"I want everyone to have access to as much nutritious food as they need to thrive, and I want local residents to control how that food is produced and distributed," she says in an email to the Journal. "I want housing to be guaranteed for all and for residents to be empowered to make decisions about the things that affect their lives. It's way past time for regular people to be empowered to create the world they want to inhabit, and my involvement with Cooperation Humboldt allows me to help build that reality in the place I've lived for the past 40 years."
Whether it's the weight of its aspirations, the breadth of its vision or the varied backgrounds of its board members, Cooperation Humboldt doesn't look like a traditional nonprofit. Yes, it has the five-person board of directors but next to it, on the same plane in its "leadership circle" is a "core team," a group of 30 people who have taken the time to study everything from local Wiyot history and patriarchy to race and economic philosophy together. Then there are 100 to 150 active participants, people volunteering on projects and engaged in ongoing operations. The next level sees 2,500 local supporters, people who contribute what they can how they can.
In just a few short years, the nonprofit was growing up to do some big things, helping people follow their particular passions toward making Humboldt County a more equitable place to live. It planted dozens of fruit trees throughout the county, with a caretaker assigned to each to make sure the tree remained healthy, but also that its fruit would make it to local food pantries and nonprofits. It supported a "keeping residents as residents" effort to keep medical professionals in Humboldt and improve access to healthcare, and worked to create childcare cooperatives. It created a tool library and skill share network, built tiny pantries around town and helped homeowners convert lawns to vegetable gardens.
Read the rest at North Coast Journal
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