Reflection on the Principles of Cooperative Economics
SuperMarketCoop at the World Social Forum
in Brazil
March, 2002
By Rural Coalition Chairperson John Zippert at Supermarket Cooperative
Meeting, Jan. 2002
"To me it means that, in an economic sense, in a cooperative through your participation you can generate wealth, which is not the case, necessarily, in the capitalist system. In the capitalist system, wealth generates wealth. If you have money at the front end, you will have more money at the end of the process. But, with a cooperative you could start with a group of people who have nothing, and by working together and doing business with each other and participating, you could generate wealth at the end of that process. And, you could share that wealth in some kind of equitable and democratic process, which to me is the hallmark of cooperatives as differentiated from other kinds of enterprises..."
"We are the cooperative. I mean, all of us, we are the SuperMarket!"SuperMarketCoop member, Jeff Hawkins
Operation Spring Plant, NC (back left)
Our board member and SuperMarket co-chair Altagracia "Chilo"
Villarreal has spent many years gently teaching us about "socioeconomia
solidaria" or socioeconomic solidarity. At the same time, she has been
sharing news across the hemisphere about our binational SuperMarket Project
and how it grew from our idea for an "alternate people-to-people
NAFTA" (North American Free Trade Agreement).
This year, she gracefully insisted that a Rural Coalition delegation go with her to the World Social Forum in Porte Alegre, Brazil. With the support of Oxfam America, our delegation, led by Chilo, with Emilia Gonzalez of our member COSYDDHAC from Chihuahua, Mexico, and Lorette Picciano and Heather Fenney of the RC staff, joined the 15,000 delegates and some 45,000 other participants at the forum and related events.
The Forum celebrated our visions and dreams-visions and dreams that now somehow more attainable we realize how many other people share them. As the March Juicer demonstrates, a growing number people across the globe are building alternate economies and new space for those excluded from the global economy.
These alternative economies, we learned, are larger and far-reaching than we might expect. Imagine that there is a city (Porto Alegre) of over a million residents that for more than a decade has encouraged the building of economic and health cooperatives. Imagine again that an entire state (Rio Grande do Sul) promotes itself as "the state of economic participation" and involves every municipality in a participatory process to construct its annual budget. Proud of its sponsorship for two years running of the World Social Forum, its state motto is "another world is possible". Literacy rates and health indicators are the highest in Brazil, and the movement is spreading to other states.
Imagine that 1000 people spent two days in an in depth forum on Economic Solidarity and participation, with the sharing of examples from across the globe, and detailed analysis from economists that found value in cooperation and solidarity. And these were only a small fraction of those gathered in many other similar dialogues.
At the WSF we learned that in Argentina, over 2.5 million people participate in communities that have adopted their own currency and methods of exchange. We heard how in so many places in this hemisphere, efforts to build cooperation have encountered the aggressive resistance of states and corporations.
Chilo conducted a wonderful candlelight ceremony to celebrate the solidarity of five continents. Participants reacted yet again with amazement when we told them that indeed a collaboration like SuperMarket cooperative really does link poor communities in the United States with poor communities in Mexico. We also learned the people of the World Social Forum and of the networks in Brazil want to know more about the situation of African American and Indian farmers in the US, and of immigrants. We have been encouraged to bring a bigger delegation next year to Porto Alegre. Let us know if you are interested.
Progress Report From Your SuperMarketCoop
In the life of any cooperative, the moment it becomes truly real is when its members have the same realization Jeff shared with us at our meeting in January. Enclosed in your Small Farm Connection box this month, we are pleased to share with you, our supporters and customers, the highlights of our evaluation of our SuperMarket Cooperative, at Lake Tiak-O-Khata in Louisville, MS.
Our five days of brainstorming, evaluating, planning, and affirmation led to some poignant assessments of what the SuperMarket was providing and how we wanted to grow and improve. We discussed the importance of building a relationship with consumers like you, who care about their choices in the market place and how we want to reach out to others who share your values. Our new plans include a SuperMarket Cooperative Cookbook to come out next year at our RC Assembly. We are ready to try out our new on-line product availability database and hope to market more fresh products in our regions. We also want to create product displays for small, family-owned rural and ethnic stores - maybe in your community.
We appreciate your support and encouragement more than you will ever know, and your suggestions are welcome. In an economy with a human face, we build our cooperative through relationships with you and others. We hope you will share news about our products, our cooperative, and our website SuperMarketCoop.com.
Socioeconomia Solidaria - Creating an Economy With a Human Face
by Altagracia Villarreal, RC Board Member and SuperMarket Co-Chair
"Socioeconomic Solidarity" is a new approach to economics, a new way of producing, marketing, distributing goods. The process of socioeconomic solidarity involves organizing and developing communities by emphasizing their strengths and by demonstrating the importance of cooperation and collaboration in overcoming problems and achieving dreams. By using these principles, we can build an economy with a human face - an economy whose foundation rests on respect and love for the people and the community, human dignity, and care for the earth.
The process of socioeconomic solidarity starts with a community defining their own reality. The community assesses:
- What they know,
- The Problems they face, and
- How they are now addressing their needs.
Communities then identify and utilize their assets to working together for change. These assets include:
- Their indigenous knowledge and technical skills passed on to them by previous
generations.
- The human and natural resources they now have within their community.
- The relationship people in the community have to the land, and how through work
the people and the land change each other.
- The organization of the community, including the relationships among members
of the community.
- Money and other financial resources available to the community.
- The resources of culture, cooperation and collaboration expressed in
cooperatives and other economic and social organizations and institutions in the
community.
As the community assesses their reality, their problems, and their resources, they discover that they have used these resources to survive and live for many years, often in the face of many barriers. This awareness helps make them conscious of ways to recognize their strengths, build on their basic values, and view reality differently to help them secure a better life for themselves, their families and their community.
Café Chanul-Pom
The wonderful organic coffee in your box this month is from Chiapas, Mexico. It is
produced by an indigenous community organization called Sociedad Civil de Las
Abejas (Society of the Bees). The Society was founded after 45 men, women and
children who were members of a small indigenous community organization, Las Abejas
de Acteal, were ambushed and killed at a fast and rally for peace in Chiapas in
1997. The Society continues to help small growers market their products at a
sustainable wage.
