"The Solidarity Economy aims to "create sustainable economic activities, managed on the basis of co-operation between their workers, from a perspective of local development and the construction of other emancipatory and equitable social relations. It therefore has a more multidimensional vision (than the social economy on its own), which goes beyond the economic, and strongly integrates education, culture, political action for social transformation. (...)"

The Solidarity Economy is based on a few fundamental points:
"valuing work, through the implementation of cooperative, democratic and creative working relationships, based on self-management within the enterprises; the promotion of individual and group autonomy, in the context of the community to which one belongs, based on critical thinking and co-responsibility; the vision beyond the group, i.e. the development of communities at various levels, starting at the local level; productive initiative as a response to the needs of people and communities and not as a means of generating profit, regardless of what is produced, for whom and in what way."

The creation of "collaborative networks of solidarity which, by linking production to transformation, distribution and consumption, would create production chains based on solidarity and on meeting the real needs of all and not just a few" is therefore proposed.

Extract from an article by CIDAC (Centro de Intervenção para o Desenvolvimento) - Development Intervention Centre

The marriage of these two economic models gives rise to the Social and Solidarity Economy, which is non-profit but whose surpluses are used in favour of the common social purpose of the Cooperative as a whole and as decided by its members together.