Mutual-Aid & Self-Help Groups

On Saturday Sept. 28, the day after the storm, about 40 people gathered outside the store for the first community meeting, where they set up tables to distribute food and supplies. Everyone agreed they would keep doing this every day, and Sunday’s meeting drew at least 100 people.

If you are moved by the abundance of waste in your neighborhood, are concerned about your neighbors in need, are a fan of building and strengthening community, want to take action to reject capitalism, or just enjoy the mystery of seeing colorful displays of random items, each with a story, you’re not alone! And that’s great news because teamwork is the dreamwork for creating a free store or neighborhood sharing hub. Free stores are an extension of the gift economy, where all items are available to anyone at no charge. 

While residents of those regions waited for assistance, community members and grassroots organizations stepped in.

Nebula describes itself as a group that supports “survivors of battering, SA, IPV & DV with community & physical resources in crisis & in their empowerment”. They also “ assist neighbors & mutual aid groups learning how to build liberatory practices in their groups.”

These WhatsApp groups changed my life overnight. I went from struggling to find something to eat and a way to get around to relaxing into the support provided by the care of an Excel sheet.

“Urban Recipe started in 1991 out of one church’s efforts to be in relationship with their community differently beyond the traditional food pantry relationship,” executive director Jeremy Lewis says. Urban Recipe has moved out of that church and now operates and facilitates six food co-ops similar to Co-op 1 and helps operationally support and source food for four additional co-ops in Atlanta that have been through their cooperative pathways training program.

The Spanish Civil War and Revolution of 1936 was arguably the 20th century’s greatest experiment in economic democracy. Seizing the opportunity opened by the conflict between the Spanish Republic and right-wing Nationalists, Spain’s workers and peasants built a new economy in the midst of the chaos. 

In Ghana, a centuries-old financial system called Susu provides an example of effective bottom-up development that contributes meaningfully to reducing poverty and economic inequality.

Equal Care Coop and Clapton Commons are mapping a local landscape of care and support in Clapton Common, Upper Clapton. Using KUMU, a powerful system mapping platform, we are creating an interactive map that makes the often invisible grassroots networks of care and support more visible and accessible to people giving and receiving care.

In this episode, we have an in-depth conversation with Mike Strode, the Founding Coordinator behind an innovative solution that offers just that: The Kola Nut Collaborative.