The Cooperative Way to a Stronger Economy

Co-ops—just like people—can get more done together than anyone can do alone. They come in many forms, and are more common than you might imagine.

 

by Sarah van Gelder

Our little group of a dozen families was running out of time. After meeting every weekend for three years to plan our hoped-for cohousing community, and after investing much of our savings to acquire a few acres of land, it looked as though our dream would fail. We couldn’t find a bank that would finance a cooperative.

It was our local credit union that saved us. “You’re owned by your members? What’s so odd about that? We’re owned by our members,” the president of the Kitsap Credit Union mused.