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In several American communities, former G.I.s proposed new integrated communities. Winning the war against fascism abroad created interest in building a new America at home. Among these communities were a number of housing cooperatives. The many cooperative housing communities that sprouted after the war proudly followed the Rochdale Principles, (now the International Cooperative Alliance Principles) named after the English town that launched the cooperative movement in 1844.

ANGELA DAVIS: Say, what's the story behind senior housing co-ops starting in Minnesota, for goodness sakes?

DENNIS JOHNSON: It is an interesting situation. One of the senior execs at Ebenezer back in the early to mid 1970s was observing the population in Richfield, Edina, which was basically a blue collar population as they aged in their homes, dealt with raking leaves and mowing lawn and shoveling snow and changing storm windows and cleaning gutters and looking at what other alternatives they might have to get away from that.

During the 2011 uprisings against Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, the residents of Jemna, a town of some 8,000 inhabitants in deprived rural southern Tunisia, took control of a date oasis of approximately 11,000 date trees — following a 69-day sit-in. The land had been exploited by private companies associated with the former dictator’s family.

After operating in the Okanagan Valley for nearly nine decades, the B.C. Tree Fruits co-operative announced to growers on Friday it is dissolving and seeking court direction to liquidate its assets.

The co-operative, which is made up of more than 230 farming families, is perhaps best known to consumers for its green leaf logo that has adorned fruit packaging and apple stickers for decades as a sign of B.C.-grown quality. 

Co-operatives First is proud to have helped the Afripride Women Cooperative (AWC) to get up and running! This group of Afro-Canadian women, driven by a passion for the economic empowerment of other women like themselves, formed the co-op to pool their resources and invest in projects that benefit their families and communities. AWC’s mission is to promote the socio-economic self-empowerment of Afro-Canadian women, an equity-deserving group, through culturally aligned economic alternatives; specifically Rotating Savings Credit Associations (ROSCAs).

The perspective of Juliet ‘Kego is not one to miss. Her life-long and cross-cultural experience with ROSCAs, or money pooling systems, have allowed her to craft a unique take on how its users can unite regardless of their racial or cultural affiliation. Without forgetting to highlight why the Banker Ladies spearheading this initiative are Black, she pays tribute to the multicultural integration necessary for ROSCAs to flourish in Canada no less.

The early 1900s Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) used games to raise funds, teach strategy and build awareness. Suffragetto pitched suffragettes against police – the former trying to storm the House of Commons, the latter to infiltrate the WSPU. Wrong moves put players in prison or hospital.

The Dilemma of the Deserted Husband was not solved by the unilateral decision of a single leader. Nor did people raise their hands in a majority vote. Instead, it was the product of long deliberation. For months, there were discussions, disagreements and compromises. The goal of the process was consensus, to find a solution that everyone could live with, even if it was imperfect (the new throuple ‘did not exactly live happily ever after’, according to Silberbauer).

Paul and Mike welcome journalist Amos Barshad to this episode of Ownership Matters, following the publication of his article “The Homeowners’ Rebellion” in The Lever. Amos dedicated time and resources to research for this well-written article, going so far as to take a trip to multiple ROCs in Minnesota. Listen in to hear him describe his experience and what he took away from his interactions.