Cooperative funeral homes have proven a highly successful model in Canada, and especially Quebec. The cooperative movement is growing, with 9,600 deaths treated by funeral cooperatives in 2011 in Canada, up more than 5 percent from 2010. The Fédération des Coopératives Funéraires du Québec (Federation of Funeral Cooperatives of Québec) is the umbrella structure for […]
A Life Long Commitment
What do teenagers and small business owners have in common? They are two of the many populations that participate in and benefit from membership in the Ecuadorian credit union OSCUS. For all of its members OSCUS dedicates itself to long-term life planning for members that goes beyond standard savings-and-loans. Visit one of the many OSCUS […]
How Fonus made funerals affordable
Men in black plundering estates was how newspapers depicted the Swedish funeral industry in 1944. So outrageous was the price of burying your dead that the debate reached as far as the Swedish parliament. Moving into action the Church of Sweden approached the Swedish Cooperative Union, the KF, hoping the popular movement could help. And […]
Beyond Rural Electrification
A casual visit sometime in the summer of 2007 in Purok Cadanlaan, Dahican, a secluded and quiet village in the shoreline of the Pacific at the eastern part of the City of Mati was the start of a dream come true for the residents of the village and its neighboring ones. No more was this […]
N.Y. Co-op Helps Preserve Jobs
An electric cooperative in New York has helped state and local officials keep more than 1,000 jobs in an area ravaged by storms and flooding last fall. The co-op will use low-cost hydroelectric power to serve a new industrial account that will triple its overall commercial and industrial load. We were ground zero for Hurricane […]
Keeping Water Flowing in Chile
Fresh, clean, affordable water. It is difficult to imagine anything more important. Throughout rural Chile small cooperatives manage regional sanitation. Driving through the countryside, one sees occasional lagoons and water tanks glinting in the distance. Dedicated community members maintain these reservoirs and the pipes and drainage systems that keep them functioning. However, groups often work […]
Electricity a catalyst for development
It may be the national day and offices across the country are closed, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find Jim Ford at his desk. The development expert who has worked in the field for NRECA International in the United States for decades, spent many years in Bangladesh directing technical assistance projects in support of […]
Metal Working in the Austrian Alps
Surrounded by jagged snow-capped peaks year-round, the Stubai Valley in the Austrian Alps is known for skiing, hikingand steel manufacturing. Starting in the 14th century, iron ore deposits were mined here, sparking the valleys nascent iron production and manufacturing industry. Now, the valley, which has a population of just 14,000, processes several thousand tons of […]
CIC KENYA pays claims relating to post-election violence
Kenyan cooperative insurer, CIC Insurance Group, took a clear stand to pay claims resulting from losses due to political violence, unlike some insurance companies that have attached conditions to honoring such claims. Post-election related claims paid by the company amounted to about Kshs. 100 million (USD 1.2 million), mainly from small businesses owned by members […]
Youngest cooperative in Lower-Austria supports members and the region
Nearly every tourist who visits Lower Austria stops for a pleasant stay in Wachau. The unique cultural landscape around the Danube is characterized by steep vineyards, which are edged from natural stone walls and bordered by apricot trees. Wachaus wine is famous all around the world. The apricot trees excite visitors in the springtime with […]