Background:
In order to comply it’s objectives, Fundación Ahora, A.C. (FAH) created a systemic way of promoting a new economy (solidarrity economics) among it’s beneficiaries. This economic approach has a four legged basis: extraction-production/trade-consumption/finance-savings-credit/ovarall services.
The system is based upon the traditional practices of business of the old settlers in Mexico and the use of contemporary methods of communication. It has been developed by the members of Fundacion Ahora, A.C. (FAH), with basis on the experience provided from the group known as the EcoSol-Mexico Space which involves more than 200 organizations and communities. Its proposal is to offer an alternative front to the economic erosion provoked by global capitalism in many places of the vast region which we know as Mesoamerica and Aridamerica.
In these areas, an increasing number of people are being gradually excluded from the circles of great wealth, and are unable to gain access to the activities which generate money by general circulation. The deterioration of an enormous number of communities, villages and neighbourhoods in big cities increases the direct relation it has to the few beneficiaries of economical gain and consistently goes against the ecological sustainability of the land, air and water of the region, and consequently, of the Earth itself.
In the year 2002, convening to unite forces amongst the great alternative plurality, nineteen groups of networks, amongst them FAH, integrated a group whose activities were centered on the revival of traditions and culture, and the promotion of activities in the area of marginal and popular economy. Starting with trying to stop the spread of poverty with solidarity and subsidiary work, various organizations of civil society (NGOs), groups of promoters in indigenous regions and some academic institutions from the whole country have come together to form the EcoSol-Mexico Space.
The work dedicated to the attention of people with socioeconomic needs in the marginalized areas of the city of Aguascalientes since 1989, has allowed those people, twelve years on from joining FAH, to count on their experience in the promotion of popular workshops of production for self-consumption, as well as incipient use of values of exchange for hours of work in the community or neighbourhood. Today, with its basis upon the principles and characteristics commonly accepted by the Social and Supportive Economics, the work of FAH is aimed at making citizens conscious as consumers, producers, servers and innovators, who make those paradigms stand-out which allow fundamental changes in values and hierarchical interests; healthy personal and collective conduct in favour of a dignified and sustainable way of life for everyone. The members of the EcoSol Mexico Space, in coordination with environmentalist groups, have started to create an economical and social alternative of fair-trade and supportive producers. For this reason it has defined its line of action as: the education and spreading of the proposals of a supportive economy, the production (in order to satisfy needs in relation to nature), the storage, distribution, commercialization and exchange (within reach of all, of the enterprising products which need a market), the responsible consumption and the recyclable and environmentally friendly post-consumption.
In this group dynamic, since 2003 until 2006, based upon observations, research, communal work and many hours of discussions, the founders of FAH designed a pilot test in 2006. Since 2004, with the label of The III National Meeting of EcoSol-Mexico, they have already carried out workshops among 500 plus workers in order to test the methods which were in process of being defined. The result of this work was the System of Virtual Commercial Coordination for Supportive Enterprises which operate on top of the network of popular shops or Compartiendas (Share-shops).