“El camino ESS” (the SSE path) is a journey to experience first-hand the values and transformative potential of the social and solidarity economy. More than 180 initiatives are already committed to being part of this network of tourist experiences committed to the territories and those who inhabit them.
The Social and Solidarity Economy Path is a proposal for active tourism and leisure to explore the values and principles of the Solidarity Economy, develop economic alternatives in different territories and generate positive impacts on the planet through responsible and sustainable consumption. This project, funded by the European Union through NextGenerationEU funds and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, is currently being developed in five autonomous communities: Galicia, Castilla y León, La Rioja, Aragón and Catalonia. (Spain)
In 2010, the CASAL collective imagined a network that would connect experiences of social and solidarity economy and offer alternatives for responsible consumption in the tourism sector. More than a decade later, five social entities, REAS Galicia, the CDR “Carrión de los Condes”, El Colletero Nalda, REAS Aragón and L’Olivera, work to connect ongoing business projects that have assumed the transformative principles of the Solidarity Economy with people and groups looking for leisure and free time options involved with the territories, developed by their inhabitants and sustainable over time.
There are already more than 180 initiatives interested in being part of this mapping of experiences, among which are local development cooperatives, entrepreneurship and social innovation projects, cultural spaces, experiences in the struggle against depopulation or environmental groups, among others. This network remains open to the incorporation of initiatives, organizations and other networks in the five communities through which this path runs, which aims to incorporate into the tourism sector the theoretical principles and practical values of the Solidarity Economy: democracy, social justice, commitment to the environment, decent work and sustainability.
With the focus on people, the project offers training and advice so that the entities that are part of the SSE Path can increase the tourism potential of their business projects and strengthen their knowledge in the practices of transformative economies.
At present, the project is in the test phase, during which the experiences and routes proposed are evaluated through tourists who access the catalog of experiences already available, experience the proposal and enjoy a tourism raised from conscious consumption and social and environmental responsibility. The evaluations carried out by the first groups of tourists will allow improvements to be made in the selection of the next initiatives in order to improve the final product of this project: a complete catalog of sustainable tourism in constant expansion that offers experiences to live in first person the Social and Solidarity Economy.
For more information:
Project Website
Social Media
Contact in each C.C.A.A:
Galicia: galicia@elcaminoess.com
Castile and Leon: castillaleon@elcaminoess.comm
La Rioja: larioja@elcaminoess.com
Aragon: aragon@elcaminoess.com
Catalonia: catalunya@elcaminoess.com
Contacts for more information:
Paco Hernández: 644 78 74 35 / casal@casalitos.org
Raquel Ramirez: 646 54 06 08
