The paper focuses on the achievement of lifestyle-changing capabilities. It examines these possibilities from a design standpoint by assuming that everyone who is transforming existing situations to fit their preferences is functioning as a designer (Simon, 1969). Design is thus an inseparable part of participation, but this observation is not enough to answer the questions of who is participating and where designers are willing and capable to make changes. Based on the emerging theoretical foundations of the solidarity economy and the commons (Gibson-Graham et al., 2013) and the design practices of design groups and individuals (ProstoRož, Oloop, Trajna Society, Elena Fajt, and the Today is a New Day Institute), the text examines grassroots initiatives and shows the possibilities of solidarity economies in practice. In other words, the text shows a number of possible ways of creating distance, alternatives to the life of the submissive, and the possibilities of design in the given context.
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