Learning from Europe: Worker Coops and Ecovillages (Oakland)
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What can Bay Area social change activists learn from Mondragon (http://www.mondragon-corporation.com/ENG.aspx), the oldest and most successful network of worker-owned cooperatives in the world? And, after 50 years and 3 generations of economic growth and security, where are Mondragon's new generation of students and cooperative entrepreneurs looking for inspiration? Gather together at a downtown Oakland coworking community and let's explore together.
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Our neighbor Deb Goldberg (http://www.ebcoho.org/member/7626623/), a long-time cooperatives-movement trainer and organizer (an EBCOHO member and co-founder of Berkeley Cohousing), has just returned from an intensive 10-day field visit to Mondragon. She'll take us inside some of the myths into the critical realities and tradeoffs of the worker cooperatives network that forms a foundation for one of the highly successful regional economies in Spain, one that has been suffering high unemployment and has never recovered from the 2008 economic crash.
As visiting students and coop entrepreneurs from Mondragon have told us, they are finding inspiration from the communities movement, at home and abroad! We'll also see video clips of European and North American ecovillages produced by Mondragon native and recent Berkeley visitor, Ortzi Akuzi, doctoral student in appropriate technology.
Mondragon has grown jobs and income for its native Basque members over the past 50 years. This has led to innovations and some hard choices that allow them thrive in the highly competitive global markets of their core manufacturing businesses. A cooperative bank, university, and research & development institute, are part of their survival, but sustainable development principles are not part of their core principles.
Ideas and events for upcoming worker coops, solidarity economy, and ecovillage training will also be shared.
We're asking $25 at the door; SAVE $5 by paying in advance when you register here (by PayPal or credit card), and participation is just $18 for supporting members of EBCOHO -- upgrade your membership and get a free ticket or a cohousing book or communities magazine subscription. We accept Bay Area Community Exchange (BACE (http://www.sfbace.org/)) hours and BayBucks (http://www.bay-bucks.com/) B2B complementary currency payments and offer some work-trade options as well, with advance arrangement.
Make it a double feature with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: registration for this event is included FREE for anyone purchasing an advance ticket through EBCOHO to the exciting Habitat for Humanity event right afterwards at the Paramount theatre, featuring President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rossalyn.
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Learning from Europe: Worker Coops and Ecovillages (Oakland)