Epistemologies of the South and Her Economy. The 'Capuchinhas' cooperative of the Serra de Montemuro

Abstract

The 'Capuchinhas' cooperative is an initiative of women from Serra do Montemuro, one of the most isolated and impoverished regions of the interior of Portugal. Since its beginning in the 1980s, this cooperative was thought of as a form of resistance to impoverishment and geographical segregation. In addition, it constituted a local alternative to unemployment and women’s emancipation. This co-operative pays special attention to the specific problems of its region and its population and seeks to tackle territorial imbalances and the increasing commodification of all spheres of life. Our work has two main objectives. The first is the theoretical and analytical extension of the concept of feminist economy. Secondly, through a dense ethnography we present the complexity of the creation and life of the cooperative, placing the words and narratives of the protagonists, who think about themselves and the world where they act, at the center of the analysis.