Interview of Pariona Fredy, Fair trade shop, Huancayo (Peru)

Activity in the domain of fair trade

Humberto Ortiz Roca, January 2004

In other languages : français - Español

I. What is the main goal of your economic activity?

To give market access to rural producers and improve the quality of their production.

II. Are you engaged in a DIFFERENT economy? How does it differ from the dominant economy?

Solidarity economy, which is different from market economy because it goes back to an economy at the service of people and not only of economic matters.

III. What does ABUNDANCE mean to you? Is material abundance an aim or the means to achieve something else? What is that something else?

It means to increase the level of a comprehensive kind of abundance, which comprises not only economic abundance, but also the richness of human values, not less important to development.

 

IV. What VALUES do you and your fellow workers put into practice in your daily life and in your work? Is it possible, in your opinion, for these values to become the predominant values of society as a whole? How can they be mainstreamed?

Christian and human values, i.e. solidarity, cooperation, companionship, etc. I think these values should be spread by promoting and putting them into practice in our personal lives.

V. What innovations have you developed in terms of organization, management and appropriation of the fruits of labor?

In terms of organization, we have implemented higher participation in the decision making process. In terms of work, we think work is good for people and has not only economic but also social and cultural fruits, apart from boasting people’s self-esteem.

VI. Do you think working in solidarity networks or in solidarity production chains is important? What are these in your opinion?

 

I think both networks and chains are important. We should take advantage of the positive features of each of them without dismissing any of them. Reality shows that it is possible to implement solidarity networks and in some cases include small chains within them.

VII. Does your activity influence the life of the community? How and in which spheres?

Yes, it does. It influences organizational, productive, social and economic aspects.

VIII What is work in your experience? What’s its value and meaning in life?

 

I believe it is every individual’s right to achieve personal development. It is given to us in the form of a gift to serve other people, based mainly on the love of our fellow men and God as the superior being and creator.

 

IX. What role do WOMEN play in a cooperation and solidarity-oriented economic initiative?

They play an important role through their participation in the decisions and activities which mean significant contributions to family development.

 

X. How can public policies and the State contribute to the advancement of a Socio-Economy of Solidarity?

I think we should understand that there is not one single way to develop the country. There are proposals which have succeeded in developing not only the economic but also the social aspects of a country. In this respect, our governments have failed to identify the experiences of solidarity economy in our country, a solidarity economy which does work and which is not merely Utopian.

XI. Do you believe the globalization of cooperation and solidarity is possible? How can it become a reality?

 

Yes, I believe it is possible. However, in order to build a solid basis for global cooperation, we should previously or simultaneously develop local cooperation. I think we should go ahead with this process. There are proposals and experiences which some countries are already implementing, which, if linked, could achieve more widespread and solidarity-oriented cooperation in the world.

Sources :

Vision workshop of the WSSE

See also: