Cooperative Journal

• Solidarity Economy Shorts #7: Feedback is a Gift with Cooperate Western North Carolina

  Solidarity Economy Shorts Episode #7A collaboration with New Economy CoalitionSolidarity Economy Shorts are conversations with frontline organizations & individuals that are putting solidarity economy principles into practice. They are using different strategies to build an economic system where communities are meeting their own needs outside of capitalism. Cooperate Western North Carolina weaves cooperative economics and ecological design to nurture a regional-scale mutual aid network to meet community’s basic needs with trust at the foundation. In this episode I speak with the founder Zev Friedman. We discuss the relationship between regeneration in natural and human cooperative ecosystems, how they are practicing regional mutual aid through models like bulk purchasing and savings pools, conflict as an opportunity transformation, finding the balance between relational trust building and practical work, and tools for shifting from individualism to a collective way of life.Show NotesCooperate WNCWNC Food Coalition: Regenerative food system coalition in Western North CarolinaAsheville Nuttery: Cooperatively run nut processing facility in Asheville, NCCommunity Purchasing Alliance: A network of local cooperatives that leverage the buying power of community institutions through bulk purchasing in Washington D.C.Silver Run Forest Farm: Co-founder Jonathan McRay teaches organizers about the process of conflict systemsTransformative Justice Collective: Community group based out of Oakland, CA working to build and support transformative justice responses to harm and violence

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• Solidarity Economy Shorts #6: Building Local Solidarity Economies with Beloved Community Incubator

  Solidarity Economy Shorts Episode #6A collaboration with New Economy CoalitionSolidarity Economy Shorts are conversations with frontline organizations & individuals that are putting solidarity economy principles into practice. They are using different strategies to build an economic system where communities are meeting their own needs outside of capitalism. Beloved Community Incubator is a solidarity economy movement organization, cooperative incubator, non-extractive lender, and worker self-directed non-profit. They focus on building a regional solidarity economy in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia that centers people, especially poor and working-class workers and people of color, over profit. In this episode I speak with co-director Bianca Vazquez and community researcher Askalu Habtom. We discuss how Beloved Community Incubator started as a hyperlocal initiative and evolved into regional solidarity economy organizing, the difference between traditional lending and non-extractive loans, challenges and effective tools in collective organizing, how participatory action research influences their work, and actionable steps for navigating times of uncertainty. Show NotesBeloved Community IncubatorSeed Commons: cooperative network for non-extractive financeDulce Hogar Cleaning Co-opSolidarity Research Center: builds solidarity economy ecosystems using data science, story-based strategy, and action research

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• Solidarity Economy Shorts #5: Artists as Organizers with Creative Wildfire

  Solidarity Economy Shorts Episode #5A collaboration with New Economy CoalitionSolidarity Economy Shorts are conversations with frontline organizations & individuals that are putting solidarity economy principles into practice. They are using different strategies to build an economic system where communities are meeting their own needs outside of capitalism. Creative Wildfire supports artists and grassroots organizations to create art that fuels our movements and imagines the world we need to thrive. This cultural organizing project is an embodiment of the strength of coalitions to resource the wider web. Three powerhouse organizations in the movement for a Just Transition and the Solidarity Economy pooled their budgets to redistribute to artists - Movement Generation, Climate Justice Alliance, and New Economy Coalition. In 2023-2024, Creative Wildfire convened a 10 month cohort that prioritized deeper relationship building, co-creation with a partner organization, and political education. 7 incredible artists and 7 organizations were selected to explore what's possible when we shift from transaction to collaborative liberation. In this episode Ebony speaks with Lizzie Suarez and Lily Xie, two of the most recent Creative Wildfire grantees. We talk about their roles as artist and cultural organizers, challenges that arise when collaborating with organizations, what can symbiosis look like when artists and orgs co-create, the value artists bring beyond being producers, and the cultural shifts needed to have a just transition in the arts.Show NotesNew Economy CoalitionCreative WildfireLily Xie WebsiteLizzie Suarez WebsiteLook Loud: visual strategy accomplices, supporting communities taking control of their own media narrativesBuilding Irresistible Movements: Best collaboration practices for organizations and visual artistsPedagogy of the Oppressed book by Paulo FreireCreative Study ‘Creatives Rebuild Guaranteed Income’: A free course about the three year guaranteed income initiative for artists in NYCCartoonist CooperativeEpisode Music by MADlines

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• Solidarity Economy Shorts #4: Resourcing Black Solidarity Economies

  Solidarity Economy Shorts Episode #4A collaboration with New Economy CoalitionSolidarity Economy Shorts are conversations with frontline organizations & individuals that are putting solidarity economy principles into practice. They are using different strategies to build an economic system where communities are meeting their own needs outside of capitalism. The Black Solidarity Economy Fund (BSEF) was created by the New Economy Coalition to resource, convene, and uplift the work of the Black Solidarity Economy movement. The fund is managed by their member-led working group that has the autonomy to make decisions about who receives the grant and how much is awarded. Since 2020, they have redistributed $730,000 to Black solidarity economy groups across the nation. In this episode, Ebony speaks with former grantees and members of the working group, Erin Backus from the Maternal Health Equity Collaborative and Georie Bryant from Symbodied. They share about their  solidarity economy organizing in maternal healthcare and agriculture as well as the ancestral wisdom that informs their work. They talk about the collective regranting process and how it felt to shift from grantee to grantmaker. We also delve into the current barriers to weaving a Black solidarity economy network, the future they envision for a robust Black solidarity economy, and some practical ways to activate this vision.Before the interview begins, Shardé Nabors, the Resource Redistribution Director at New Economy Coalition, grounds us in defining the solidarity economy, what BSEF is, the intention for starting it, and their plans for growth and expansion. Show NotesBlack Solidarity Economy FundMaternal Health Equity Collaborative SymbodiedEpisode Music by MADlines

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• Solidarity Economy Shorts #3: Practicing Abolition with Sol Underground

  Solidarity Economy Shorts Episode #3A collaboration with New Economy CoalitionSolidarity Economy Shorts are conversations with frontline organizations & individuals that are putting solidarity economy principles into practice. They are using different strategies to build an economic system where communities are meeting their own needs outside of capitalism. Sol Underground is an abolitionist ecosystem in Atlanta dreaming of a Black and Indigenous liberated world that is resisting colonial systems of oppression. They are actualizing this dream as an autonomous community-led group that is building, joining, and maintaining networks of care. In this episode, Ebony speaks with the founder Sunny who begins with defining what abolitionism is and its correlation to the solidarity economy. How their shape transformed from an artist collective to supporting the unhoused community through mutual aid. They share some of the models they organize like Sol Below, a pop up tent that provides warmth and food to the homeless when the temperature drops below a certain degree. They paint a beautiful vision for a world when exploitative systems are abolished, offer practical tips for adopting an abolitionist mindset, and how to put theory into practice. Show NotesSol Underground Freedom Archives: dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of historical audio, video, and print materials documenting progressive movements and culture from the 1960s to the 1990s. Abolition Notes: a free and evolving, volunteer-run education project to make the work of radical and revolutionary movements throughout history fighting for liberation more accessible New Economy Coalition Episode Music by MADlines

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