This article was written in 2001. The information contained in it may be outdated or no longer valid. (ed. note)
Social Cooperatives are enterprises that operate with the aim of promoting social welfare and development in society, but they are enterprises in every sense of the word.
They provide services and create job placements for disadvantaged people in structures with genuine business characteristics, developing skills that have market value.
Law 381 of 1991 recognized social cooperatives as a category and identified them as an effective tool for pursuing social goals and human advancement—goals to be achieved through the management of social and health services, educational programs, and activities that enable the work integration of disadvantaged people.
They fall into two main categories:
- Type A cooperatives manage social, health, and educational services. Their members are typically the workers who deliver those services;
- Type B cooperatives produce goods and provide services of various kinds, with the specific aim of creating jobs for disadvantaged people (people with disabilities, those with mental health challenges, people struggling with addiction, formerly incarcerated individuals, people with alcohol dependence, at-risk youth, and others). Their areas of work include:
- production of craft items (ceramics, wood, glass, leather, paper products, and more);
- service provision such as grounds maintenance, cleaning, hauling, printing, and screen printing.
On the social level, Type B cooperatives have established themselves as a specialized and preferred tool for integrating disadvantaged people into the workplace. They function as organizations capable of providing on-the-job training and working toward the full social integration of people in difficult circumstances—restoring to them both dignity and active citizenship.
Social cooperatives generally operate according to certain core principles and adopt practices, rules, and working methods that distinguish them from ordinary businesses:
- internal democracy: every member has one vote, regardless of the capital they have invested;
- open membership: new members can join without requiring changes to the bylaws;
- mutuality: social cooperatives prioritize the interests of the community, the collective good, and the territory where they operate.
Cooperatives are permitted to use volunteer members who, in numbers not exceeding half the total membership, contribute their work free of charge.
Whether they provide social and health services or focus on job integration, social cooperatives deliver relational services—services built on the interaction between users, volunteer members, and working members. They blend entrepreneurial thinking with the spirit of solidarity.
- Antonio Marzarotto, 2001