“They chose the name because they wanted it to reflect a turning of orientation towards how we interact with land,” says Co-op member Kay Drudge. “So caring better for the land, learning from the land, rather than just extracting resources from the land.”
Greek might seem like an apt language for the term’s origin in a society where agriculture is indeed a foreign concept for many people. But that’s something Metanoia has worked hard to change since its founding. With its community-shared agriculture (CSA) program, the Co-op seeks to build relationships between its members and the farm’s customers, while fostering a greater sense of connection to the land for everyone. According to its website, the Co-op “grow(s) only open-pollinated varieties using organic practices. Valuing the relationality and care for the soil that comes with using their hands and simple tools, they seek to minimize mechanization.”
Metanoia’s founders were drawn to the worker co-op model by its flat structure and use of consensus decision-making, says Drudge, who’s in their fourth year with the Co-op.
“We have the freedom to sort of make decisions together without one person kind of holding the power in that way,” they say. “So that has its challenges, but has been overall a positive thing for the Co-op.”
Read the rest at the Canadian Worker Co-op Federation
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