Chapman spent the Second World War in uniform but did not serve overseas; following the war, he went to work for the Saskatchewan Department of Cooperation and Co-operative Development.
Through the second half of the 20th Century, Chapman helped establish the province’s first co-operative farm and racked up countless miles as he worked to educate people about the benefits of co-operation.
One of the main things is I wanted there to be more parent figures for my son and have basically an extended family,” she said of her move to the St. Louis Park cohousing community. “And it did work out that way.”
Fischer treasures the connections she's developed with the people at Monterey, where residents own private apartments or town homes but share many spaces, tasks, responsibilities and experiences. That's what cohousing is about.
A storm is coming. We have to learn how to make our communities resilient. And this resilience is not just about alternative energy, natural building, and sustainable agriculture. It's about creating psychological resilience and then bringing that into everything we do.
In 1964, a group of British-Caribbeans did something historical – they set up the first credit union in Britain, the Hornsey Co-operative Credit Union. This was a reaction against discrimination by the banks, that often charged Caribbeans higher interest rates and required them to pay larger deposits for loans to buy houses and flats.
To tackle this problem, 10 pioneers from the Ferme Park Baptist church imported a model of banking that was widespread in their countries of origin – the credit union.
The city of Boston’s Worker Cooperative Initiative helped Democracy Brewing launch by lending it $150,000, and by paying a contractor to create a credit memo about the business’ prospects. “It’s a huge chunk of what made it possible for us to open our doors,” Rasza says. He credits the credit memo with helping the brewery raise much of its $1.8 million startup capital.
For the charity sector, co-ops are business clubs focused on private gain – values-based, open and entrepreneurial. That is seen as in contrast with a wider public purpose – indeed charity law tends to test public benefit negatively, through the absence of private benefit.
For the co-operative sector, philanthropy is about the public works of private people – generous with their time and money, prosperous, often establishment. That is seen as in contrast with the working class roots of the self-help movement – participatory and emerging out of need.
It's Going Down has compiled a list of mutual aid groups organizing in response to the COVID-19 crisis. They currently have groups listed in 36 US states and the District of Columbia, as well as five groups in Canada. Click the link below to see the list.
This page will be updated as new projects and groups are announced. To have your group or mutual aid project listed, email us at: info [at] itsgoingdown [dot] org
Travel concerns saw the World Council of Credit Unions (Woccu) cancel its Young Professional Exchange and Global Youth Summit, scheduled for the UK on 9-15 March.
