By Kenzie Love Long before she even knew about worker co-ops, Danielle Turpin wanted to launch one. After 16 years as a personal support worker, Turpin had had enough of the lack of autonomy, exploitative working conditions, and inadequate staffing that characterized much of the sector. She envisioned a different approach, one where staff and … Home Care Workers’ Co-op Proves There’s a Better Way
By Hannah Rackow For coopérative Tënk in Montreal, bringing lesser-known documentaries to audiences across Canada is both a passion and a mission. Florence Lamothe, co-founder and general manager of the co-op, explains that “the documentary is a rather under-circulated, under-loved and under-financed medium and cinematographic genre these days.” Tënk aims to address that gap by … coopérative Tënk Celebrates Documentaries
By Kenzie Love When the founders of Together We’re Bitter opened shop six years ago in Kitchener, Ontario, they wanted to create something that would make their surrounding community, in cofounder Alex Szaflarska’s words, “a little bit more interesting and a little bit more fun.” And what better way to do that, they concluded, than … Together We’re Bitter (TWB) Crafts Community
By Kenzie Love It’s often said that necessity is the mother of invention, and for Thetis Island Farm Co-operative, it’s a pretty apt description. Located within BC’s Gulf Islands, Thetis Island’s roughly 380 residents also exist within something of a “food desert”, lacking access to a grocery store. But with a recent influx of young … Thetis Island Farm Co-operative an Oasis Amidst “Food Desert”
By Kenzie Love The concept of victory gardens may have originated during World War I, but a Vancouver worker co-op has embraced both the term and the philosophy to keep the tradition alive today. Established in 2012, Victory Gardens grew out of the need its founders saw for people in their community to learn how … Victory Gardens Helps Support Urban Food Growing
By Kenzie Love An environmental consultancy based in Sackville, New Brunswick, Aster Group launched in 2013, the brainchild of a small group whose members all had a history of working for either government or nonprofit organizations. The members wanted an entity that would bring together their expertise in various areas and offer them autonomy while … Aster Group’s Members Have Diverse Skills But Common Values
By Kenzie Love For Vancouver Island-based worker co-op Weaver Digital Design & Storytelling, the year since its launch has been one to remember, with the impact of the pandemic offering both challenges and opportunities. Initial concerns about whether there would be enough work to go around were soon replaced by the realization that there might … Creating Websites Just the Starting Point for Weaver Digital Design & Storytelling
By Kenzie Love Precarious, low-paying work has long been a feature of employment in the arts sector. A group of Vancouver artists, however, wanted to change that, so they founded VALU (Vancouver Artists Labour Union) Co-op, a unionized worker co-op intended to provide stable income for its members. VALU’s members were also motivated by a … VALU Co-op Offers Artists the Chance to Make a Living and a Life
By Kenzie Love It all started with a Facebook post. Daniel Ramjattan, a Toronto guitar teacher, had taken to social media to express his frustration with the exploitative practices of traditional music schools. To his surprise, he received a flood of responses from other musicians expressing similar sentiments. The ensuing conversation spurred the creation … Just and Accessible Music School Strikes a Chord With Both Teachers and Students
By Kenzie Love It’s sometimes said that “if you love what you do, you’ll never ‘work’ again.” It might seem like a cliche. But for the members of Toronto’s Urbane Cyclist, it’s not very far from the truth. Urbane’s founding in 1997 was led by the late Eugene Yao, who wanted to establish a repair … Urbane Cyclist Places Passion Over Profits
