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Catalyzing worker co-ops & the solidarity economy

Mutual-Aid & Self-Help Groups

Groups or organizations that are dedicated to building and maintaining relationships of mutual aid and support between and among their members.

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November 7, 2022

Cooperative Enterprise and Market Economy: Chapter 2

Summary

Essence, economic objective, and characteristics of the cooperative enterprise.Essence, economic objective, and characteristics of the cooperative enterprise.

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May 19, 2022

Rotating Savings and Credit Associations

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Summary

A Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA) is a group of individuals who act as an alternative financial institution. Each person contributes money towards a common fund, and the funds rotate through members at regular intervals. The member who borrows the funds will eventually repay their portion back into the association so the next member can withdraw their share.

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March 24, 2022

Cooperative Finance in Haiti and Grenada

Summary

A report on the widespread use of formal and informal financial cooperatives by the people of Haiti and Grenada.

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December 20, 2021

How to Start a Library of Things

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Summary

An interview with Gene Homicki, co-founder and CEO of myTurn, an online platform for managing libraries of things.

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October 25, 2021

Organizing for Food Justice in a Texas Food Desert

Summary

How food several Dallas food justice organizations joined together to bring healthy food to the city's several food deserts.

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September 16, 2021

‘Black Banker Ladies’ and the Power of the Informal

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Summary

ROSCAs consist of the regular pooling of money among friends and neighbors. It’s a way for individuals to amass chunks of money and is relied upon by millions of Black women in Africa, the Caribbean, and North America as a trusted alternative to formal banking systems that often exclude them.

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June 21, 2021

The Banker Ladies

Summary

The Banker Ladies tells the stories of Ginelle, Aisha and Mabinty, three Black women in Toronto creating diverse financial services for their communities through Rotating Saving and Credit Associations (ROSCAs).

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May 13, 2021

Learning from Hall Socialism

Summary

Historian-activists Kassandra Luciuk and Saku Pinta join us to discuss the "hall socialism" that flourished in communities of Finnish and Ukrainian migrant workers in the early 20th century.

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April 26, 2021

Mississippi Failed its Residents During a Crisis, So They Helped Themselves

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Summary

Class and racial disparities worsened the winter storm crisis in the Southern US in Feb. 2021. Local groups stepped in to help fill the void of state support.