Gleanings

Boot camp workshop on Theory and Praxis in decolonial and non-hierarchical research methods.

August 3-11, 2019

El Cambalache
San Cristobal de las Casas
Chiapas, Mexico

Decolonial economic geography begins with participatory action research into non-western and non-hierarchical economic practices.

Link: 
Boot Camp Summer Workshop: Decolonial Methods in Social and Solidarity Economies

As corporate cultivation operations in California continue to expand, small cannabis growers in the Golden State are banding together to develop cooperatives in an attempt to gain a competitive edge against their large-scale rivals.

Co-ops present pros and cons for smaller marijuana growers. But those who are making the move point to these factors:

Link: 
Smaller California marijuana farmers form co-ops to save on costs, compete with large growers

Zorotheos started Googling: “How do you buy a mobile home park?”

The answer: Rally the residents. It would take somebody who knew everybody, and luckily, Zorotheos matched that description. 

Link: 
Residents See Trailer Parks As Home. Investors See Them As Cash Cows.

Start.coop, the first accelerator program designed to help scale cooperatively-owned startups and cooperative tech platforms, will celebrate the graduation of its inaugural cohort May 20-24 in San Francisco. The five startup teams are traveling from across the United States to present their companies at a series of Bay-area events, including:

Link: 
First U.S. Co-op Accelerator, Launches its Inaugural Cohort of Startups

In 1963, with a median income of $6,200, you could have bought a home for about 3 times your annual income. In 2017, that ratio had increased to 5.2, with the median income being about $50,000 and the median cost of a house at $321,000. In two-thirds of America, the growth in the cost of housing is exceeding wage growth. I’ve included a cute little table below to show you the numbers, and you can see the sources below that.

Link: 
When Renting and Buying are Too Expensive

First, a connection to the land is vital. If at all possible, live on the land, work the land, care for the land, be one with the land, and grow at least part of your own food so you have a physical connection to it. Even if you live in town, regain that connection to the land by working your little plot or pot of soil.

Link: 
What Can We Learn from the Amish?

Modo is the first car-sharing co-operative in North America, incorporated in 1997 in Vancouver, BC.  It recently had its AGM, where sustainable growth and commitment to its members seemed to be main themes of the night.

Link: 
Modo Co-op: A Conversation With Patrick Nangle, CEO

When Boulder-based solar energy company Namasté Solar first went looking for capital to expand in 2004, it could have gone through the hassle of securing a bank loan or put together a dog-and-pony show to attract outside investors. But the company decided it wanted to partner with the people who knew the business better than anyone: its own staff.

Link: 
This Company Asked Its Employees for Cash and Everybody Won

In May of 2011, the seventy workers of Vio.Me stopped getting paid. Like many Greek capitalists, the long-absentee owner of this industrial chemical manufacturer faced financial ruin, and would soon file for bankruptcy. As such, the plant was abandoned. There would be no more jobs there, and the machines would soon be taken out and sold. For the people working in this plant, this was an especially frightening prospect.

Link: 
How to Seize the Means

Hi I’m Richard D. Bartlett! I’m writing a book about decentralised organising, finding lessons across diverse contexts, from social movements to formal workplaces.

Link: 
Resources for decentralised organising

Pages

Subscribe to Gleanings