Last Saturday (July 7) was International Day of Cooperatives, a day dedicated to recognising and advocating the role of cooperatives in our society. If that’s not enough, 2012 has also been declared International Year of Cooperatives by the United Nations, with the aim of highlighting the impact of co-ops on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration throughout the year.
In the spirit of International Day (and year) of Cooperatives, we wanted to shine a spotlight on the great planners who have cooperated for social, economic, and cultural benefit. If you like what you see, you can get involved or even start your own PlanBig cooperative plan… Enjoy!
Lucy runs a fresh food and grocery cooperative in Sunbury, Victoria, sourcing minimally packaged, ethically produced and affordable organic fruit and veggies for the community. If you’re a local and you want to support Lucy and get some fantastic produce, check out her plan here. Alternatively you might like to speak to Lucy and get some tips on creating an organic food cooperative in your area.
Do you like lemonade and lemon meringue pie? Then you’re going to love Jodi’s plan to have a communal lemon tree on every street in Australia. Designed to teach people the virtue of sharing and to grow stronger neighbourhoods, The Lemon Tree Project intends to use wasted space on nature strips and verges to generate enough lemons to serve a whole street. If you’re interested in joining the lemon revolution, check out Jodi’s plan here.
After hosting a local community event called ‘Lark in the Park’ for her neighbours to get to know each other, Clare had the idea of launching ‘Meet Your Street’ – a website for people to add local events, groups and request needed cooperatives. If you’re interested in helping to generate an online community for co-ops, get in touch with Clare on her plan and help make this big idea a reality.
Browning Street Studios becomes a Cooperative
Browning Street Studios launched in 2008 to offer low-income musicians in Brisbane a well-equipped place to hang out, meet like-minded artists and produce great music. This year, owner and planner Sarah Gall is looking to move Browning Street Studios from a sole-directed enterprise to a cooperative structure in order to give musicians a greater say in its direction. If you have legal, financial or business expertise, check out Sarah’s plan and see how you can help.
