Prosperity in the Fossil-Free Economy by Melissa K Scanlan

Prosperity in the Fossil-Free Economy by Melissa K Scanlan

Author:Melissa K Scanlan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2021-10-15T00:00:00+00:00


Figure 2. BioTrèmol’s Principles as Displayed in Its San Vicente del Raspeig Store (Credit: Melissa K. Scanlan)

Llinares and Arnaiz explained the different membership categories the coop has established, some required by law and others of its own creation. All the members receive discounts on products, but vary in terms of money and time commitments. The legally required category of “consumer-members” is the most basic membership. The coop charges a one-time fee of €100 to become a consumer-member and then charges €6 per month. “Activist members” pay a one-time fee of €1,000 to join, and volunteer four hours per week. Most of the store’s employees have opted to become “activist members,” so in addition to their paid work, they volunteer. For those altruistic people who support the mission with donations and not time, and do not need discounted products, the coop has “associate members.” Last, inspired by the Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn, New York, it created a new membership category for those who volunteer four hours per month and do not pay a monthly fee. It hopes that this new category of membership will make its healthy food available to more low-income people.54

Summary

BioTrèmol consumer grocery store cooperative designed the nonprofit business around a set of values and principles, which it wrote directly into its governance documents and carries out in its daily practices. It is actively working to support the emergence of new small-scale organic farmers in the province of Alacant to supply local consumer demand for organic food. The coop’s commitment to small-scale and cooperative farmers means it is providing a market that supports dispersed farm ownership and wealth rather than consolidated agribusiness operations owned by nonfarmer investors.

La Bodega de Pinoso (Organic Wine, Farmer, Spanish National and Export)

Overview of the Cooperative: History, Type, and Economic Sector

Adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea, Alacant boasts a climate that is excellent for wine production. While there are numerous wineries and vineyards, and Spain produces the most organic wine in the world, organic wine is still a small part of the overall Spanish wine market. Talking with local wine merchants in the Central Market revealed there were only a few local organic wines available, and this is where I found wines from the cooperative La Bodega de Pinoso (Bodegas Pinoso).

This cooperative brings together grape farmers to produce high-quality wines, rooted in local agricultural knowledge of how to cultivate grapes with a small ecological footprint. While viticulture and enology are complementary, they are two separate disciplines. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the town of Pinoso, in the province of Alacant, there were about 400 farm families who cultivated grapes and had their wine cellars at home. The small farmers in Pinoso were very dispersed, with each producing their own wine and having limited storage capacity. Each farmer had to individually bring their wine to market in the port of Alacant to ship beyond the immediate area, which created imbalances between supply and demand that made prices very unstable.55

“LA UNIÓN HACE



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