This entry is more of a test to ensure that everything is working okay. If you can read this, I must have succeeded. So… here I go…
My only prior experience with a cooperative business model involved intermittent conversations and simple descriptions. I simply lacked any in-depth understanding of the concept. One might say an accurate description has managed to elude me. For example, I have (until recently) been unaware of the various Co-Op “types” and mistakenly considered a producer Co-Op to be the only form of cooperative. I now know better. How did this enlightenment begin?
Well, it began with an excursion related to my capstone class a PSU (Portland State University) where I was introduced to the “People’s Food Co-Op” located at 3029 SE 21st Ave. in Portland, Oregon.
Here is a photo of the facility:
Inside the facility students purchased textbooks:
and we continued on with a meeting (a view from my left):
During the meeting, a member of People's Food Co-Op, Laura (not sure of spelling) was kind enough to briefly explain the various cooperative types and I took notes for later reference. Of course, our course pack contains much deeper definitions.
*** For those who are interested, I have attached common cooperative types that I happened to find searching the web. Note that it is my understanding that there are legal definitions and common (shared) definitions, and that specific definitions/types change from region to region, or from state to state, or from legal authority to legal authority, etc. Therefore, it appears that context, region, government authorities, and other criteria/scenarios can and do affect specific definitions/categories. There are no globally accepted definitions/categories. The definitions I provided below appear to be the most common, top-level, cooperative "types" and I listed them to have as a handy reference.
Consumer Cooperatives—Consumer cooperatives are owned by the people who buy the goods or use the services of the cooperative. They sell consumer goods such as food and outdoors equipment. They provide housing, electricity and telecommunications. And they offer financial (credit unions), healthcare, childcare and funeral services.
Producer Cooperatives—Producer cooperatives are owned by people who produce similar types of products such as farmers who grow crops, raise cattle, milk cows, or by craftsmen and artisans. By banding together, they leverage greater bargaining power with buyers. They also combine resources to more effectively market and brand their products, improving the incomes of their members and helping to stabilize markets.
Worker Cooperatives—Worker cooperatives are owned and governed by the employees of the business. They operate in all sectors of the economy and provide workers with both employment and ownership opportunities. Examples include employee-owned food stores, processing companies, restaurants, taxicab companies, sewing companies, timber processors, and light and heavy industry.
Purchasing/Shared Services Cooperatives—Purchasing and shared services cooperatives are owned and governed by independent business owners, small municipalities and, in some cases, state governments that band together to enhance their purchasing power, lowering their costs and improving their competitiveness and ability to provide quality services. They operate in all sectors of the economy.
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