Saturday, November 3rd, 10:30 am-12 pm

101. The Biopsychology of Cooperation

Thomas Barefoot

This workshop will consist of powerpoint slides and some interactive exercises providing an overview and deconstruction of the PsychoSocial mythologies that are used to encourage competition ("survival of the fittest"), encourage greed and discourage cooperation. We look at examples of cooperation in nature to counter the myths that the law of the jungle is the "natural" law. We look at some of the game theory on exploitation and cooperation. We look at recent studies of neurophysiology to see how stress and fear produce hormonal changes that make us less likely to cooperate. We then look at lifestyle, exercises and techniques that produce more empathy, trust and cooperation at biological and psychological levels. We show how to adapt some old and some new BioPsychology techniques that can help individuals and groups learn how to cooperate safely.

102. Your Fabulous Preschool Co-op

Emily Bate, West Philadelphia Preschool Cooperative

The West Philadelphia Preschool Cooperative, a parent-run school, was founded to provide radical and radically affordable early childhood care for the members. The co-op has both meandered and evolved from there. The workshop, presented by teachers at the co-op, will be half skillshare, half presentation. We'll share strategies and skills for organizing your own preschool or playgroup and discuss educational philosophy, curriculum planning, practical organizational considerations and financial strategies. Anyone with experience or interest in radical early childhood education, playgroups, co-ops, or homeschooling is highly encouraged to share their stories as we share ours.

111. Connected Books: Co-op Bookkeeping Made Easy

Emily Ng, Urban Homesteading Assistance Board

Frustrated with Quickbooks and wish it was tailored to your co-op? Want to increase transparency and communication on financial matters in your house? Come check out Connected Books, an online tracking tool for housing cooperatives which turns bookkeeping into a simple and stress free task. UHAB | Urban Homesteading Assistance Board designed Connected Books for housing cooperatives in New York City so co-ops can save time and focus on sharing and analyzing the financials. This course is perfect for small houses as well as larger co-op systems, and especially for any co-op looking for a simple way to track finances. We will cover basic bookkeeping principles and a demonstration of the program.

112. The Essentials of Dynamic Facilitation; How to Get Through the Agenda and Build Energy at the Same Time

Laird Schaub, Fellowship for Intentional Community

Good meeting facilitation can make the difference between pain and gain. We'll look at the basic qualities needed to become a full-service facilitator, the process agreements needed to spread your wings, and how to recognize those magic moments when passion can be harnessed to transform binding into bonding

121. Building Community by Building as a Community: An Exploration into Alternative Methods of Maintaining the Place

Jen Dombrowski

Tool lending libraries, skills shares, barter economies, and volunteer labor are just a few ways that people in many communities have found to remove monetary currency as the mainstay in the upkeep of their living spaces. Look around in your own neighborhood and you may be surprised to find the resources that are available to you, and what you may have to offer in return. When we help each other build, repair, or maintain our abodes, the burdens of that maintenance and the time and cost it incurs are lightened while a sense of solidarity and stewardship are strengthened. This workshop will explore some of the existing alternatives out there, and will encourage each participant to search their own communities, and inspire everyone to think outside the box to get things done in the most community-minded and creative way possible.

131. Organizing Cultural Cooperatives and Cross-Cultural Networks to Promote Sustainable Livelihood on the Land

Louis Alemayehu, Rose Brewer , Perdita Butler, Sam Grant , Afro Eco

The example of AfroEco and New Village Alliance.

132. Participatory Economics - Institutional Visions of an Anarchist Economy

Michael Albert, Z Magazine

This workshop presents a way to organize production, consumption, and allocation consistent with self-management, solidarity, equity, diversity, and classlessness. It will emphasize not only desirable values, but workable institutional arrangements replacing the hierarchical, competitive, profit-oriented, corporate, market structures we now endure.

142. Connecting Garment Workers to the Market : Creating and Sustaining the Worker-Owned Model

Bena Burda, Maggie's Organics

I will tell the story of how and why Maggie's was forced to look at off-shore apparel production, and explain how that led to us working with two other groups to form the world's first 100% worker-owned free trade zone, a sewing cooperative in Nicaragua. I will show a video about the early stages of the co-op, and speak to the ongoing challenges of the project, as well as addressing the expansion of this model in the garment sector

151. Cultural Theft vs. Cultural Sharing: Thinking Through Cultural Appropriation in Our Communities

Kelly Lloyd, Oberlin Student Cooperative Association
Lydia Pelot-Hobbs. Anti-Racism Working Group, New Orleans

This interactive workshop will think through how issues of cultural appropriation manifest themselves in our co-ops and communities and the ways that cultural appropriation is connected to larger systems of racism and imperialism. Based in discussion, activities, and the film "White Shamans, Plastic Medicine Men," this workshop will work through questions including: how does power inform cultural appropriation, how do we respond to cultural appropriation in our communities, and how does thinking about this issue lead to more radically inclusive anti-oppressive communities and co-ops?

152. Seen, Heard and Participating- Kids in Housing Co-ops

Beth Barclay, Heiwa House
Rebekah Williams, Nickel City Housing Co-operative

What would you do if someone announced at a meeting that they were pregnant? What would you do if a father of a three-year-old were interested in house membership? How can student co-ops successfully transition to a community co-op model that includes children and families? Through this interactive and fun workshop, participants will have the opportunity to engage kids and parents living in co-ops in discussion around issues co-ops should look at if they are considering having children and parents be members. We will share our experience of how kids and co-ops offer sustainable alternatives to a largely age-segregated world. Issues of financial accessibility, parenting in community, and wild frantic dancing with toddlers may also be discussed

171. For Sustainable Kitchens

Ma'ikwe Ludwig, Sol Space Consulting, Zialua Ecovillage

There are 8 essential ingredients that every cook (or kitchen manager) must know in order to serve up a sustainable meal. In addition to the more commonly known factors (such as organic versus conventional growing) there's a whole lot to know to make your food friendlier to the planet. Class includes a personal food survey (and it's community adaptation) to help figure out how you are doing in the bigger scheme of things, and encouragement and stories from an experienced community kitchen manager, organic garden coordinator and long-time sustainability teacher.

172. Remembering Urban Revolution: Sharing Stories of Inspiration and Co-operation in Detroit

Spencer Mann, Montréal Urban Community Sustainment Project

This workshop is for those who missed the Detroit tour and those who participated in the tour and can't stop talking about it.

Participants from Friday's tour will open the workshop with stories, images, and questions from the Detroit experience. These stories and questions will then lead into a facilitated discussion in which all are invited to participate. Possible themes for discussion include: questioning to what degree and in what ways Detroit has been "abandoned" by Capitalism, discussing the tensions between revitalization and gentrification of the Cass Corridor in Detroit, and seeking a deeper understanding of the economic alternatives being built from the ground up by "Detroit Dreamers."

181. Part 1: Getting Organized

Mark Fick, Stone Soup Cooperative; Chicago Community Loan Fund
Nancy St. Germaine, Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund 

So you've decided to start a co-op and don't know where to begin. Or maybe you've already started organizing, but aren't clear on next steps. This course provides an introduction and overview of the co-op development process. From building a solid core group to closing on a building, we will address the key steps that will get your project on its feet and moving forward

182. Economic and Social Benefits of Manufactured Housing Park Cooperatives

Jolan Rivera, School of Community Economic Development, SNHU

A cooperative mode of ownership of manufactured home parks (MPS; also known as mobile home parks) provides certain advantages that translate into social and economic benefits. This workshop will share results of a couple of related studies on the experience of residents MHPs in New Hampshire that transitioned from renters to owners through the process of cooperation.