish new parameters of wellness on the basis of what has been called lifestyles, a situation that from the capitalist logic of total good does not seem possible and, therefore, requires a thoughtful, much more active position of the consumer-citizens. In this sense, this paper discusses, from an interdisciplinary literature review based on the paradigm of civil economy, the impact of the conceptions of welfare as a determining factor in the consumption process, on the basis of the economic principle of reciprocity.

Keywords: welfare, consumption, happiness, civilization, freedom, reciprocity.

Cooperation as a boost for innovation in tourism in the Grape and Wine Region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Julice Salvagni — 2016-09-27

This literature review is aimed at understanding the process of the establishment of the Grape and Wine region in order to analyze potential associative actions that can generate innovation. Handcrafted wine has suffered with competition and has led small farmers to compete against private capital, which has boosted the creation of several production, consumer and credit cooperatives. This work is a development framework for the innovation of tourism projects that take place in this region. Innovation processes are enriched by collaborative development, socialization and the use of expertise. Thus, such local changes may influence economic dynamism and improve the quality of life of the population in small territorial units. The adequacy to the land matrix of the region, which is grounded in the need for adding value to cooperative production, can be perceived in the innovation represented by the establishment of wine production and by the co-existence of cooperatives and associations, both public and private. Local development can consistently and cyclically exploit potentials and contribute to widening social opportunities, in addition to increasing viability and competiveness in the local economy. The perspective of rural tourism has become a viable alternative as it has combined tourism demand with the need for economical alternative for the producers.

Keywords: innovation, tourism, cooperation.

Institutional support for the incubation of Economic Solidarity Enterprises: Methodological proposal based on the IFSC experience

Claudia Hickenbick — 2016-09-12

This paper presents research results from an incubation experience on the Florianópolis-Continente Campus of the Federal Institute of Santa Catarina (IFSC), carried out between 2010 and 2013, and a brief history of incubation in the institution. The experience was examined in the light of methodological processes of Technological Incubators of Popular Cooperatives (ITCPs) of the South and Southeast of Brazil. The results point to the need for a methodological redefinition of institutional support to Solidarity Economy Enterprises (ESS) at IFSC. Based on the unsustainable situation of the EES at the stage of post-incubation, it proposes an alternative to the incubation processes, to ensure a systematic training and advice through a pedagogical project for a theoretical and practical course.

Keywords: associated work, solidarity economy, incubation.

Rural Chiapanecan women and social relations in production: Towards a solidarity economy?

María Teresa Ramos Maza — 2016-09-16

This paper analyses shifts in social relations taking place among groups of working women in Chiapas, México. Heterogeneity and difference is identified here as a peculiar feature that characterises much of the female condition in the context of social interactions in the production and trading of alimentary products in the area. The paper argues that in these sort of relationships there are many recognisable “poverty paradoxes” wherein independent female producers combine in their set of trading practices different and sometimes contradictory forms of commerce. Traditional cooperative forms of labour – rural family based exchange –are sometimes articulated with other dominant logics of the capitalist market. Thus this sort of practices generates peculiar forms of social differentiation and stratification for working women which in the midst of individual rivalry and competition also hinder cooperative forms of collective organization that could represent the achievement of common goals with better profits.

Keywords: working women, relationships, traditional cooperative, female condition.

Cooperativism and Solidarity Economy: The constitution of a Cooperative of Solid Waste Collectors in São Joaquim (Brazil)

Inea Giovana Silva-Arioli — 2016-08-18

This article aims at analyzing perceptions of people involved in developing a cooperative of solid waste collectors in São Joaquim, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. This research was conducted by members of the Technological Incubator of Popular Cooperatives at Universidade do Planalto Catarinense (ITCP/Uniplac), a permanent extension program whose mission is to incubate and provide technical support to existing solidarity economy enterprises in the Plateau region of Santa Catarina. This qualitative research is a field research in which the data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with three collectors and three supporting partners: a local government representative and two partners operating at the Intermunicipal Consortium Santa Catarina da Serra (CISAMA), a public enterprise. The achieved results indicate relevant elements such as the key role of government and the legal basis for the constitution of the cooperative; the difficult context of the collectors and the difficulties underlying the formation of the cooperative; the importance of support organizations in this process and the understanding of the cooperative as a democratic collective work.

Keywords: cooperative, collectors of solid waste, Solidarity Economy.

Towards the collectivization of care. La Mainada, an experience of shared parenting

Alejandra Araiza Díaz — 2016-09-12

This article analyzes a very specific component of reproductive work that has to do with care. Specifically, the upbringing and education of children between 1 and 6 years of age. In the current scenario, the solutions often proposed to the players involved have to do with the role of the Market or the State in order to delegate to them the responsibility for the care and education of our children. Instead, experiences such as La Mainada – an organization of social participation and the case of study that we present here – point to selfmanagement and to sharing responsibilities for a collectivization of care.

Keywords: care, common good, cooperatives, feminist economy.

Community enterprises for solidarity, education and Buen Vivir: A case study in Mexico

Michela Giovannini — 2016-08-19

The contribution of solidarity economy organizations in supporting development has been recognized in several contexts. In particular, the role of community enterprises in promoting alternative approaches to development has been acknowledged in different settings, including indigenous settings. Following an ethnographic approach, this article analyzes the case of a rural community characterized by a strong indigenous component in the Mexican state of Querétaro. The study focuses on a community enterprise and other related solidarity economy projects in the area. More specifically, the aim of the study is to analyze the role of these organizational arrangements in supporting a view of development coherent with Buen Vivir, an indigenous approach to community well-being. The results highlight the potential of community enterprises in sustaining alternatives to development and the fundamental role of education in supporting the recovery of local culture, which constitutes the basis upon which solidarity economy projects can be implemented.

Keywords: community enterprises, Mexico, Buen Vivir, solidarity economy, indigenous peoples.

Social currency: Possibilities and limits – reflections about the implementation of Ecobanco at a Fair of Solidarity Economy

Marilene Zazula Beatriz — 2016-09-14

The objective of this research is to analyze the possibilities and limits of the implementation of a social currency at a Solidarity Economy Fair. The research consisted of a case study and had the participation of the members of the Permanent Fair of Solidarity Economy – viz. the solidarity economy enterprises and supporting organizations – which takes place once a month in the city of Curitiba – Paraná. Data were collected through unsystematic observations during the period of the fair, using meetings records of the Ecobanco team and the fair evaluation meetings. The period of analysis was April 2011 to August 2012. For the treatment of the data descriptive and qualitative procedures were used. The article concludes that the social currency had a strong impact on the dynamics of the sales and marketing products at the fair and that there is a need to create strategies so that people understand the function of a community bank that to acts more broadly than just a the Fair of Solidarity Economy. Thus it was realized that the issues of the political and strategic debate about the implementation of a community bank has not acquired sufficient importance in the debate of the fair’s participants.

Keywords: solidarity economy, social currency, fair of solidarity economy.

Recovered factories and machines: Experiences of sociotechnical adaptation in Brazil and Argentina

Rafael de Brito Dias — 2016-09-22

In the contemporary world technology is usually considered as a crucial element of social relationships. It is also recognized by several authors as a political tool through which power relationships may be preserved or transformed. This study draws elements from this tradition and seeks to analyze some processes that are capable of changing the structure of the property of the means of production, as well as the results of these changes, in the context of the Solidarity Economy. Based on a review of the literature and on a set of interviews and visits (in 2014 and 2015) to two recovered factories (Flaskô in Brazil and CAFLA in Argentina) we sought to identify processes of technological modifications and management changes devised by workers, associated to strategies of “sociotechnical adaptation”. We observed the existence of several examples of technological redesign aimed at making production more adherent to the principles of self-management, cooperativism and solidarity economy. The research has shown that relevant experiments in terms of sociotechnical adaptation are being conducted in Latin America. It has also provided evidence that technological innovation may also find fertile ground to sprout in productive environments outside of the traditional ones, associated with standard capitalist firms.

Keywords: recovered factories, solidarity economy, sociotechnical adaptation.