• previous
• 690 of 894 inspirations
• next

Inspiration

back to list

Community Cooperatives

Cooperatives reduce the risk on business owners while supporting community members - empowering them to use their talents to bring beautiful products and services to the community. Cooperatives allow groups of community members, often women but not necessarily so, to start collaborative businesses selling their own products and pool profits to support themselves and life in the community. In San Juan la Laguna, Guatemala, textiles are sold and profits used to send children to school. The women work each day on the craft and in the store. These cooperatives are commonly linked to each other, providing materials and labor in reinforcing loops. This kind of community collaboration brings strong, bottom-up development to communities that need revitalization.

Comments