Solidarity Economies as Relational Practice to Build Worlds Beyond Capitalism

Lessons Learned from the Solidarity Economy Initiative 2014 – 2021

By Penn Loh, Michelle de Lima, and Erwin Li

“We want to change the mentality of people from individual to collective thinking and not only to keep it in the mind but also to transfer that to the heart in order to know how to act accordingly.” – Catalina Rojas, formerly of the Center for Cooperative Development and Solidarity

The work of solidarity economies (SE) has taken many forms: cooperatives, community-controlled finance, community land trusts, democratic workplaces, mutual aid organizations, and more. As detailed in report The Solidarity Economy Initiative 2014-2021: Stories and Reflections on Building Spaces of Solidarity, grassroots groups in Boston area communities of color have been trying to build an SE ecosystem for the last decade. [Download the full report here]

But in trying to incubate and develop SE projects, we have learned that transformative change requires more than just successful co-ops and economic projects. After all, these vehicles are just the means for different ways of being that embody solidarity principles like cooperation, reciprocity, and interdependence. We know that this work also means intentionally changing ourselves in how we show up and tend to our day-to-day relationships.

Since 2014, the Solidarity Economy Initiative (SEI) has convened a space for grassroots organizers from 11 groups building power in working-class communities of color. Founded within the Center for Democracy, SEI had its first phase from 2015-2018. During this period, a cohort of grassroots leaders learned and experimented with movement strategies that address capitalism as a root cause of social and ecological injustice. SEI’s second phase (2019-2023) launched a philanthropic learning cohort (for a dozen funders), allowing for grassroots and funder circles to co-design processes for additional fundraising and grant-making.

Our first SEI report, published in 2017, focused on case studies of eight Massachusetts organizations. Each one showed how communities are fighting the world as it is while trying to build the world as it should be – transforming values to practices and projects. But as we reflect in our second report, Stories and Reflections on Building Spaces of Solidarity, another metamorphosis lies in how we see ourselves and our work together, taking a relational approach to change work. With support from Boone Shear and the graduate students in the Fall 2021 Solidarity Economies class at Tufts, this report explores the experiences of SEI’s funder and grassroots members. Through their interviews, the people co-creating SEI reveal a pivotal shift in their theory of change. Originally, SEI saw itself as incubating solidarity economy projects and building a pipeline for further investments. But the complexities and non-linear nature of this work forced them to reassess expectations and evolve into a space to practice solidarity in all relations, as these relations are the basis of successful projects.

What did this change look like?

For many participants, this process meant unifying their head, hands, and heart. In other coalition spaces, they often acted as if these dimensions were distinct and separate. People felt the time-sensitive and action-oriented nature of their work demanded their heads and hands, especially to achieve the policy wins or fundraising goals that often were seen as the primary indicators of success. Originally, SEI was similar, conceived as a head-space for learning and a hands-space for building solidarity economy projects. But it also supported members to engage with the spiritual and emotional aspects of their work, and to be in deeper relationships with one another.

In fact, SEI members realized how they were in some ways reproducing capitalist dynamics. A linear, project-dominant approach lended itself to thinking more about scale and growth, instead of relational practices of solidarity (see Chaordic Principles diagram below). They began to see their grassroots and funder cohorts as spaces to practice other ways of relating and working, that would in turn open up new possiblities. From building altars to cooking together, they slowed down, and wove creative, emotional, and somatic practices into their gatherings.

“It’s hard to just imagine or think about something in theory, but when you actually get to practice it, it feels more realistic and it changes you.” – Amethyst Carey, formerly of the Center for Economic Democracy

Numerous participants described the profound effects of this care in themselves and their community-based collaborations. Among other examples, the report describes how their deeper relationships facilitated a rapid and far-reaching mutual aid response to the COVID pandemic. For one project, six SEI cohort members came together with other groups to assemble wellness packages which included 2500 masks made by an East Boston sewing coop that CCDS had been supporting. The Black Economic Justice Initiative helped found the Black Boston COVID Coalition, working with over 75 organizations. SEI members have also established the Greater Boston Community Land Trust Network and launched the Boston Ujima Project, which has built a democratic process to allocate $5 million through a community investment fund. These stories suggest that “the change in how SEI members show up with one another” is “not just something nice to do, but central to SEI’s transformational goals.”

Minnie McMahon (Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative) describes this approach as “totally contrary to the patriarchy and white supremacy and capitalism because it invites our full selves, because it connects our bodies and minds and hearts.”

Like any important learning, the process has been non-linear and full of contradictions. SEI members experienced excitement and inspiration in envisioning what is possible. But they also confronted cynicism and frustration in the slow pace of building viable models and feeling stuck within the systems they were trying to transform. The conditions that made transformations possible were a shifting ground. SEI grassroots members navigated capacity and burnout concerns, borne from the broader crises they and their communities have faced. As they raised greater pools of funding, they navigated how to bring new members into their circle. For all, questions linger about how to unlearn social roles of being donors and recipients, and how to understand and demonstrate progress without giving in to narrow economic definitions of growth.

Currently, SEI is preparing to enter a third phase to bring together and support groups to develop transformative projects. The core of their work remains the same, perhaps captured best by SEI member Elena Letona’s encouragement: “the work is getting us to be human beings again.”