Co-Operation

Often when I feel the itch to write, to coral my thoughts and focus on one topic I will typically choose one word that has been swirling around my head and write about it.  Lately that word has been cooperation (or some similar version like cooperating and cooperative).

The definition seems very straight forward, to operate together, so I will focus on those two words.

When I hear the word operations I typically hear it in regards to business, military or other institutions.  Serious things are happening typically involving resources of time, materials and money.  The home itself becomes its own "operation" and the primary way all of us experience co-operation is at home.  If co-operation is not happening in the home, the people are likely miserable.  So the word operations to me means our lives outside of pure recreation.  

A much broader discussion is the co or together part of the definition.  This means there are people involved other than yourself, aka the flair of life itself!  Learning to work together with people, all kinds of different people, is a lifelong gift you keep giving yourself until you die.  Finding that common ground then working together towards a similar goal.  Reach the goal faster together!

The smartest humans know this basic human fact.  If I work together with people I will achieve my goals faster than if I work alone.  Don't get me wrong, there are still and always be things you are working on that nobody else is working on and that is a very necessary part of life.  Serial entrepreneurs know this to very much be true.  Then they figure it out, automate it and hand off the tasks to others, literal job creators!

Simply put, co-operation means doing non recreational serious life sh-tuff with other human beings.  Why would we do this?  Many hands make light work.  Many minds problem solving make for better solutions.  When people share there is less need to feel like we all need to own everything!  This can be a huge burden lifted off all of our shoulders if we all just share and take care of each other.

Currently I am working on two co-operatives.  We would like to see the storefront of our cafe be run as a classic co-operative with other local farms and producers.  Our goal is to run that business as efficiently as possible to ensure the overwhelming majority of the sales go to the producers so they can keep producing their amazing products for our community!  

The second is a blue-collar labor co-operative focusing on farming and homesteading.  Ultimately if many farms and homesteads in the area had access to a skilled labor force to help them keep producing but without the need to carry those full-time jobs on the farm payroll.  Just in time, skilled workers who are well versed in maintaining land, equipment, and doing basic tasks to structures and fencing.  Ideally someone else knows what they want done and just need some skilled second hands on the job.  Our farm to table cafe business could lead the way in employing the majority of the workforce and weeding out the bad ones.  But we could keep them closer to full time throughout the year if a few more businesses, farms and homesteaders came together and found employment for everyone.

That's all I have to say about that.