Solidarity Economy Shorts #6: Building Local Solidarity Economies with Beloved Community Incubator

Cooperative Journal

Solidarity Economy Shorts Episode #6

A collaboration with New Economy Coalition

Solidarity Economy Shorts are conversations with frontline organizations & individuals that are putting solidarity economy principles into practice. They are using different strategies to build an economic system where communities are meeting their own needs outside of capitalism.

Beloved Community Incubator is a solidarity economy movement organization, cooperative incubator, non-extractive lender, and worker self-directed non-profit. They focus on building a regional solidarity economy in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia that centers people, especially poor and working-class workers and people of color, over profit.

In this episode I speak with co-director Bianca Vazquez and community researcher Askalu Habtom. We discuss how Beloved Community Incubator started as a hyperlocal initiative and evolved into regional solidarity economy organizing, the difference between traditional lending and non-extractive loans, challenges and effective tools in collective organizing, how participatory action research influences their work, and actionable steps for navigating times of uncertainty.

Show Notes

Beloved Community Incubator

Seed Commons: cooperative network for non-extractive finance

Dulce Hogar Cleaning Co-op

Solidarity Research Center: builds solidarity economy ecosystems using data science, story-based strategy, and action research