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A lifeline for local people: Marsden Grocery
Content by Booster Fund
Villagers in Marsden, West Yorkshire wanted to create a shop to benefit the whole community, including residents on lower incomes, vegetarians, vegans and people on special diets who find it hard to…
2 years ago
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Case study: Carbon Co‑op’s online AGM
Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, many co-ops have had to adapt so much of their member engagement, including moving AGMs online.
2 years ago
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Designing a creative co‑op: Creative Coop
After eight years toiling away in London for design agencies Ben Philp was, to put it bluntly, “fed up”. Multi-tiered chains of command, a lack of ethics and long hours for limited reward had all…
2 years ago
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On the front foot through challenging times: October Books
Content by The Hive
In January 2020, October Books, a worker-owned and run community bookshop in Southampton, was on the verge of taking great new strides.
2 years ago
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Making Manchester’s The Meteor “bigger, better and more influential”
Content by The Hive
The Meteor is an independent, community‑based media outlet that’s been providing news, features and commentary to the people of Manchester since 2016. In July 2019, it became a co‑op.
3 years ago
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A ‘Square Mile of Opportunity’ through community organising
Content by Empowering Places
“RunFit Hartlepool has created a community of people who are really supportive of each other and the wider town. They do litter picks where they go running – it’s an example of how a community…
3 years ago
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Empowering Bradford women to work together
Content by Empowering Places
Manningham in Bradford is in the bottom 10% of deprived UK neighbourhoods. It has a significantly younger population too, with 31% of people aged below 18 – and with it comes a high rate of youth…
3 years ago
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Meaningful change for Plymouth communities
Content by Empowering Places
Plymouth is a social enterprise city. It has more than 200 social and community business that employ some 8,000 people...
3 years ago
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B-inspired by community investment in Leicester
Content by Empowering Places
Braunstone is an edge-of-town council estate in Leicester with 16,500 inhabitants. Some parts of the area fall within the bottom 1% of the 2019 indices of deprivation. Almost entirely residential, for…
3 years ago
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Local wealth is made in Wigan
Content by Empowering Places
Some 15,000 people live in Wigan’s Abram Ward. “It used to be called ‘Giro City’,” says David Baxter, Principal Officer of Made in Wigan – which is tackling social inequality in the area.
3 years ago
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Ethical employment agency helps people into work
Content by Empowering Places
“Here, health is an issue. Isolation is an issue. People feeling left out can be an issue,” says Paul Gutherson, Programme Co-ordinator at Centre 4 in Grimsby...
3 years ago
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InFact Digital Co-op: “Co‑op working is the future”
Content by The Hive
They met through a digital boot camp. Loved working together. And discovered a shared belief in the power of technology as a force for good.
3 years ago
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Signalise Co-op: “We bring deaf people and interpreters together”
Content by The Hive
"We know of a deaf man who was in hospital for 21 days without any interpreting support. Global agencies often provide poor sign language services in favour of profit," explains Jen Smith on why…
3 years ago
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Forty years and counting... the story of Suma
The UK’s flagship worker co-op, Suma was founded 40 years ago when seven people formed a wholefood wholesaler in West Yorkshire.
3 years ago
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Farmers stand united through co‑operation: Aspatria Farmers
The UK’s farmers must stand united to combat the threat of multi-national corporations in the food supply chain, says Tim Wilson, CEO of Aspatria Farmers.
3 years ago
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A co-op with people power that keeps a proud heritage alive: Norwich Mustard
Content by Co-op Fortnight
Norwich Mustard co-op is proof that when an industry that’s been synonymous with a city for centuries is suddenly shut down by a large multinational – there’s a way for individuals to take control and…
3 years ago