This article presents ethnographic reports of experiences in economic solidarity in Ceará State. The reports of these experiences were revealed by means of participant observation, through analysis of official documents supplied by entities, qualitative interviews, that used questionnaires and informal conversations conducted with various actors in the field of solidarity economics in Ceará during the three years of ethnographic research. The article maintains that concepts such as solidarity economics, solidarity and reciprocity assume multiple meanings in the contemporary experiences of the agents linked to the field of solidarity economics in Ceará State1. The ethnographies reveal that each agent activates in his reports the concepts of solidarity economics, solidarity and reciprocity, in a way that gives them new meanings according to strategic interests, specific situations and values linked to particular traditions to which they are linked, articulating, therefore, two dimensions: structure and process.
solidarity economics; solidarity; reciprocity; public policies