This article intends to describe and analyze a Solidary Popular Economy experience carried out by the Porto Alegre City Hall from the organizational culture perspective. The local authorities' determination to establish a self-run system and process in a shop that sells products from various groups of artisans has not been meeting expectations. Resources used to identify the aspects that either hinder or help the self-management implementation included the ethnographic method and the participative observation techniques, as well as interviews to expose the organizational culture. Results indicate a cultural fragmentation, with three groups of artisans in the same shop sharing different views on what Solidary Popular Economy is: the voluntaries group, the socialization group and the beneficiaries group. The non-observance of that cultural heterogeneity on the part of authorities, and furthermore the poor dissemination that leads to disinformation about the City Hall's project have prevented a more engaged action by those involved.