Solidarity Economy Association

The Solidarity Economy Association (SEA) is a small, worker-led co-operative based in England, Scotland and Wales, with its registered base in Oxford. It describes itself as working to overcome capitalism by building up the solidarity economy from below. As a worker-led co-operative, it makes decisions and shares the workload collectively without a managerial hierarchy, aiming to value everyone's voice and to work democratically and with care and respect for the people, groups and movements it engages with. The organisation has existed since 2015 but was incorporated under the name Solidarity Economy Association in 2017. It is a not-for-profit organisation: its aim is not to make money and it does not accumulate wealth. Its mission is to support people and communities committed to economic and social justice to create or join initiatives that embody the values of the solidarity economy — real democracy, social justice, ecological sustainability and co-operation. SEA's activities range from building and growing networks, to designing and running education workshops and online resources, to coordinating international solidarity activity, and to supporting the development of new infrastructure such as co-operatives to support the solidarity economy. It identifies weaknesses in the existing solidarity economy and builds partnerships to address them, aiming to build capacity, amplify voices and weave relationships, particularly between work being done on the ground by those facing the worst effects of the current system. Among its projects, SEA offers tailored workshops for groups and communities, with flexible pricing based on need and available resources so that cost is not a barrier. It publishes DOPE Magazine, printing around 35,000 copies per issue four times a year and distributing them for free to anyone who wants to sell it on the street. It is also building a Solidarity Economy Organisers Network to help weave a web between organisations. As a co-op, SEA sees itself as part of the wider co-operative movement, studying the history and current practice of co-operative development through research and experience, while understanding co-ops to be only one aspect of a broad and diverse solidarity economy.

The Solidarity Economy Association has existed as an organisation since 2015, but it was incorporated under the name Solidarity Economy Association in 2017. It is a small, worker-led co-operative based in England, Scotland and Wales, with its base in Oxford. From its formation, SEA has operated as a not-for-profit organisation whose aim is not to make money and which does not accumulate wealth. SEA's purpose is to support people and communities committed to economic and social justice to create or join initiatives that live and breathe the values of the solidarity economy: real democracy, social justice, ecological sustainability and co-operation. It works to overcome capitalism by building up the solidarity economy from below. As a worker-led co-operative, it takes decisions and shares the workload together without a managerial structure, aiming to value everyone's voice and to work democratically and with care and respect for each other and for the people, groups and movements it works with. Over time, SEA's activities have ranged from building and growing networks, to designing and running education workshops and online resources, to coordinating international solidarity activity, and to supporting the development of new infrastructure, such as co-operatives, to support the solidarity economy. It identifies weaknesses in the existing solidarity economy and builds partnerships to address them, aiming to build capacity, amplify voices and weave relationships, in particular between work being done on the ground by those facing the worst effects of the current system. Among its ongoing projects, SEA offers tailored workshops for groups and communities, with flexible pricing based on need and available resources so that cost is not a barrier. It publishes DOPE Magazine, printing around 35,000 copies per issue four times a year and distributing them for free to anyone who wants to sell it on the street. It is also building a Solidarity Economy Organisers Network to help weave a web between organisations. As a co-op, SEA sees itself as part of the wider co-operative movement, studying the history and current practice of co-operative development through research and experience, while understanding co-ops to be only one aspect of a broad and diverse solidarity economy.

• 2017

  Incorporated under the name Solidarity Economy Association.

• 2015

  The organisation begins to exist as an organisation.

A worker-led, not-for-profit co-operative building the solidarity economy from below in the UK and beyond.

• Tailored workshops

  Tailored workshops for groups or communities, with flexible pricing based on need and available resources.

• DOPE Magazine

  A magazine printed around 35,000 copies per issue, four times a year, distributed for free to anyone who wants to sell it on the street.

• Solidarity Economy Organisers Network

  A network being built to help weave a web between organisations.

1. 1Solidarity Economy Association – Supporting the growth of the Solidarity Economy Movement in the UK and beyond.solidarityeconomy.coop
2. 2About us – Solidarity Economy Associationsolidarityeconomy.coop
3. 3Solidarity Economy Associationwikidata.org