In 2012, Somali refugees started farm businesses, aided by an incubator farm program called the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project (NASAP). A few years later, CDI offered assistance to the Somali Bantu community to provide support and resources that aided
Spark Talk at Maine Association of Non-Profits Opt-in Conference
Jonah Fertig-Burd, Cooperative Development Specialist with the Cooperative Food Systems program shared a SparkTalk at the Maine Association of Non-Profits Opt-In Conference at the start of October highlighting how co-ops connect across different regional communities in Maine.
2019 NCBA CLUSA Impact Conference: Power in Purpose – Building the Next Economy
At the NCBA CLUSA 2019 Impact conference, Cooperative Development Institute’s Director of Business Ownership Solutions program, Rob Brown, joined a dynamic panel and showcased CDI’s role in helping to establish a cooperative ecosystem in Maine. The panel, moderated by Cooperative Fund
CDI Welcomes New Staff!
We are pleased to welcome Jasmine Jacobs, Victoria Rosen, Shana Siegel and Jacqueline Stuart as new team members at CDI. For more details about each of their backgrounds see the details below or visit our staff bios page. Welcome to
Regional Gatherings – NEROC VT
On Saturday, October 5, 2019, the Vermont team of New England Resident Owned Communities (NEROC) hosted a half-day training for board and co-op members from seven VT ROC communities. Attendees were treated to a legal workshop with Steve Kantor, Esq.,
De-stigmatizing Manufactured Housing Communities
By Jeanee Wright – NEROC Housing Specialist October is Anti-Stigma month. I had no idea of that fact when I was asked to sit on a panel at the 2019 Maine State Housing Authority Conference on Affordable Housing held recently
The Power of Co-ops United in Purpose
Our Executive Director, Noemi Giszpenc, reflects on the 2019 Cooperative Impact Conference My colleagues were buzzing with excitement at the choice of plenary keynote for the Cooperative Impact Conference at the beginning of October–Felicia Wong of the Roosevelt Institute was
NEROC Staff Successfully Enables Massachusetts and Rhode Island Residents to Take Community Ownership
Residents of three manufactured home communities had a lot to celebrate in July as they took ownership of the land beneath their communities, securing affordable housing for their families. On July 24, the residents of Arbor Mobile Home Park and
Compost Cooperative Digs Deep into Mass Incarceration
You don’t have to dig deep to find startling statistics about the state of mass incarceration in the US. The issues run deep, have been around for hundreds of years, and the system is rotten no matter which way you
CDI’s Business Ownership Solutions Visits the Adirondack North Country
This summer, BOS program director Rob Brown spent a week in New York’s North Country region presenting at a series of events organized by the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA). ANCA is an independent non-profit organization working to build dynamic