Community-led initiatives are using social solidarity economy as a way of delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a new academic paper co-written by several ECOLISE members and partners. The paper includes case studies of permaculture enterprise in the UK, Tamera ecovillage, solidarity markets in Latin America, and Gaia Education’s work supporting Senegalese smallholders to create new agroecological enterprises. It introduces the concept of commons ecologies to show how for these initiatives, delivery of the SDGs is a built-in outcome of their style of entrepreneurship, which is rooted in core values of solidarity and sustainability. This approach overcomes tensions between ecological and social goals.

The research paper is now available on the United Nations Taskforce on Social and Solidarity Economy Knowledge Hub.