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The co-operative originated when factory workers went looking for a means to defend themselves against the abuses of early industrialization. Yet even today, it remains an instrument of choice for social entrepreneurs. What sets this structure apart? Its capacity to reshape itself to the twists and turns of multiple human needs, at the macro as well as the micro level. The following items from The CED Digital Bookshop, selected with the assistance of the Canadian Co-operative Association, explore achievements, problems, and issues in the application of co-operatives to community economic development. A click on any title will forward you to the Bookshop to place your order. (Most items cost under $10. Many are free.) Nothing here that fits the bill? There's plenty more. Drop us a line to let us know just what you're after. Four profile shows how people today are applying the co-operative model to purposes too complex and in settings too demanding for the private or public sectors. (Aussi disponible en français.) When municipal amalgamation threatens, community co-ops are a structure around which the identity and self-determination of rural towns can crystallize. 3. Co-Ops, the Social Economy, & CED in Québec A "symbiotic" relationship between the co-op and CED movements may take hold in Québec, built on their mutual commitment to democratic organization and to community-wide empowerment. But CED practitioners must be ready to take the lead. 4. New Generation Co-Operatives For Value-Added Projects To breathe new life into the old co-operative concept, many farmers are turning to a corporate structure which infuses commodity processing with equity, innovation, and member commitment. 5. New Generation Co-Operatives Although their exclusiveness puts them at odds with some co-operators, NGCs housed within a CED strategy can be an effective instrument of rural revitalization. Sherman Kreiner explains how our social entrepreneurs can and must buck CED convention and, after the example of two U.S. co-operatives, create businesses that raise the bar in select industrial sectors to the benefit of customers and low-income populations. 7. Revolution within a Revolution Rather than wait for the State or physician-entrepreneurs to supply needed health services in small towns, more and more Québécois are themselves taking action through solidarity co-operatives or nonprofit community-based organizations. (Aussi disponible en français.) This is the story of the rise of funeral co-operatives in Québec and the retreat of their multinational competitors. Key to the co-operatives' success has been their drive to educate and empower members, as well as supply cost-effective funeral services. 9. Assets, Equity, & Empowerment Quint Development Corporation's co-op housing strategy may be a way to turn renters into homeowners - with all the skills, values, & equity that entails. The spontaneous, even chaotic development of the Coopératives jeunesse de services is indicative of the flexibility and capacity of this worker co-op training model for mobilizing teenagers to entrepreneurship and community action. 11. Death of a Co-op Was the eventual failure of Quesnel Hardwood Co-operative a function of the forest sector? Of the members' inexperience? Or of sheer, desperate enthusiasm? In Toronto, the Lemon & Allspice Cookery is a business staffed by developmentally handicapped adults. Faith, love, and skill have been key to its survival. But so has been the Common Ground Co-operative, which lends form and system to the actions of supporters. 13. On The Rebound The co-ops emerging in B.C.'s resource sector are integrating value-added businesses into an alternative, community-based system of production. How best can women transform their affinity for co-operatism into viable, empowering enterprises? On the basis of 30 years of industrial activity in the Pacific Northwest, John Pencavel has written a thorough assessment of the role and future of worker co-ops in the forest sector. 16. Worker Co-Ops - One Tool Among Many When people are in the water, throw them a life-ring, not a helicopter. Good CED practice demands recognizing the prerequisites built into different business structures. 17. Worker Buy-Out The worker co-operative is one of the most common ways to structure the sale of a firm to the employees for the specific purpose of maintaining their jobs. Check out these other Hotlists! |
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