The educational potential of social economy projects in the Himalayas: the case of Avani

In this article we analyze the social economy projects of Avani - a Community Based Organization based in Himalayas and reflect on their potential for enabling a critical pedagogy of place. We use the concept of tactics in a spatial and educational sense to explore Avani's projects as an intervention within the dominant place logic of capitalism that opens market opportunities and enables new experiences of living and being for hill communities. We argue that these experiences are educational since they invoke, what we want to call, the possibility to verify one's equality and one's ability to do something. Our study is based on an ethnographic case approach and combines literature review, staff interviews and documents of Avani along with sensitizing concepts to guide our analysis.