This week, Mari Nishitani writes about her time visiting women's cooperatives in rural Nepali villages. Nishitani contrasts the experiences of women working in NGO-developed cooperatives with those of women working in cooperatives they developed themselves, and what she finds will come as no surprise to most readers: co-ops developed by the members are more stable and provide more benefits to their members than the NGO-led co-ops.Â
Then, the Cooperative Development Foundation brings together technical assistance providers from Montana, Illinois, and Michigan to talk about their experiences assisting various types of housing cooperative in rural areas of the country.Â
Reimagining NGO Relationships with Cooperatives
by Mari Nishitani
When I talked to members, it became clear that Milijuli’s members have a clear, grounded understanding of the cooperative’s purpose: to overcome economic inequity and foster women’s development in the village. This contrasts sharply with Bhimad, where members were preoccupied with goat farming and the NGO itself, which obscured the larger purpose of the cooperative.
What Does Shared Equity Housing Look Like in Rural Communities?
by Cooperative Development Foundation
During this webinar, the Cooperative Development Foundation’s Affordable Housing Initiative explored how shared equity housing models such as limited equity co-ops, community owned real estate co-ops, ROCs (resident owned communities of manufactured homes), and other models can help rural communities meet their housing needs on their terms...Â
East Boston Cooperation
Co-op Matters — CCDS is a collection of bilingual co-ops in East Boston that has grown to include seven businesses. One of those businesses, the catering cooperative Sazón Co-op, provided lunch for the event attendees...In addition to Sazón Co-op, the collective includes a seamstress business, Puntada, specializing in sewing, mending, and fabricating; Wonder Kiddos, a childcare cooperative; Renacer specializing in comprehensive elder care; United Hands Maintenance Services connecting tradespeople with dignified work; Clean Green, a domestic cleaning cooperative using environmentally friendly cleaning products; and EN/ES Translations, an international translation service...
What are Internal Capital Accounts in Worker Cooperatives?
ICA Group (YouTube) — This video is part of the LevelUp Coops workshop series, where cooperative experts and worker-owners break down practical tools to build stronger, more democratic businesses. In this session, we explore Internal Capital Accounts (ICAs) — a cornerstone of financial participation in worker co-ops — and how they support member wealth-building, engagement, and sustainability...
Succession Tips from Credit Union Leaders
Co-operatives First — On a recent trip to Montreal, Trista and I took a short drive to Kahnawake to visit the caisse populaire, an Indigenous-owned and controlled financial institution. Founded in 1987, the Caisse Populaire Kahnawake is one of Canada’s most successful small credit unions, thanks in no small part to founding member and first general manager Michael Rice and current general manager Mandy Montour.  Michael helped establish the caisse populaire, and when he stepped away as the general manager in 1995, he hand-picked Mandy to take over leadership. After a 35-year career, Mandy is also eyeing retirement, raising some important questions about succession planning...
How to (Actually) Embody B Corp Values
LIFT Economy — In my experience helping 100+ companies certify as B Corps, I would estimate that less than 25% of them truly embody B Corp values across their leadership, culture, and operations. About 50%-60% are making real—yet inconsistent—progress towards authentically living B Corp values. The final 15-20% meet the minimum requirements but do not deeply live the values, and may even be at reputational risk if employees or customers look behind the badge...
Vision and Victory Conference: Expanding Black Employee Ownership
Morehourse ICLS — This ICLS inaugural event will inspire all – workers seeking ownership, small businesses, startups and new graduates seeking to cooperate and combine, or retiring owners seeking intergenerational wealth transfer and legacy. November 12-14, Hyatt Regency, Atlanta...Â
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