Social Reproduction, Solidarity Economy, Feminisms and Democracy. Latin America and India.

his book contributes to timely debates on the conditions of resistance and changes with the aim to offer a ray of hope in times of ecological, economic, social and democracy crisis worldwide. In the context of the crisis of social reproduction, impoverishment and growing inequalities, myriads of women-led grass-root initiatives are bubbling up. They reorganize social reproduction; redefine the meaning of work and value; explore new ways of doing economics and politics; construct solidarity-driven social relationships and combat their subordination. In doing so, these initiatives challenge the patriarchal, financialized and dehumanizing capitalist system and offer transformative, sustainable paths for feminist social change. Drawing on fine-grained ethnographies in Latin America and India, this book sheds light on women’s daily struggles, their difficulties, contradictions, fragilities, and also their successes and achievements. This book seeks to inspire activists, researchers and policy-makers in the field of feminism and solidarity economy to contribute to amplifying the movement, which rests on the articulation of the various initiatives.

Table of contents (12 chapters)

• Introduction, Verschuur, Christine (et al.)

• Social Reproduction: A Key Issue for Feminist Solidarity Economy, Guérin, Isabelle (et al.)

• Solidarity Economy Under a Feminist Lens: A Critical and Possibilist Analysis, Guérin, Isabelle (et al.)

• Forging Solidarities: Women Workers in the Informal Sector in Tamil Nadu, Kalpana, K.

• Resisting the Destruction of Social Reproduction: Dalit women’s Struggle in South India, Guérin, Isabelle (et al.)

• Local Transformations in Batallas (Bolivia) and the “Inexhaustible” Capacity of Women to Sustain Life, Farah, Ivonne (et al.)

• Solidarity at the Crossroads: Struggles and Transformations of Domestic Workers in Kerala, Nandi, Rajib

• Argentina: Collectivizing Care, Reinventing Work and Solidarity, Fournier, Marisa (et al.)

• Alternative Market Systems: Mutual Dependence for Collective Welfare in a Fish Market in Udupi, Thara, Kaveri

• Agroecology and Feminism in Vale Do Ribeira (Brazil): Towards More Sustainable Forms of Reproducing Life, Hillenkamp, Isabelle (et al.)

• Concluding Thoughts: Connecting Women’s Struggles. Reorganizing Social Reproduction, Democratizing Solidarity Economy, Reframing Value, Guérin, Isabelle (et al.)

Afterword: The Cross-Fertilization Between Feminism and the Solidarity Economy, Laville, Jean-Louis