This article presents the recent emergence of community-based social enterprises in the Brazilian economy. It highlights these new organizations’ profiles, their role as economic and social actors, as well as the emergence of a new form of institutions which rules their actions. These organizations have emerged from social networks, based on participative structures and reciprocity relationships, on hybrid organizational formats and on the value of the territory ant and its resources. The article provides an overview of the evolution of such organizations in Brazil. It also tries to identify the traits of innovation and the limits of this form of social economy, "at the fringe" of several issues. JEL codes: L26, O54