By Kenzie Love Vancouver’s Wood Shop Workers’ Co-op produces a wide variety of products out of reclaimed wood, crafting everything from bed frames to kitchen tables. The unifying theme, however, is to create furniture that looks good, feels good, and does good. Incorporated in 2014, Wood Shop emerged out of a local social enterprise incubator … Vancouver’s Wood Shop Workers’ Co-op Builds with Community
By Hazel Corcoran I read with great concern about the sale of New Belgium Brewery to Kirin-owned Lion Little World Beverages. The concern is not only for the loss of this ESOP, as disappointing as that is. Rather, it is because we know that every ESOP, worker co-operative and enterprise in the solidarity economy is … What If We had an Antidote to Worker Co-ops Selling out? The case for indivisible reserves in worker co-operatives
By Chloé Lemon and Dany Rousseau Within the span of two weeks, Quebec’s forestry industry lost two notable people. On November 23 Jean-Yves Lévesque, founder of the newspaper Le monde forestier, passed away, followed by Gérard Paris, first president of RESAM, on December 9. In 1987, Jean-Yves Lévesque founded the newspaper which would later become … Remembering Two Pioneers in Quebec’s Forestry Industry
A Director-at-Large for CWCF, Frank has been with Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op for over 16 years, and a member of its board of directors for much of that time. He has also served on the board of the Wolfville Farmers Market, a nonprofit co-op, for much of that time, currently serving as its vice … Board Member Profile: Frank Bezanson Harris
This book, published in 2014, attempts to bring Marxism and the solidarity economy together in both theory and practice. Since the financial crisis of 2008 and the global popular protests of 2011, more people have begun to wonder and speculate: what’s next for civilization? The economic, social, and political status quo seems unsustainable, but what … Worker Cooperatives and Revolution: History and Possibilities in the United States
By Kenzie Love Strengthening ties to the social and solidarity economy (SSE) is a key part of CWCF’s strategic plan. But what exactly is the SSE, how do worker co-ops fit into it, and how can they best collaborate with it? And what about social enterprises? Here’s a start at answering these questions. What is … Worker Co-ops and the Social and Solidarity Economy
As a response to the human rights situation in Chile and encouraged by TRASOL – the Chilean Federation of Worker Co-operatives – CWCF has written a letter which will go to the Chilean Embassy in Ottawa, the Canadian government and to TRASOL. CWCF also encourages members to write their own letters expressing solidarity with the … Expressing Solidarity With the Chilean People
Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op began in 1995 as the brainchild of a small group of friends (hence the name “Just Us!”). The founders had little in the way of business experience or resources, but they shared an interest in owning their own business and promoting fair trade, which was still a relatively novel idea … Just Us! is a Coffee Roaster with a Mission -Kenzie Love
A co-founder and longtime board member of Sun Certified, Evan Proven has worked in the construction field for his entire career starting in concrete and moving on to wood framing, cabinet making, and super-insulated renovation and new home construction. Evan achieved his Red Seal Endorsement in Carpentry in June of 2017, and is currently a … Board Member Profile: Evan Proven, by Kenzie Love
By BC Co-op Association, shared with permission The Investment Readiness Program (IRP) is a 2-year $50 million pilot program designed to help advance Social Innovation and Social Finance in Canada by building on existing supports to help catalyze community-led solutions to persistent social and environmental challenges. The pilot will provide a learning opportunity to inform future direction on … Update on the Investment Readiness Program