Other Communities

About Co-operatives

Co-Housing Bristol is a registered co-operative.

Definition:

A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.

History

Many folks believe that cooperatives are a relatively new thing, but they have existed in one form or another since before ancient China and Babylon. Pueblo Indians as early as 900 B.C. built apartment complexes with more than 800 rooms, Pueblo Bonito covered over three acres!

Benjamin Franklin provided us with the first recorded "modern" co-op in the movement. In 1752 he created a mutual fire insurance company, the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia. Over the years others followed Franklin's company, in Canada and the US.

Here in England during the late 19th century as the starting point of the named and organized co-op movement. Robert Owen, developed the more philosophic aspect of the new movement. He took his ideas of the housing co-op movement from England to Indiana and started New Harmony, a Utopian experiment. Families shared living, kitchen, and dining spaces clustered in the center of the 1000 acre property.

During the Industrial Revolution, 28 weavers decided to combat the oppressive factory working conditions by setting up a cooperative store to help each other in those hard times. These innovators are known as the Rochdale Pioneers and they drafted the original Cooperative Principles and started raising money for a cooperative business. The Pioneers opened the new store in 1844 and it grew to be one of the largest retailers in town.

Seven Co-operative Principles

Cooperatives operate according to seven basic principles. Six were drafted by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) in 1966, based on guidelines written by the founders of the modern cooperative movement in England in 1844. In 1995, the ICA restated, expanded and adopted the 1966 principles to guide cooperative organizations into the 21st Century.

Voluntary, Open Membership: Open to all without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination.
Democratic Member Control: One member, one vote.
Member Economic Participation: Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of the cooperative. The economic benefits of a cooperative operation are returned to the members, reinvested in the co-op, or used to provide member services.
Autonomy And Independence: Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members.
Education, Training And Information: Cooperatives provide education and training for members so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
Cooperation Among Cooperatives: Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, regional, national and international structures.
Concern For The Community: While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members.

Co-operatives are organised with reference to the following values:

Self-help - Self-responsibility - Democracy - Equality - Equity (fairness) - Solidarity

These values reflect the ethic values of:

Honesty - Social responsibility - Openness - Caring for others