Summary

Solidary Economy is a privileged field for the analysis of social action and social relations. In recent years, Brazil has witnessed an increase of experiences in this field, with a strong presence of women carrying out artisan activities (DIEESE, 2017). Although women are the majority in the SE spaces, this fact still has little visibility. Studies with this focus are scarce in the Social Sciences, especially in Sociology. There is a gap in the production of knowledge about what the participation of women in SE means. This project aims to achieve this goal. It stems from a general question - How does participation in SE provide empowerment for women urban artisans? Its objectives are: 1) To characterize urban women artisans who are involved with SE; 2) To analyse the trajectories of the lives of urban women artisans in SE; 3) To understand the visions that women construct about themselves (self-images) and the context in which they are inserted (worldviews); 4) To map the social networks that these women are involved in; 5) To demonstrate the economic logic of production and circulation of  handicrafts of these women; 6) To know how the involvement of women in SE increases the forms of insertion in the spaces of social control of public policies. 7) To identify the framing of artisanship in SE and in their networks. To fulfil these objectives, an interpretive/constructivist approach is proposed.

The research methodology focuses on analysing the trajectories of the lives of these women and their backgrounds. The techniques will be based on direct and participant observation with qualitative instruments. The intention is to carry out case studies with urban women artisans participating in the Minas Gerais Forum of Popular Solidarity Economy, especially the members of the Women's Working Group that focuses on the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte - Minas Gerais, South-East Brazil, between 2002 to 2017, as a way to deepen the knowledge on this socioeconomic pluriverse.

Keywords: Economic Sociology. Feminist Epistemologies. Solidarity Economy. Artisanship, Collaborative Methodologies.

Bio note

Rizoneide Souza Amorim: Doutoranda em Sociologia - Faculdade de Economia da Universidade de Coimbra – FEUC/UC, Portugal (2017 - 2020). Graduação em Ciências Sociais pela Universidade Federal do Ceará (2002) e Mestrado em Ciências Sociais - Desenvolvimento Regional pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (2005). Sócia da Red de Investigadores Latinoamericanos de Economia Social y Solidária - RILESS e integrante da Associação Brasileira de Pesquisadores de Economia Solidária - ABPES. Militante do movimento de Economia Solidária no Brasil onde por alguns anos fez parte da Coordenação Nacional e Executiva do Fórum Brasileiro de Economia Solidária - FBES (2007 - 2016). Analista Social Sénior do Instituto Marista de Solidariedade - IMS nos últimos 11 anos. Tem experiência na articulação nacional, elaboração, planejamento, monitoramento, acompanhamento, gestão e avaliação de projetos sociais com ênfase em Economia Solidária, bem como elaboração e coordenação de materiais didáticos e promocionais. Atua principalmente nos seguintes temas: sociologia do trabalho, desenvolvimento territorial sustentável, movimentos sociais, educação popular, projetos sociais, comércio justo e solidário, economia solidária e agricultura familiar agroecológica.