Observatory of the Social and Solidarity Economy -Some interesting facts-

The Observatory of Social and Solidarity Economy: CREES, is an Academic Unit of the Department of Economics and Administration of the National University of Quilmes. It was created by the Departmental Council in 2013

The purpose of the Observatory is to deepen the consolidation and internal and external articulation of the spaces and initiatives of extension, research, training and university incubation that its team has been carrying out for more than a decade in the field of social and solidarity economy (SSE), in order to contribute to the systematization, visibility, promotion and strengthening of the sector from a common academic unit.

This unit is intended to enhance the strategic synergy between actions and work teams, both within the University and the public sector, scientific-technological and territorial actors, expanding the possibilities of advocacy, communication and linkage of the University with the socio-productive environment and other institutions in the field of the SSE. 

Summary of selected articles (to view the article in its original site, click on the title).

Systematization, analysis and results. Market study 2018. Self-managed warehouse

 This is a paper that was presented as part of the grants obtained by the authors in 2018, the purpose of which was to strengthen the marketing strategies of a self-managed store. The surveys carried out at the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) Fair on November 21, 22 and 23 were conceived and designed. The survey, which contained 42 questions, was aimed at the community of the National University of Quilmes (UNQ). In particular, it was intended to recognize and characterize the potential consumers of the Self-Managed Store (AA), and in general, to recognize the other lines of work belonging to the SSE Incubator. The paper highlights the learning gathered throughout the work in terms of methodology, systematization and results, with a view to replicating the experience in future SSE projects. It is worth mentioning that the data obtained from the surveys was processed and analyzed using SPSS software.

 The historical archive of Argentine cooperativism. First steps of a project under construction.

 The presentation aims to share the progress of a joint project aimed at recovering the memory and historical heritage of Argentine cooperativism, through the construction of a Historical Archive open to the community and, particularly, to researchers and members of the solidarity economy. The project emerged from the Historical Archive of Credit Cooperativism, which, in addition to its own collection, has the documentation of COOPERAR in storage and catalogued. Both institutions, together with the National University of Tres de Febrero and the University Institute of Cooperation, formed a work team with researchers and students within the framework of the Program of Cooperativism and Social Economy at the University, of the Secretariat of University Policies. The preservation of collective memory in social organizations has special significance if we consider that the conservation, study and re-reading of the experiences produced during their lifetime is an essential chapter for their growth and contributes to the democratic participation of their members. Likewise, the recovery of institutional memory makes it possible to reflect collectively and individually on the past, to recognize oneself with history and to value the present, helping to find values, unfinished projects and senses of belonging. This reinforces collective identity, while helping to contextualize and de-idealize memories and traditions. It is hoped that the process of building the Archive can serve as a working model for the development of similar initiatives that recover the memory of other institutional experiences of the social and solidarity economy.

 Emergency, family farming and food sovereignty.

 Consumption has fallen dramatically and food problems are on the rise, with two thirds of the population suffering from overweight, obesity and other indicators of malnutrition. In 2018, poverty affected 35% of the population and more than 50% of children; extreme poverty affected more than three million people. Unemployment is over 10%; 44% of the employed are in the informal sector. The migration of families of producers and landless workers to a society with more than 90% urban population continues. But in Argentina there is no shortage of food and resources to produce it. Now that the 2017/18 drought is over, the “breadbasket of the world” continues to break records, despite the growing number of questions raised by environmental degradation, climate change and markets. The serious food and nutrition problem has led to an increase in demands and proposals that seek to alleviate aspects of the crisis: favoring access to food through direct assistance; reducing costs, taxes and prices; increasing the income of the population; etc. Many propose the application of the “Family Farming” Law. However, partial approaches to the Argentine Agri-Food System prevail; its concentration and transnationalization cannot be ignored if the periodic food “emergencies” are to be overcome. It is necessary to democratize this System from production to consumption, which necessarily implies social participation and a role for the State framed in development objectives that promote work, justice and sustainability.

 Compilations of life experiences from the 2018 DEGSS.

 Testimonies and experiences of a pedagogical process based on Popular Education, the C Factor and self-determination. This work arises from the profound need to communicate the transformations that took place within the graduate students and teachers who participated in the second cohort of the Diploma in Management of the Social and Solidarity Economy, taught simultaneously in two places; at the Vocational Training Center No. 406 in Ingeniero Budge, Lomas de Zamora, and within the Textile Work Cooperative, Visión Trabajo y Futuro in Rafael Calzada, Almirante Brown. This experience, “is not just another one”; it is approached in its entirety by the graduates themselves who today give their testimonies and make their voices heard in written and oral form. It shows that it is possible to transform ourselves, and that transforming our realities and bonds is possible and necessary, even more so in times of crisis and resistance.

 Chasqui: free technology for the social and solidarity economy. [Software]

 Chasqui is an e-commerce tool specially developed for the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE). It seeks to promote social markets and socioeconomic food circuits, which at the same time improve the conditions of access to healthy consumption for families, as well as the income and sales of small producers and cooperatives. It is a digital tool using free, multiplatform software (it can be used on cell phones, tablets and computers), aimed at boosting the visibility, links and sales of family farming producers, cooperatives, mutual societies and other associative and self-managed organizational forms.

 New returnable packaging for the socioeconomic food circuits of family farming.

 Teams from the UNQ participated in the development of returnable packaging to improve the processes of marketing vegetables in short supply chains. Disposable T-shirt bags are being replaced by reusable cloth bags. The National Agrifood Health and Quality Service (Senasa) authorized the use of these “multi-species returnable containers” for the marketing of fresh vegetables in short circuits, through the Directorate of Safety and Quality of Plant Products (DIyCPOV). The work was carried out with the participation of the Institute for Research and Technological Development for Family Farming (IPAF) Pampeana Region; the La Plata Rural Extension Agency of the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA); the National University of Quilmes; the “la 1610” Association of Horticultural Producers and other organizations in the horticultural belt of La Plata and Florencia Varela; students from the National University of La Plata; the Textile Cooperative Network and Territorial Market (experience incubated at the UNQ). Production on a large scale was carried out by the Textile Cooperative Network based on the “Resilientes” (Resilient) project implemented by INTA (Argentina) and CIPAV (Colombia) and funded by the EUROCLIMA+ Resilient Food Production program.