Image by TESA
“Developed inside the Greenfield Jail in 2017 by incarcerated people and community members to address the interconnected issues of climate catastrophe and mass incarceration, The Compost Co-operative diverts over 190 tons of waste per year from the landfill/incinerator into local composting operations, now including our own! The Markham Nathan Fund for Social Justice has supported Compost Co-op since before the business launched in 2018 — though all the ups and downs.
In the past six years, 71 percent of wages dispersed by the co-op have been earned either by people with lived experience of incarceration or who have a family member impacted by the criminal legal system; 30 percent of wages have been earned by people previously incarcerated at the Greenfield Jail. The co-op remains committed to developing the leadership of people most affected by the carceral and climate crises. Of eight worker-owners since the co-op launched, three have been previously incarcerated and three have had a family member incarcerated.
A goal of worker coops is to be owned by all their workers. Yet there is a large gap between having a job and owning a business. This year The Markham Nathan Fund for Social Justice is supporting the extensive training needed to make the leap from worker to worker-owner and the subjective shift from doing what you’re told — to collectively figuring out what’s best for the business, your fellow workers, and you, in the context of the inescapable extractions of capitalism.
Compost Co-op asks all its worker-owners to develop business knowledge and engage fully in running the business — from facilitating remote meetings to understanding Profit & Loss
reports, speaking in public to doing outreach and accurate estimates — in order to make informed managerial decisions. Soon after joining the co-op, new workers receive one-on-one training and guidance, articulate personal goals, attend meetings, and offer suggestions for improvement. A cooperative training period is expensive but necessary for workers to shift our economy so that it no longer prioritizes war and planetary destruction and instead protects the planet and fosters workers’ self-determination.
Compost Co-op would not have made it through these years without the steadfast support of The Markham Nathan Fund for Social Justice.” Revan
Related
