Articles
Citizen-Consumer Reflection: Strength in the Commitment of Many
Thirty-seven years ago, I did not identify primarily as a consumer, and the label still doesn’t quite fit, but I did identify as a citizen open to learning how Nicaraguans were creating more equal social relationships. When volunteering with newly formed sewing cooperatives, I met small farmers who shared stories of how they never were paid a fair price by the buyers of the fruits of their hard labor. I became a small bridge of sales of Nica coffee beans through Equal Exchange.
Becoming a Citizen-Consumer Board Director of Equal Exchange
I was elected to the board of Equal Exchange in June 2020, a couple days after my 22nd birthday. The prior year, I had attended the Equal Exchange Summit as a college student who really liked healthy food and desperately wanted a glimmer of hope that some businesses could benefit people and the environment.
Our Worker-Owned Cooperative
At Equal Exchange we all walk around like we own the place. That's because we all do! We have organized ourselves as a democratic worker co-operative, now one of the largest in the country. But what does that mean?
What is a Co-op, Anyway?
Throughout history, people have organized with each other to achieve the goals that they share. But what does “cooperative” mean when applied to a business?