Social Economy-Based Microenterprise as an Alternative Community Development Model- a Case Study in Rural Peru

Abstract: This thesis examines the potential of a social economy-based microenterprise model as a new community development tool in the special context of indigenous Quechua communities in rural Peru where their socio-economic realities are substantially different from the modern society. Although, the social economy-based development policies are widely discussed in many Latin American countries, only little attention has been paid to the role of the social economic model in the community development discourse. Based on qualitative methods including observations, interviews and questionnaire survey, this study tries to answer whether the new model can be an alternative to conventional microenterprise model by counterbalancing the perceived problems, what kind of social and economic impacts it has brought to the researched communities and critically views whether it achieved its goals within the social economy framework. The results show that the new model proved to bring significant impacts in economic development such as income increases and diversification of livelihood strategies, both at the individual and community level. Also, it has brought some positive changes in the community in capacity building, solidarity enhancement among different community members and establishment of democratic system within the business groups as well as within the communities. The findings demonstrate the new model can play a significant role to some extent, however it requires further development to bring more fundamental and sustainable impacts covering bigger populations.