A very strong statement from a 4th generation family farmer working a homestead established in 1889. It reminds us that the agricultural co-ops of the 19th century Progressive movement didn't die. The political arm died but many of the co-ops are continuing to work for Food Security and a fair deal for the family farmer.
This is a really good and simple explanation of the use of an alternate currency, a credit arrangement, actually, on co-operative principles and structures to revitalize the local economy of a community that is in a country under a New-Liberal Austerity job and social-benefits crunch.
This is a two-part story on CounterPunch.org by Jane Slaughter. It tells the story of the formation of the TRADOC Cooperative that started with a three-year worker's strike and has led to a successful worker co-op. Part two [can be found here](http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/04/04/can-worker-owners-make-a-big-factory-run/).
Highlighting the Importance of Student-Run Cooperatives
by Meghan McDonough, (University of Massachusetts, Amherst student)
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an original report written for GEO.)
Mostly, capped landfills remind me of the mausoleums of a consumer society. For most of a century we dumped our solid waste onto these Mt Trashmores and mixed up a brew of concentrated toxins which seeped into the surrounding areas and often polluted (and still do) our water. So we learned to treat our waste as a resource, close the landfills, cap them, and leave them idle. We’re still very primitive about this, but progress is steady.
Paul Glover, instigator behinc Ithaca Hours and a passionate spokes-person for local money contributed this overview to Shareables.net. A local money or, alternatively, a time-bank, can bring the community together, provide the "money" for local improvement(s), and teaches the participants trust in each other and the community as a whole.
Yochai Benkler, Co-Director of the Faculty at Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, talks about his newest book. Video and audio are both available through the page.
The IV International Gathering “The Economy of the Workers” seeks to explore these and other questions relating to the struggle of the workers from different perspectives and in different national contexts. It seeks to provide a space for discussion and debate using the experiences of worker economic control and self-management as a point of departure, bringing together the perspectives of academics, social activists, and the workers themselves.
The biennial Democracy Convention is coming up in early August, 2013, in Madison, Wisconsin. The ItsOurEconomy team is spearheading the Economic Democracy track. GEO is planning on supporting them in this event.
Quilted co-op is excited for someone to join their Berkeley office full-time and contribute to our team doing project management, support, and training for our nonprofit, cooperative, and social justice clients..
The Communities Conference at Twin Oaks Community is a chance for people interested or involved in intentional communities and other community-oriented projects or businesses to share ideas, network, and enjoy a weekend together.
This is a very supportive piece about the takeover of a window company by the workers and union membes. Worth reading and sharing.
What is a revolution? For the last 250 years or so, revolutions have consisted above all of planetwide transformations of political common sense, the very grounds of political discussion. French Revolution. Russian Revolution. The 60s. Now.
Apply for a position in a worker cooperative incubator to help create healthy, dignified jobs for low-income women. Bi-lingual applicants who speak Spanish and English only.
"Join us in New York City from July 19-21, 2013 for a convergence to build youth and student power for a just and sustainable economy.
"Horizontal Power Hour, the anarchist radio show produced by The Dream Committee, a consensus-based collective in Middletown, CT, airing on WESU. Horizontal Power Hour airs on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at 4pm EST." Visit their website to listen to archive episodes addressing issues of gender, race, class, and power from a critical, grassroots perspective.
Preparations for the 2013 *Twin Oaks Communities Conference are now in full swing! For those who don't know, Twin Oaks is an income-sharing, egalitarian community located in rural Virginia. We are 95 people living on 450 acres, where we collectively own and manage a number of our own businesses (more at twinoaks.org). We have hosted this fantastic conference for over 20 of our 45 years of existence.
