This week, Kenzie Love reports on a British Columbia ecovillage that is organized as a multi-stakeholder co-op, including housing, worker, and producer components in a single holistic organization.
Then, Yavor Tarinski makes a case for the plenum - a democratic assembly open to popular participation - as an important form of prefigurative politics for a radically democratized society. Tarinski draws on examples from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia to show how the plenum form embodies the "universal sentiment towards direct democracy."
OUR Eco Village Cooperative
by Kenzie Love
The Co-op began as a community group in Victoria, BC, in the 1990s, united by a passion for land-based learning and experience in the eco-village movement, an international concept ratified by the United Nations, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals. Establishing themselves in Shawnigan Lake, BC, in 1999, the founders aimed to work together for the common good, reclaiming common space and establishing a holistic design encompassing social, environmental, and economic dimensions. They also incorporated a fourth dimension: worldview, focusing heavily on cooperative culture.
Plenums in the Post-Yugoslav Space
by Yavor Tarinski
We see that in different temporal and spatial realities, in moments of social upheaval, that societies begin to move and self-organize. There is a common trait that often connects such experiences – the emergence of grassroots institutions that allow for direct participation of the citizenry. These reflect what CLR James has termed as universal sentiment towards direct democracy.
Rimrock Court becomes 21st Resident Owned Community in Oregon
ROC USA — Community and Shelter Assistance Corporation (CASA of Oregon) is pleased to announce that Rimrock Court residents formed a cooperative and purchased their manufactured home community in Madras, Oregon on April 9. Rimrock Court is comprised of more than five acres of land, and is conveniently located near several employment and commercial retail services. Nearby community services include a fire station, police station and a hospital, as well as public schools and convenient access to a public park...
$10M capital gains exemption for worker co-op sales in Canada
Miller Thompson — While much of the attention on Budget 2024 focused on Employee Ownership Trusts (“EOT”), a lesser-known measure may offer similar tax advantages through a different employee ownership model: the worker cooperative corporation (“WCC”). With draft legislation released in August 2024, business owners now have an opportunity to access up to $10 million in capital gains exemptions when selling to a WCC, but only if strict conditions are met. This article explains how WCCs function, how they compare to EOTs, and the requirements for qualification...
Co-ops outpace traditional grocers in sales and local, organic and Fair Trade products
NCBA CLUSA — Member food co-ops that belong to National Co+op Grocers (NCG) last year achieved same-store sales growth of 4.7 percent, compared to the overall U.S. retail food market of less than 3 percent in 2024. NCG member co-ops also outperformed traditional retailers in shares of local, organic and Fair Trade product sales...
Friends pool money to build Scandinavian ecovillage in self-owned factory
Fair Companies — In the small Danish town of Ebeltoft, 160 friends did something most people only dream about: they pooled their money to buy a sprawling, decommissioned steel factory...
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