Within the framework of the 3rd International Meeting “Intertwining Roots: Solidarity Economic Circuits” promoted by Red Comparte and Reas Euskadi, the conversation “Ventures that Care” was held, organized by Hogar de Cristo.
In this conversation, Nancy, Silvia, Yobelma, Greis, and Kelly, women entrepreneurs from the solidarity economic circuit supported by Hogar de Cristo, shared the following:
All of us have risen from violence, abuse, and the multiple injustices that affect our bodies and neighborhoods. We do this by weaving community networks where we support each other and feel the affection and trust to undertake projects, resist, and face the obstacles that threaten our daily lives. When we joined the Solidarity Economic Circuit promoted by Hogar de Cristo in popular neighborhoods of Guayaquil (Ecuador), we felt like family. We arrived with hidden talents that we have been discovering thanks to the training from the “Entrepreneurship Seedbed” and the solidarity of our fellow women entrepreneurs.
We form a network where we collectively build alternative ways of life based on our knowledge and the support of the Hogar de Cristo team, generating processes of learning, resilience, and empowerment. This collective solidarity has meant a great change in our lives and has driven us to develop our ventures in gastronomy, jewelry, textiles, and footwear… feeling that, even amid pain, there is always a way forward. These are ventures born from love, solidarity, and hope.
Alongside them, Denisse and Claudia, from Hogar de Cristo and the Red Comparte team respectively, contributed the perspective of those who support the creation of solidarity economic networks, highlighting key elements for making these processes sustainable:
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Promoting unity within the organization: Organizing is a pillar supported by unity. Creating a community within an organization.
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Developing the potential of people and communities: Encouraging learning from their own knowledge and life experiences, and providing training applied to their realities.
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Ensuring the integral sustainability of processes: Integrating gender equity (for example, equitably distributing responsibilities within families, organizations, and communities) and caring for our Common Home.
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Strengthening ties between rural and urban processes: Understanding that we are part of the same struggle in both rural and urban areas: creating economic alternatives that protect life and generate dignified livelihoods. Recognizing ourselves as consumers who depend on each other, and reaffirming the transformative power we hold as individual and collective consumers.
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Influencing local and regional governments: Ensuring that the rights of people and communities are guaranteed, because social organizations should not have to replace the role of the State.
The Solidarity Economic Circuit promoted by women from Guayaquil’s popular neighborhoods, together with the Red Comparte in Latin America, is a testament that solidarity and networking are engines of change and collective hope.