We sell plumbing gear to plumbers who are mainly our members, each with an equal vote. That’s the succinct description of the Plumber Supplies Co-operative (PSC) given by Tony Rogic, its general manager, sales. And it applied equally well when the co-operative was formed back in 1955. At that time Australian tradespeople faced a post-war […]
Working Together to Kill Zombies
Die2Nite is a computer game about zombies. But it is also, according to one review, an interactive piece of social commentary, in which you join 39 other players in a town repeatedly beset upon by the living dead. Its your choice whether or not to help the community or live (and die) alone. With its […]
COOTRASERVICORD CTA: Successful Experiences
It used to be that a public company provided the critical service of maintaining water and sewage facilities for the people of Monteria, Columbia. However, when the company faced liquidation, several former employees recognized a crucial need in their community. They banded together to make sure the water and sewage network and systems did not […]
Building Italy for over a century
From humble origins CMB stands for Cooperativa Braccianti e Muratori, the cooperative of labourers and bricklayers, and Carpi is a small town in Emilia-Romagna CMB Carpi has grown to become one of Italys top ten construction groups, building motorways, hospitals and shopping centres all over the country. The original cooperatives, the Cooperativa Braccianti […]
From Paraffin stoves to steel
In post-civil war Spain’s Basque country, a group of young, working class graduates with few job prospects founded a small co-operative to build paraffin stoves. They then began to set up other co-operative business ventures. When they needed capital for expansion, they started their own co-operative bank. These young people had been taught the ways […]
From nothing to the fastest growing medical clinic in the province
December 2001, Argentina. The Argentine economy is in ruins, the peso-denominated bank accounts of its middles classes have been frozen in the corralito as it is colloquially referred to, while the foreign-denominated bank accounts of its wealthy elite are protected. Downtown in Argentinas second largest city, Córdoba, a private medical clinic is on its last […]
Symbols of hope – remembering Japan 1 year on
The word for rice in Japanese is gohan. Its also the word used in Japan for meal. The best reflection of rices value in Japanese society is that it was once used as a form of currency. In their bid for greater self-sufficiency the members of the Hikari Jigyodan workers cooperative in the far south […]
Paying for your land with your life
When the Spanish conquistadores landed at the southern end of Luzon island in 1576 they set about colonising. Their haciendas and encomiendas marked the beginning of landlessness for millions of Philippine people. More than 400 years later a Philippine farmer called Pablito Dante set in train a series of events which would finally see agrarian […]
Hippies ride co-op to the next level
The bicycle is the noblest invention of mankind. I love the bicycle. I always have. I can think of no sincere, decent human being, male or female, young or old, saint or sinner, who can resist the bicycle. William Saroyan This quote from the Pulitzer Prize winning, Californian novelist is proudly displayed by the Edinburgh […]
Birmingham Bike Foundry – United Kingdom
Cycling is inexpensive, environmentally friendly, good exercise, often faster than public transport, reduces traffic congestion … What’s not to like? Unfortunately public policy is not always bicycle-oriented, and many people, especially women, are unwilling to get on a bike. A workers’ cooperative that recycles bikes and offers cycle training, Birmingham Bike Foundry is hoping to convince […]