Assessing Social and Solidarity Economy in India’s Tropical Tasar Silk: Insights from Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana

Abstract - EN

In the face of a volatile economic system, social and solidarity economies in the form of collective enterprises/practices of sustainable development have gained new importance. More so as its principles and goals align with those guiding the UN’s 2030 Agenda with its 17 SDGs. SSE has played a significant role in building resilient and sustainable communities against risks brought on by the system of capitalist growth. A case in point is the MKSP programme in India related to the empowerment of women especially from tribal communities traditionally involved in tropical Tasar. These initiatives to streamline the activities along the Tasar value chain also have the potential to localize several SDGs such as eradication of poverty, empowerment of women, employment generation, prevention of migration and preserving the biodiversity of rural areas. In addition, the mobilisation of community social entrepreneurs and organizations and capacity building create enabling conditions for resilient businesses that converge with the goals of SSE. Therefore, among the various scalable livelihood models promoted by MKSP for empowering women to adopt sustainable climate change resilient agro-ecological practices and create a pool of skilled community professions, the Tasar livelihood activity has shown immense possibilities for long-term sustainability.