Abstract
Climate change, ecological challenges, and economic and social crises imply paradigmatic and structural innovations. In the effort to drive transition toward sustainability, local communities often take the lead, mobilize support, and organize initiatives based on the principles of solidarity economy. Our study presents a qualitative evaluation and comparison of three local bottom-up initiatives from Friuli Venezia Giulia, a Northern Italian region, each following alternative and unique models of production and consumption of wheat and flour. The reconstruction of the transition paths of the experiences, together with documental analysis and interviews, allowed us to deduce the influence of alternative approaches and subsequent degree of effectiveness in building a community and driving it toward sustainability.
Highlights
Climate change, ecological challenges, and economic and social crises call for a new function of public policy, in order to drive transition toward sustainable development and promote local solidarity economy initiatives as possible solutions to institutional, market, and public failures (Chaves and Gallego Bono 2020)
Multiple authors state that the description of solidarity economy relies on the analysis of good practices and experiences aimed at pursuing well living by meeting community and individuals’ needs, and nutrition above all
R. 4/2017 as the shared background of the three case studies. Albeit differences in their origin and development, the key elements envisioned in the L.R. 4/2017—short supply chain organization and community development—constitute the main pillars of the three experiences; each community is unique in its territorial structure
Summary
Ecological challenges, and economic and social crises call for a new function of public policy, in order to drive transition toward sustainable development and promote local solidarity economy initiatives as possible solutions to institutional, market, and public failures (Chaves and Gallego Bono 2020) These change processes imply paradigmatic and structural innovations, involvement and participation of new actors, and redefinition of the boundaries of power, institutions, and legal frameworks. New environmentalism identifies the mainstream economic model as the leading cause of a broad range of problems, from global pollution and climate change to social inequalities, and stresses the necessity to tackle these issues at the macro (i.e., governmental and international)- as well as the micro (community)level (Connors and McDonald 2011) In this context, transition communities and the Transition Town Movement pursue local bottom-up strategies and actions to reduce their environmental impact and promote resilience and self-sufficiency
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