In 1963 the Rochdale Estate Cooperative formed in order to make home ownership a possibility at a lower price. The cooperative acted as a land development business. Members were able to own developed land at a cost reduction of 35%. After completion of the development project the cooperative dissolved but members remained satisfied home owners.
Fun and Games and Cooperatives
When the game Monopoly was originally designed in 1903, its end goal was not driving other players to bankruptcy, but to encourage players to cooperate, paying rent into a common pot and achieving a happier shared prosperity. But when the game was patented and sold to Parker Brothers in the 1930s, its economic lesson changed. […]
Toolbox for Education and Social Action (TESA)
A worker-owned cooperative creating educational curricula, workshops and games for social and economic justice.
Traditional Art at Fair Prices
At the cobblestoned corner of 4 Norte and 4 Oriente, 400 indigenous women sell their work. Embroidered shirts, jewelry, paper hangings and other traditional handcrafts fill shelves and line walls. Craft shops are no rare thing in the historic downtown of Puebla, Mexico and tourists flock through the streets clutching plastic bags stuffed with gifts […]
Teotitlan Cooperative
Teotitlan is a cooperative made of 36 weavers. The members pool resources in order to reach a larger audience and receive a fair price for their work.
Is Your Insurance Sustainable?
Sustainable design, sustainable agriculture, sustainable energy: all fairly familiar concepts these days. But what about sustainable insurance? The Co-operators Group, a Canadian-owned insurance and financial services organization, is at the forefront of bringing the principles of sustainability to financial products. “There is so much dialogue about sustainability around the globe,” explains Kathy Bardswick, the President […]
The Co-operators Group
The Co-operators Group Limited is a third-tier cooperative whose member-owners include cooperative organizations and credit union centrals around Canada. It provides insurance and financial services in three core areas (property and casualty insurance, life insurance and institutional investments) and has more than $35.1 billion in assets under administration and 4,632 employees. The Co-operators protects over […]
From Village Shops to Online Banking
Finland is one of most cooperative countries in the world, with almost 4 million cooperative members out of a total population of 5.4 million. Over 1.9 million of them are members of the Suomen Osuuskauppojen Keskuskunta (SOK) Corporation, also known as the S Group, a union of 22 regional retail and service cooperatives. The S […]
SOK Corporation
The Suomen Osuuskauppojen Keskuskunta (SOK) Corporation, also known as the S Group, is a Finnish network of companies in the retail and service trades. A grouping of 22 regional and local cooperatives, the S Group has over 1.9 million members and 1,697 outlets, including four supermarket chains, service stations, hotels, restaurants and car dealerships, with […]
America’s Electric Cooperatives: Showing the Way to a Sustainable Future?
Martin Lowery believes cooperatives are responsible for what might be greatest engineering feat of the 20th century in the United States: bringing electricity to millions of rural homes after private companies refused to provide the infrastructure to extend power lines into the heart of the country. Lowery is the Executive Vice President for Member and […]