Social economy and co-ops

The frame ‘social economy’ is defined as a grass-roots based, regionally oriented federation of decentralized, autonomous and democratic enterprises building sustainable communities (Wilkinson and Quarter, 1995). Co-operatives fit into the social economy model as buying clubs, local exchange systems and joint-stock companies (Elsen and Wallimann, 1998). Buying clubs consist of small groups of people who then have greater purchasing power than individuals and remove the profit-taking middleman by purchasing directly from the grower. Co-ops are flourishing in rural areas where communities want to make their own decisions to deal with economic downturns in resource-based economies. Co-ops are normally defined as enterprises that are jointly owned by members and democratically governed for the benefit of all the members. This does not mean that there are no controversies between members and boards however or that they remain viable. In October 2004, 92% of members voted against the board’s decision to close the Bowen Road Co-op grocery store which had been losing $1 million a year since 1999 (Bennett, 2004). The Lake Cowichan grocery store closed because it lost $470,000 since 1999. Its members were growing older and therefore not buying large amounts of food for their family (Bainas, 2005). Co-ops in urban areas like the East End Food Co-op (EEFC) are faring better. The EEFC was founded as a buying club in 1975 but is now a member service organization (http://www.east-end-food.coop/). Bainas, L. 2005. Lake Cowichan Co-op closing. Cowichan Valley Citizen, August 3, 2005. Pg 2. Bennett, N. 2004. Co-op members vote 92% against grocery store closure. Nanaimo Daily News Oct 2, 2004 pg A.3. Elsen, S., Wallimann, I. 1998. Social economy: Community action towards social integration and the prevention of unemployment and poverty. European Journal of Social Work 1(2), 151 - 164.