Strengthening social economic organizations

We have been involved in the development of projects to strengthen social economic organizations for more than 20 years, and we have used different strategies along the way.

In the first phase, we launched our own way of understanding and practicing cooperation for development, a way based on the exchange of experiences between Mondragon Cooperativism and Latin American social and solidarity economy initiatives.

This two-way collaboration fostered the revitalization of Mondragon Cooperativism and helped to reinforce the Latin American experiences, especially from a business management perspective. Over the course of a decade, more than one hundred people have participated in exchange programs and in turn, in various research and training activities, and later in three-month intensive courses.

Regarding strengthening social economic organizations, the work carried out in the second phase in the field of cooperation for development has consisted of development projects and accompanying work launched on the spot together with the Mundukide Foundation. There is a clear example of this in Brazil: the work carried out for many years with cooperatives within the Landless Workers’ Movement.

Our activity has included close collaboration with agents from both the Basque Country and Latin America. A long-term perspective, the continuity of projects, the complexity of different situations and networking among agents are behind this strategy. Examples include:

A project carried out in collaboration with the Laboratory of Economic and Social Innovation (LAINES) at the Iberoamerican University of Puebla in Mexico, and aimed at creating stable educational projects in the states of Tabasco, Chiapas and Puebla, with organizations and groups working in the field of social and solidarity economics.
A project aimed at various non-governmental organizations and social and solidarity economic initiatives in Latin America, in collaboration with the Alboan Foundation.
Ongoing projects in collaboration with the HEGOA Institute for International Cooperation and Development Studies, the Institute for Intercultural Studies of Pontifical Xavierian University, and the Ensayos Corporation for the Promotion of Political Culture:
- o Strengthening of social agents to create peace and alternative economic models in Norte del Cauca, in communication with the Basque experience.
- o Territorial peace: Strengthening of local actors to create peace and develop alternative economic models in Norte del Cauca.

Co-financing by the Basque Government has been essential in the development of these projects, specifically, funding obtained through the competitions held annually by the Basque Agency for Cooperation for Development for funding projects in this field.