The solidarity economy in local governance systems

“The solidarity economy draws on various projects and initiatives that mainly focus on the everyday practices of alternative ways of living, producing, and consuming” (Bauhardt, 2014). This includes different projects, from ethical purchasing groups to the ecovillage experience, from transition town to self-production systems. As seen elsewhere, these projects are spreading independently and without a comprehensive view of the territorial scale in Italy as well. The aim of this work is to expand the knowledge on governance of local systems, using an approach based on the principles of solidarity economy. In this system, the production and distribution of goods and services is brought back to a small and local scale, sustainable from an environmental point of view. Local projects aim to make communities more resilient compared to systems influenced by the global market alone. In particular, applying an approach inspired by the action-research method, the experience of establishing a Solidarity Economy District in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region has been analyzed and evaluated. Solidarity Economy Districts (RES, 2007) are intended as laboratories of civic, economic and social experimentation, where develop local resources and generate wealth in a condition of ecological and social sustainability, focusing on people, their relationships and rights , the environment and peace. Our case study is an experience conducted in four municipalities of north-eastern Italy, Friuli- Venezia Giulia, who established a close cooperation for the development of a new and different agricultural and food model for their own territory. "Pan e farine dal Friûl di mieć" (Bread and Flour of middle Friuli) has been therefore activated, as an experimental project aimed to launch a local, sustainable, and inclusive supply chain of wheat flour and its derivate products. After its start in 2015, the project is developing through a series of stages with the progressive involvement of different stakeholders of the community, who sign a pact that engages them to mutual responsibility in the systems of production and consumption of primary goods.