The Power of Cooperatives

They were all getting sick. Some had already died.

Just outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand, the villagers of Mae Tha had to use pesticides that made everyone sick. But they were trapped in a cycle of economic dependency. A tobacco company owned most of the local land, so they could monopolize the supplies and seeds that the villagers needed. The villagers were bound to the land and the inputs that the tobacco company provided, so they had no choice but to sell what they grew back to the company. Mae Tha looks different now. When I stayed in the village last September, it sprawled of rolling green hills and gardens galore. Sounds of neighborhood chatter filled the streets, and the tobacco factory sat desolate and abandoned. Now, Mae Tha has a cooperative business, or co-op. In partnering with a local NGO, the villagers in Mae Tha bought back the land from the tobacco company, eventually converting it for organic farming. The members of the co-op are all villagers, who farm their own plot of land and come together to sell the goods. Each member votes on what prices they think are fair, and together, they can bring the produce to markets across Chiang Mai. Mae Tha operates as a producer co-op, but there are other types of cooperatives across a wide variety of industries. Most cooperatives have the same overarching goal: Empower workers that are so often exploited within the industry they contribute. This summer, at the Center for Community Wealth Building (CCWB), I explored how to best augment worker cooperatives in Colorado– cooperatives in which the workers all own a portion of the business and vote on the business direction together. Our project consisted of two goals. Firstly, we sought to analyze how co-ops in Colorado could implement a network of businesses– what we called a Co-op Council– to politically and economically elevate the cooperative community. Organizations across the United States such as NoBAWC, the BCCO, and the ACBA, have already implemented various models that accomplish this goal. Cooperative businesses, small and siloed on their own, can become members of larger organizations that share resources and advocate for change together. Secondly, because many people who use the CCWB’s services to start co-ops are low-income, immigrant families that come from limited business backgrounds, we attempted to analyze what elements to consider when looking to start and sustain a co-op. In what we called our Feasibility Analysis, we broke down these elements of profitability into a digestible framework that the CCWB can use when helping new clients start their business journey. We compiled our information by interviewing representatives from cooperative networks, small business consultants, academics, and other advocates. We also researched other organizations that work to incubate small businesses and embody the cooperative model. We also had mentors at the CCWB and members of the Colorado cooperative community– known as the Peer Network– to help guide us along the way. As a result, we were able to put together a presentation for various members of the CCWB and the Peer Network about why and how to start a Co-op Council in Colorado. Additionally, we presented a pamphlet on Feasibility Analysis to CCWB staff and received feedback on how this could be used in the future. Ultimately, the cooperative movement– whether in the villages of Thailand or in the urban landscapes of Denver– can empower workers around the globe, dismantling the traditional hierarchy of business, and in its place, cultivate inclusive democratic spaces. 

I believe in the power of cooperatives, and I hope you can too.