411. Developing New Cooperatives Part IV: Purchase or Lease a House for a Housing Co-op
David Rosebud Sparer, Herrick & Kasdorf, LLP
Purchasing or leasing a property for your housing coop can involve lots of technical requirements, and also involve taking on huge amounts of debt obligation. Getting it right can be very important. Come and learn the ins and outs of purchasing a property or leasing a property for a housing coop.

421. Our Collective History: Student Housing Co-ops in North America
Jim Jones, NASCO
This course will survey the history of student and group equity co-ops, from roots in the women's movement after the Civil War through the Great Depression years, World War II, the McCarthy and Civil Rights Eras, the Baby Boom and the recent expansion of interest to a non-student audience.

422. Internal Labor Systems of Housing Cooperatives
Lauren Beitler, Qumbya Cooperative
How can we organize labor in our cooperatives to ensure equitability, prevent burn-out, and keep members accountable (not to mention ensuring that the floors really get mopped)? What's the best way to structure transitions of labor and leadership roles from seasoned members to new ones? In this workshop we will examine a variety of possibilities for internal labor systems in co-ops as we seek to answer these and other questions. We will gain insight and energy to build labor systems that best serve the needs of our cooperative communities. Whether you are a new co-oper or an experienced one, bring your unique perspective to the discussion!

431. First Do No Harm: Reducing Legal Liability of Co-op Board Members and Officers
Eric Lipson, ICC Ann Arbor
Fires, floods, assaults, car crashes, drug overdoses, slips and falls, alcohol issues, sexual harrassment. There is a long list of legal issues that face coop boards and officers every day. This course will be a discussion of practical steps that we can take to make our coops safer for members and thereby reduce the legal liability of board members and officers. Doing due diligence and living up to our fiduciary responsibility can be made much easier once you understand some of the basic legal principles. This course will use actual case studies from the ICC in Ann Arbor, and those of participants in the session. Feel free to bring your thorniest legal issue and we can work on it!

441. A Climate for Accessibility: Redesigning Space to Create Physically Accessible Housing
Tom Klein Beernink, Guelph Campus Co-op
This workshop will provide an analysis of the challenges and opportunities of developing accessible housing. The Guelph Campus Co-op recently completed a major expansion and renovations to one of their lodging houses in order to make it accessible to students with disabilities. We'll look at what was learned during that process as well as some of the legal and financial implications of such a development.

442. Conflict: Fight, Flight, or Opportunity?
Laird Schaub, Fellowship for Intentional Community
Does conflict mean your group is sick, or just paying attention? Starting with the premise that conflict is healthy and normal, we'll explore options for unlocking its potential using the whole person--rational, emotional, and intuitive. Rather than talking about "I" statements or being nice, we'll focus on what happens and what can be done when things get hot, concluding with a four-step plan for constructive engagement. Special attention will be given to the advantages of working in a group and in the dynamic moment, facilitated by those not in the stew.

444. Money and Relationships: A Workshop About Class Privilege
Tyrone Boucher, Mariposa Food Co-op, Resource Generation
Acca Warren
Does money really change everything? How do we talk about it and who do we talk about it with? How do money and class affect our relationships? What beliefs about money were we raised with, and how can we create new belief systems based in social justice? This workshop is geared toward people who identify as having wealth or class privilege (whatever that means to you), but is open to anyone interested in talking about these issues. We'll come together to share some of our challenges and gain new perspectives on how our experiences with money impact our lives, our relationships, and our work in social change.

445. Theater of the Oppressed: Playing With Space-An Interactive Workshop
Morgan Andrews, Life Center Association, Theatre of the Oppressed Philadelphia
In less than two hours we will learn to use the language of collective theater to play with the notion of "space"-the places where we work, play, eat, sleep, live in, learn and share with others. How we shape these spaces-and how these spaces shape us-affects our relationships and interactions with one another. By taking apart these spaces and putting them back together in the ways that we want, we can find new strategies for improving our workplaces, our schools, our homes, and our communities. Come experience Theater of the Oppressed-a lively and powerful tool for the rehearsal of reality.

451. Green Capitalism, Racism and Environmental Injustice
Rose M. Brewer, AfroEco Group
Kimberly Wasserman, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO)
Donele Wilkins, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice (DWEJ)
Jack Ailey, Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform (PERRO)
The panel remarks center on the hard place of theory and practice. That is, in a moment in which communities of color and, in particular, Black communities in the U.S and globally have been targeted and devastated by environmental racism and injustice, the promise of green jobs in a green economy is seductive. If the rules of the capitalist market and the ideology of colorblindness remain in play, the prospects for eliminating environmental racism and creating economic justice must be questioned. For communities that have been historically exploited we must ask hard questions about who benefits, who loses and what real change might look like in this period.

452. Rural Organizing
Elandria Williams, The Highlander Center, US Solidarity Economy Network
This workshop will examine what it means to do work in rural communities and will highlight some organizing models and practices used in rural communities and small towns. This workshop is designed for everyone--those who are already organizing in rural areas, people doing mostly city-based work but understand that to move county or statewide policy forward, small towns and rural areas must be included, and people that are just darn curious what folks are going to say. A slight focus will be given to rural communities in Appalachia and the South but there will definitely be information from rural communities in other parts of the country including the Midwest.

453. Fair Trade and the Co-op Movement
Sarah Konner, ICC Ann Arbor
Fuzzy/Adam Konner, ICC Ann Arbor, United Students for Fair Trade
Learn the essentials of the Fair Trade movement--why Fair Trade is important, how co-ops are central to Fair Trade, what it takes to be certified, who certifies, and how we can take a more active role in both the Fair Trade movement and the world-wide cooperative movement. Learn about the many things we can do right now as students, co-opers, activists and consumers to help bring justice to international trade and improve the lives of millions of people in developing countries. Fair Trade is a relationship between producers and consumers striving towards economic, environmental, and social justice in the hostile world of international trade. As most Fair Trade producers are worker co-ops, the co-op movement is integral to Fair Trade. We have tremendous power as consumers, activists and students and this growing movement is a valuable tool for us to use. Come to learn more! 

461. Clay Finishes: A Hands-On Workshop
Laura Knap, The Grand House Student Co-operative
Clay is a non-toxic, friendly-to-work-with, durable, and "cheap as chips" finishing material that is a nice alternative to traditional gypsum or cement-based plasters; or conventional latex paints. It can also yield awesome textures and colours (that you get to mix from scratch!). (paragraph break) The workshop will begin with a quick introduction to the (recently constructed) Grand House Student Co-op and its major environmental systems and techniques. In particular, we'll look at the process of making our clay-plastered and clay-painted walls. Then we'll work together to make a batch of clay paint so you can get a good feel for the recipe before you take it home to try in your own projects. (Your clothes may get dirty but likely not stained).

462. Ecovillages: Sustainable Cooperation for Life
Ma'ikwe Schaub Ludwig, Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage and Fellowship for Intentional Community
G. Paul Blundell, Acorn Community, The Federation of Egalitarian Communities
An Ecovillage is a place designed for ecologically sustainability and community-building; a context to integrate all the aspects of an engaged, conscious, activist life; a people dedicated to being the experiment for how to live sustainably within our culture; an intersection of the sustainability, group process, business and communal-living worlds; and a future modeling conscious design for planning our neighborhoods. This introduction to Ecovillage life will focus on the social, economic worldview and ecological aspects of building sustainability, as told from the perspective of ecovillage members.

471. The Roles of Co-ops in Food Systems
William Nelson, CHS Foundation
Kevin Edberg, Cooperative Development Services
Will Fantle, The Cornucopia Institute
Presentations and panel discussion with participants about the role and opportunities cooperatives have in the existing food system and possibilities for the future.