Co-operative News

Football clubs celebrate co-operation in Champions League final

Anca — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:09:17 +0000

Thousands of fans will be shouting for their team during this weekend's Champions League final, and it is also a chance for co-operators to shout co-operation.

The final, due to take place on 25 May at Wembley Stadium, London, features Bayer Munich and Borussia Dortmund, two German football clubs owned by their supporters.

This year, co-operatively-owned football clubs have had a tremendous run in Champions League with Barcelona and Real Madrid being the other two semi-finalists.

Co-op ownership has proven to be very successful in Germany and Spain. Thirty three out of the 36 clubs in the Bundesliga are owned by their supporters and none of them has entered into administration over the past 42 years. Fans own at least 51 per cent of the club, which means that no individual can take control of the club. In the case of Bayer Munich, 130,000 fans own 84 per cent of the club.

The same applies to Borussia Dortmund, with the majority of the club’s shares being owned by its supporters. Since fans are the ones owning the clubs, the tickets also come at more affordable prices.

Kevin Rye, Network Development Manager at Supporters Direct, said co-op football clubs are a better alternative because they get supporters involved as major stakeholders. In his view, the co-op structure is much more reflective of what a football club is.

He believes that co-operatives make “better football clubs” and “better businesses”. And co-op football clubs engage with the communities more, according to Mr Rye, by being able to build a real connection with their fans.

The co-op alternative, he added, tends to be considered only in crisis situation. However, clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayer Munich prove that this model is sustainable on long-term.

Sud Vendée Paysages

admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:49:27 +0000

The original enterprise located in Sainte-Hermine, active in landscape planning and management, had been established as a limited liability company in 1980 by a married couple. In 2006, as the couple was reaching retirement age, they started looking for an acquirer. At that moment, the enterprise had 11 employees and they were informed about the handover plan. The employees agreed with the idea and all of them decided to take part in the adventure and become worker-members of the new (...)

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#1coop1week

Takaful: TIA to expand operations in East Africa

AlisonGrant — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:31:04 +0000

Kenyan ICMIF member, Takaful Insurance of Africa Ltd (TIA), plans to expand its operations into five East African nations, Chief Executive Officer Hassan Bashir said recently. TIA is Kenya’s only Shariah-compliant insurer.

Under TIA’s five-year plan it will expand into Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia and the autonomously governed enclave of Somaliland, where it was granted a license this year, Bashir said.

“The intention is to grow the takaful insurance model both in Kenya as well as expanding into the Eastern Africa region,” Bashir said in an interview in April.

The global market for Shariah-compliant (takaful) financing is set to double to USD 3 trillion by 2015, according to Standard & Poor’s.

CIC Insurance Group (CIC), another ICMIF member and Kenya’s second-biggest insurer by premiums, is one of the largest investors in TIA with about 22 percent, while four investment companies also have stakes.

In Kenya, TIA has four outlets and 80 agents in Nairobi and Mombasa. The company plans to add at least two more outlets this year and double the number of agents, Bashir said.

Our Divine rider completes the course – in Condor style

Rosanna Mayhew — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:04:46 +0000

She did it!!! Here’s Sara’s post after completing the whole MITIE Revolution 180 miles over the weekend…

OK. I had planned to get this blog done on Monday but the aftermath of completing a 180 mile bike ride (yes we did it!) was more than I’d anticipated. Apart from my achy bits and creeky knee which decided to give up 5 miles before the end of the MITIE London Revolution ride (it made for an interesting cycling technique), I’ve had a general feeling of complete disorientation. More like having been on the moon for 2 days rather than London’s home-counties. And dare I say it, a sense of sadness that it’s all over, even though I had wished that very thing on more than one occasion over the weekend!

All set to start

It’s funny coming out the other side. As I unpacked I realised that I had momentarily lost my mind in preparation for the ride. My extra supplies of food ‘just in case’ were ridiculous. So now we have cupboards full of peanuts, crisps, biscuits, chocolates and sweet drinks (my daughter Isla thinks all of her Christmases have come at once). And I had to find a home for my giant tub of Vaseline. Not to mention all the sweaty lycra to deal with – items that seem a bit alien now the ride is over.

Finishing on day 1 and 2

But it was definitely an incredible event to be part of and memorable in so many ways. Peddling a beautiful Condor bike was a joy (and life-saver!). The feeling of camaraderie with other cyclists and the Revolution staff kept everyone going; camping at Windsor racecourse was surreal; I got to experience the beauty of London’s home-counties as I’ve never done before, and I got the pleasure of my brother’s company for 2 days. We made good cycling partners, although I spent more time than I’d ever imagined possible in my life staring at his backside!

Camping at Windsor Racecourse

The sense of achievement is something to cherish too. The endless hills on day 2 didn’t break me (including Tandridge Hill for those who know this particular beasty) and I can proudly say I rode every one without pushing the bike. A small dream was realised when we made it to the top of Box Hill too. It was all unexpectedly … enjoyable. Would I do it again? Yes, absolutely. But not next week.

Reaching the top of Box Hill!

So a big thanks to Revolution Rides and Condor Cycles for making this possible, Divine Chocolate for fuelling the riders with delicious chocolate, and for all the encouragement of friends and family and unlikely sponsors for showing their support.

Divine breakfast!

I couldn’t end this blog without sharing a little confession to Condor Cycles . Despite my best efforts, that racing saddle never did come on the ride with me. A few necessary modifications were made in that department and my faithful saddle for many a commute came instead. As they say, you can take the commuter out for a cycle, but you can’t take the commuter out of the cyclist. Or something like that.

A saddle too far

Filed under: Divine Chocolate Tagged: Condor, Cycling, Dubble Chocolate, Mitie Revolution

Thank Feminism For Millennials’ Cooperative, Liberal Spirit

Dena Patrick — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:40:56 +0000

Why are millennials so cooperative, confident, and liberal-leaning compared to their older peers? Thank feminism, says Amanda Marcotte.

See it on Scoop.it, via Cooperatives | Co-ops

Workers' cooperatives: Cooperatives today: Challenges and opportunities

Dena Patrick — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:40:42 +0000

RT @incipecoop The International Labour Organization writes on the potentials of workers' co-ops: http://t.co/9hpyez2Gc4 via @ILONEWS #coops

See it on Scoop.it, via Cooperatives | Co-ops

Exchange of experiences between Japan and South Korea

admin — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:39:09 +0000

Representatives from "1318 Happy Zone”, a South Korean network of after-school programme centers, visited the cooperative Tachibana Children's Hall, established in 2006 and located in Tokyo, in order to share and learn from their experiences.

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Asia,
Portada

Fond du Lac (Wisconsin) Becomes 32nd FTT in U.S.

Jeff Goldman — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:15:33 +0000

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with a population of 44,000, is the 32nd city in the US to be named a Fair Trade Town, and the 3rd in Wisconsin. More at Fond du Lac Event post

Rebuilding the areas hit by the earthquake in Italy!

admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:33:00 +0000

An example of inter cooperation, the “Consorzio RicostruiaMO” (or “Rebuild Consortium”) has been officially created. Its aim is to contribute, along with the government, citizens, and technicians, to the reconstruction of the Modena area, which was hit by the earthquake in May 2012.

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Europa,
Portada

They’ve got the cashews. We’ve got the market. And then… nature intervenes. Part I

Rodney North — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:30:34 +0000

Part I: They’ve got the cashews. We’ve got the market. It’s a perfect match…

Coffee. Tea. Chocolate. Bananas. Almonds. Olive Oil. Geobars.

Last year we decided to add cashew nuts into the mix of new products we sell to food co-ops and consumers. You could sense the excitement in the meeting rooms of Equal Exchange from the moment the decision was made.

For over twenty five years, food co-ops have been some of our strongest allies. They helped Equal Exchange launch the fair trade movement when we were just starting out, bringing Nicaraguan coffee from small farmer co-operatives into the U.S. for the first time.

Much has changed in these past 25 years. Today, many consumers know; at least in rough terms; what fair trade is about. The idea of knowing where your coffee – chocolate, tea, even bananas, comes from – is not an unfamiliar concept to shoppers at food co-ops and we have many to thank for this revolution in the food system and how we choose our food products.

But nuts? Dried fruit? Trail mix? Even though these products can all be purchased in packages and in bulk at our local food co-ops, how many of us know anything about them; where they come from, who grows them, and under what conditions.

Do you?

Ever since the U.S. fair trade certifying agency, Transfair USA, (now called Fair Trade USA) went rogue, walking away with the intellectual property of the fair trade movement (and stealing the name “Fair Trade” along with it), Equal Exchange has renewed our efforts to keep Fair Trade authentic. We’re doing this not only by educating consumers about what’s happening in the world of fair trade, but also by redoubling our efforts to support small farmer co-operatives and strengthen small farmer supply chains from farmers to consumers.

One way to do this is through the delivery of more fair trade products direct to food co-ops from small farmer organizations.

Enter cashew nuts. It’s 2012. We’ve discovered our first source of high quality, organic, DELICIOUS cashew nuts from a small farmer co-op in El Salvador. Check, check, check, and check. Add to all that perfection, something else: the co-op members of Aprainores have a very moving story. These farmers all participated in El Salvador’s 12-year civil war to fight against structural poverty, grave injustices, and tremendous repression. When the war ended, each of these combatants was given a few acres of land in the south of the country on an old cashew plantation. One portion of the plantation, where 20 farmers now live, is located on the island of Montecristo, a beautiful nature reserve filled with mangrove estuaries and endangered bird species. By buying these cashews, consumers are not only getting some of the best tasting nuts we’ve sampled, but are also helping to ensure that these farmers improve the quality of their lives and continue to protect the fragile ecosystem that they are stewarding. Another check.

Truly, what could be better?

Well, for me, there’s another level of excitement: I used to live and work in El Salvador; I know this part of the country intimately; I even met with these farmers many years ago when the organization I worked for was offering co-op development trainings to newly formed co-ops. It’s been years since I’ve known anything about what has happened to them and now Equal Exchange is in a position to support them by selling their cashews into the U.S. market. CHECK.CHECK.CHECK,

We received our first shipment this past February. The food co-ops and the consumers love them. (Actually, the staff loves them so much that we had to be careful or they might never have made it to market.) We sold more than we imagined possible. The excitement builds. For the first time, a consumer can buy organic cashew nuts on Fair Trade terms, get amazing quality and flavor, AND know the whole story behind the product. Click here for their full story and photos of the APRAINORES farmers.

Next: Part II: Nature intervenes.