Democratising the Economy through Local Currencies: The Case of La Doume

This paper examines the role of local currencies in fostering democratic, equitable, and sustainable economic models, focusing on La Doume, a complementary currency operating in the Puy-de-Dôme region of France. Grounded in the frameworks of community economies and social and solidarity economy principles, La Doume not only functions as a medium of exchange but also embodies an alternative governance structure through sociocracy—an inclusive decision-making system that enhances participatory economic democracy among its members. In parallel, the initiative has expanded its remit through Solidoume, a food social security system designed to redistribute economic resources and secure access to locally produced food for vulnerable community members. Through an ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth qualitative analysis, this paper expounds on how La Doume reconfigures economic relations by fostering collective ownership, reinforcing social cohesion, and enabling community-driven market interactions. By embedding principles of economic democracy and self-governance into both monetary exchange and resource distribution, La Doume challenges dominant market logics and offers a replicable model of economic relocalisation at the grassroots level. The findings contribute to ongoing debates on alternative economic development by demonstrating how local currencies, when integrated with solidarity-based governance structures, can generate socio-economic resilience and catalyse post-growth transformations.