Archive for 'co-operatives'
New co-ops legislation on its way
Important news from Parliament today. Croydon Labour MP and Co-op Party member Malcolm Wicks MP gave notice to the Speaker that he has taken up the Co-operative Party’s Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies and Credit Unions Bill. On 24 April, he will introduce the Bill to Parliament. Malcolm came 6th on the ballot for Private [...]
Made by co-op hands
Britain’s worker co-operatives have begun to use a new label to help consumers support this form of organisation. “Worker co-operatives are businesses that are owned and democratically controlled by their employee members using co-operative principles. They are an alternative to investor owned models of enterprise.” The ‘Made By Co-op Hands’ logo is being promoted by [...]
Celebrating the Kilimanjaro pioneers
At the end of November, celebrations were held in Tanzania and around the world to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of KNCU, the oldest co-operative in Africa. The Kilimanjaro Native Co-operative Union is made up of 65,000 smallholder coffee growers located in Moshi, 580km north west of Dar-es-Salaam. The co-op was established in [...]
First community hydro energy co-op
A scheme in Derbyshire has become the first to set up community funded hydro electricity at Torr Weir on the River Goyt in New Mills. Torrs Hydro is now up and running as a community co-op and revenue will help regenerate the community. It was set up with a grant from the Co-operative Fund and [...]
Making Waves
Wave is a great co-operative doing fantastic design work for the Co-operative Group and other organisations around the country. They have been nominated for a BAFTA for some of their previous work. Today they have launched a groundbreaking education website providing free online access to more than 60 years’ worth of Cabinet papers including more [...]
Co-ops score in food and farming awards
Good to see co-ops doing well again in the BBC Radio Food and Farming Awards 2008. Calon Wen, a co-op of 20 farmers in Carmarthenshire, won Best Food Producer for the quality of its organic milk. It is the first dairy in the UK to achieve the Soil Association’s Ethical Trade Symbol. And Unicorn Grocery [...]
The lost Czech co-op movement
The Co-operative News has a sweet story about the pre-1948 Czech co-operative movement, which even ran the National Theatre as a co-op. Cottesloe, Lyttelton and Olivier, here we come…
China’s co-operative soysauce revolution
Much has been said of China’s model of new capitalism. Huge levels of economic growth have come at the cost of labour standards and redistributive values. Last weekend, China’s leaders gathered to thrash out their course in the economic crisis. Some see the tumble of banks in the West as proof of the superiority of [...]
