Economy of solidarity - this a magic term that
seems to have a big potential for people who want to escape from poverty,
misery and dependence. Especially women. And women all over the world
are looking actively for better solutions both for themselves and for
their families. This came out of the workshop of the Penelopes, where
the International Network of Women for Solidarity-based Economy gathered.
The contexts are different but the solutions
are close
There were women from India, from South America, Africa and
Eastern Europe. All of them lived in different contexts
and had different problems, but all of them have
followed almost the same path to find the way of
escaping poverty. From food production for catering, to
big commands for events like the World Social Forum,
from small knitting and handicraft businesses, to
complex management of microcredit system. One of the
Indian women wisely said : "We don't need money. Money
cannot feed us and cannot cover us when we are cold. We
need to produce our own food and our own clothes, and if
we can make people buy our own products we will have
enough for us. We need to do what we can do best. But we
don't have the resources to make publicity like the big
multinationals".
About the importance of networks
But is it enough only to produce food and clothes ?
Obviously not. Women can do much more and they need the
experience of the others. This workshop showed how
innovative can be women and how solidarity can make
miracles. There was one warning as well : big
international companies are trying to make profit from
the savings of women. We need to be very attentive and
not to repeat the mistakes of others before us, but
learn from them.
Solidarity-based economy is not something that
has been invented yesterday. It has always been existing in different
forms but we need to fill it now with new experiences, and look how to
make it profitable - especially for women that urgently need livelihood
possibilities. Therefore, it is important to maintain the links and the
networks and to make the information flow.
