cooperators without borders

Social cooperatives are social enterprises that play active roles in the resolution and transformation of social incidents, outbreaks, and crises. They are democratic structures that carry out their social duties and values in cooperative institutionalism. They focus on various issues such as ecology, child labor, gender equality, recycling, racism, poverty, public health, workforce participation and employment, social inclusion, support for disadvantaged groups, and social justice.

For example, Lebanon's Anti-Racism Movement and Migrant Community Center provides legal, economic and social support to racism, labor exploitation, and various rights violations experienced by migrant women working in home services, and promises a life with dignity for migrant women and their families.

Social cooperatives work inclusively to mobilize different segments of the society. Access to decent work and livelihoods is a fundamental right for individuals of all working ages.

For instance, Üretkeniz.Biz Cooperative in Turkey works with people over 35 years old who typically take care of their elders and at the same time financially support their own children. These obligations deprive them of productive and healthy aging opportunities. The cooperative offers means for collective production. The generated income is shared among members and the surplus is spent for creating healthy and sustainable living spaces for elders.

Youth Deal Cooperative, on the other hand, works with young people, women, people with disabilities, those living in urban periphery and rural areas to enable them to access the labour market, employment and livelihoods. To enhance labour market integration of “those left behind”, Youth Deal provides training and consulting services to local social and solidarity economy actors in areas of production, consumption and democratic participation.

For social cooperatives, union is always strength! Social cooperatives are a bulwark against self-reinforcing unjust and oppressive regimes that dominate every aspect of life. One of the best examples of this social function is Turkey’s “Another School is Possible” Cooperative. A group of parents came together in 2009 to create alternative educational pathways centering around the needs of children by asserting that “Another School is Possible”. Currently, the cooperative has 7 schools scattered around the country offering alternative education for all.

As alternative enterprises growing within free-market capitalism, social cooperatives share revenues with their beneficiary social segments. Social cooperatives do not maximize the profit but the number of beneficiaries.

For example, CERO (Cooperative Energy, Recycling, and Organics), a worker-owned cooperative specialized in commercial composting in Boston Massachusetts, is promoting recycled food waste in local farms rather than landfill. The cooperative creates green jobs for underrepresented communities in the US. CERO provides environmental sustainability by collecting 50 tons of food waste every week, supports livelihoods and redistributes surplus to disadvantaged communities. CERO creates an alternative economy that shares the profit “with the 99%”.

Social cooperatives have no boss. The profit cannot be accumulated in a single hand in cooperative enterprises. Cooperative members receive compensation for their work. The obtained labor share is fairly distributed among the members. Distribution practices may differ across social cooperatives.

For example, Terra Development Cooperative conducts research and consultancy activities focusing on gender equality and gender-mainstreaming. As a result of their activities each worker receives decent remuneration for their work, the cooperative itself does not “extract” a profit share.

Social cooperatives are natural advocates of the social cause they are focusing on. For some cooperatives, advocacy is at the basis of their sustainability. AORTA (Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance) Worker Cooperative in the United States creates self-awareness and advocates against male-dominant, oppressive, colonialist and racist attitudes in its activities, while the Sustainable Economies Law Center provides research and legal counseling services for alternative and egalitarian economic systems, and develops advocacy policies.

Since social cooperatives are an alternative business model in the capitalist economy, their strategic relationships with decision-makers are critical. AORTA (Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance) worker cooperative emphasizes the importance of synergy and symbiosis in the established relationships with the government in contrast with hegemonic and colonialistic. The established strategic relations should not corrode unique cooperative structures and values, and it should respect autonomy. The Cooperative of Government Employees in Lebanon is a good example of symbiotic relationship. The cooperative provides social protection and welfare services to its civil servant members through synergic relationships with decision-makers that ensures government subsidies for cooperative services.

Social cooperatives are labor-oriented structures based on collective production. Division of labor, mutual trust and non-violent communication lie behind the cooperation. They consider these elements when working with members and third parties. On the basis of collective production there is absolute respect to labor and to labour-oriented enterprises.  Design Action Collective in the United States follow “equal pay for equal work” principle in supporting local community-driven organizations with fascinating creative communications/outreach products.

Cooperatives demand social equality and justice for the whole society and not just for themselves. The production of knowledge and experience is key to specifying and scrutinizing the social spheres where exploitation, oppression and inequality prevail. Development Workshop Cooperative creates data-driven evidence and scalable solutions for social development bottlenecks in Turkey, in particular child labour.

Gökova Women Environment Culture Cooperative, on the other hand, is working to ensure humankind’s adaptation to nature rather that the domination of it. The Cooperative works for the conservation of ecological and cultural heritage, the survival of traditional production and consumption patterns, and the continuity of ecological diversity in Muğla.