Written by Rob Brown, Business Ownership Solutions Program Director The coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing economic collapse has only made a bad situation worse, exacerbating economic inequality, racial disparities in employment, wealth and health, and the precarious livelihoods of poor people. A staggering and unprecedented 41 million workers filed for unemployment in the past few
Written By Executive Director, Noemi Giszpenc The fifth cooperative principle is Education, Training, and Information. This may seem like a milquetoast, quiet principle, but it’s not. Would slaves have risked their lives to learn to read if education was optional? Would dissidents risk their lives to smuggle novels and leak documents past iron curtains if
Written by Emmy Anderson, Cooperative Business Developer With great concern for our staff as the COVID pandemic intensified, CDI’s Executive Director, Noemi Giszpenc, took a strong stance early on by promoting a culture of safety in our organization and urging staff to shift training and visits online. A month after Maine became the 43rd state
Written by Noemi Giszpenc, Executive Director As I’m writing this, it’s June 1, 2020 — the first day of hurricane season — and I’m wondering, what’s it going to take? The Amazon burned, Australia burned, Paradise burned. Minneapolis and L.A. burned. George Floyd and countless other Black lives ripped forever from their family and friends
Our nation is hurting. We are hurting. As we mourn the lives lost to police brutality and the injustices people of color have historically faced and continue to experience, we encourage you to uplift anti-racist organizations and check-in with your colleagues, friends, and peers of color. Your support can help save black lives, empathize with
Emergency Food Response in Lewiston-Auburn, Maine CDI has been involved in the Lewiston-Auburn (L-A) Emergency Food Response since mid-March. We have been able to support efforts of collaboration and communication, and we have witnessed the courage and enthusiasm of a wide network of organizations, banding together to help the area’s diverse communities. L-A is Maine’s
COVID-19 tragedy in Maine and #BetterTogetherFund Donate to the #BetterTogether Fund Today Written by Julian Rowand, NEROC Cooperative Development Specialist The global pandemic has been difficult for us all. Living and working in cooperative communities lends itself to the mutual aid and networks of support that are needed during challenging times. One of CDI’s Resident Owned
What is Essential? Written by Noemi Giszpenc, Executive Director There are so many answers to this question. Air, water, sun, food, shelter are essential. And so many are denied them. Safety, stability, security are essential. And so many are denied them. Liberty, freedom, self-determination, agency are essential. And so many are denied them. Love is essential.
In celebration of Earth Day, Cooperative Development Institute and Cooperative Maine Business Alliance presents New Roots and Legacy in Tenant Harbor, the first two videos from our Local Foods in Cooperation video series. These two co-ops are creating jobs, preserving farmland and ocean access, and building community. New Roots Cooperative Farm operates in Lewiston, Maine
