The Southern Grassroots Economies Project (SGEP) is building networks across the US South to promote and launch sustainable cooperative economies. Our work is inspired by the rich history of social justice struggle in the South and looks to the example of the worker-owned cooperatives of Mondragon, Spain for guidance.
Business enterprises that are community-based are responsive to the needs of the people in their immediate area. They are far less likely than large corporations to pick up and leave their community based solely on the promise of a greater profit margin. These businesses, and the people who own and work in them, are also far better stewards of the environment and the local “commons”—because these resources also nurture and belong to them.
The South is home to communities marginalized throughout the history of the United States. Women, African Americans, Native Americans, immigrants, youth and poor whites are often the most affected by shifts in regional and global economies. This current crisis is no different. If the outcome of multiple rounds of corporate bailouts is merely congratulating Wall Street for lowering the unemployment rate slightly, we will not have achieved any significant gains. The individuals and organizations within the SGEP are working to create a culture of community-based ownership in the South—a culture that will fundamentally alter our relationship with business, work, and community wealth.
SGEP Member Organizations
I’m trying to understand why in all of this time, with all of the scholars, experts and intellectuals in prestigious positions, why any organization including co-ops, have they yet to make an impact significant enough to not lead to the current status-quo in the south, in America and in the world.
I agree that a better designed cooperative that utilizes an wholistic approach to helping people will create the greatest social impact. Although many co-ops exist today, NONE include directly helping people with their physical, financial, spiritual, mental and emotional health and wellness at the same time from one organization. How long will it take for the collective intelligence of the world to realize that whole person needs to be tended to in order for society to reach our full potential and make the kind of progress we really want to experience.
It seems like the people we view as leaders and decision makers really don’t know how to better the status quo. At the end of the day it’s about results and all of us making progress not just the majority. There is a way to better the status quo and it will involve co-ops taking a more wholistic approach to helping people in order to make the greatest impact on progress. Obviously, just providing jobs, food and housing is not enough. People need coaching for diet/fitness, managing their finances to get out of debt, improve their credit and create multiple streams of income along with business coaching, spiritual development, cognitive skills enhancement, emotional intelligence training, food, transportation, housing, jobs….There is nothing wrong with holding someone hand who struggles to make progress especially if hand holding actually leads to sustainable progress for the individual. All of these services and assistance can be funded by a co-op that actively engages in mission-related investing in order sustain their ability to help the most people possible. We know all of this already but we are applying what we know.
To create a co-op that makes the greatest social impact ever is my calling and it seems like I’ve been running into people and organizations that should be utilizing the power of forming better strategic partnerships and cultivating co-op intelligence/optimization/analytics for better decision making and research capability.
You make an excellent point, and I can tell from your post that you are very passionate about this issue (which is key for getting things done!).
What I like about your post, is your emphasis on the role of co-op’s to empower people; that co-operating and the co-op structure have inherent benefits for people. Co-ops bring people together and provide a structure so that we all have each other’s backs.
There are some examples of social and multi-stakeholder co-operatives all over the world. Italy and Spain have co-ops for people getting out of prison, people who have mental illness, and lots of other related issues.
A co-op typically gets started when a community identifies a need that is not being met, identifies potential members and then rolls up their sleeves. Building community, getting people together to talk, eat, converse, and then to view themselves as members is a great first step.
I am fully aware of my spelling and grammatical errors. Hopefully, I haven’t made it too difficult to get the gist of what I’m expressing.
Hi Steve,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns in this forum and I hope you know we’re hard at work planning Coop Econ 2013 and you should take part! That’s putting skin in the game to help bring about such holistic reforms.
I would definitely argue there’s a world of co-operatives which are not the status quo but do address holistic development including spiritual and financial development. Credit unions particularly in say Canada are built on enhancing the financial lives of their owners, the borrowers and savers. Co-op heathcare is very holistic if you look at everspring co-op in Minneapolis.
Anyway, I hope you join up, and you can send me an email at mreppers@gmail.com.