StillMa

I've been thinking about organzing a food coop here in Tarboro, so the concept of cooperatives and collectives has been bouncing around in my head.

It wasn't until I needed a few last minute Christmas items and had only WalMart as an option, that a bigger concept pushed its way into my consciousness.

I must digress. WalMart is not my favorite store.  The way Walmart is run now that Sam Walton is gone is, in my mind,  a very unattractive way to do business.  In Tarboro, 10,000's of consumers come from all surrounding areas to shop WalMart .  Why do they do this?

1) Walmart has a large selection in one handy location.

2) Walmart has discount prices (on some items).

3) WalMart is the only show in town.

My wondering brain wants to know... is it possible to form a community cooperative that would provide local consumers with an alternative?  Is it possible to form a community cooperative format that could be repeated in small towns across the country?  Is it possible for the People (with a capital P) to take back some control of the economy?

It would be fantastic if an empty building in town were to be the Tarboro Community Cooperative and house a food coop, a general merchandise coop, a farmer's market, a crafts cooperative...  and more.   A cooperative gas station could provide gasoline. 

I'm going to give this a lot more thought and I hope you do, too.  In the meantime, there's an excellent publication, available in HTML online or for download in PDF form: How To Start A Food Coop.