Cleveland Kickoff Event!

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June 5, 2025

Co-op Circles

Cleveland Owns

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There are More Waters Rising

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There are More Waters Rising This I know This I know

There are More Waters Rising This I know

There are More Waters Rising They will find there way to me

There are More Waters Rising This I know This I know

There are More Waters Rising This I know

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There are more fires burning

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There are more mountains falling

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I will wade through the waters

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I will walk through the fires

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I will rebuild the mountains

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I will wade through the waters

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The Ohio Co-op Solidarity Tour is a project of the Ohio Worker-ownership Network (OWN), which is celebrating 5 years this year!

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Big thanks to the groups sponsoring the Ohio Co-op Solidarity Tour!

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Tonight’s program put on by Co-op Circles, a collaboration of Cleveland co-ops and solidarity economy orgs that hosts solidarity economy events

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We’re also celebrating the (second) UN International Year of Cooperatives!

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“Without new visions, we don’t know what to build, only what to knock down. We not only end up confused, rudderless, and cynical, but we forget that making a revolution is not a series of clever maneuvers and tactics, but a process that can and must transform us”

― Robin D.G. Kelley, Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination

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The solidarity economy envisions everyone having their needs met, and human activity respecting the limitations of the natural world

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The solidarity economy is a post-capitalist vision for a transformed, democratized economic system

Source: Adapted from System Change: A Basic Primer to the Solidarity Economy by Emily Kawano and Julie Matthaei; image from art.coop

Production/Reproduction

• Worker co-ops
• DIY
• Care work
• Community gardens
• Mutual Aid
• Community-owned co-ops
• Community production

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Distribution & Exchange

• Social currencies
• Time banks
• Fair trade
• Toy/Tool shares
• Swap Meets
• Gifting

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Finance

• Credit union
• Peer lending
• Community loan funds
• Direct public offerings
• Public Banking

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Consumption

• Community Land Trusts
• Purchasing cooperatives
• Food co-ops
• Electric co-ops
• Housing co-ops

Governance

• Participatory budgeting
• Community governance
• Public sector, schools
• Policies
• Universal basic income

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The solidarity economy already exists in many sectors

of the society - we have a huge amount to build on

Slide from Emily Kawano of the US Solidarity Economy Network

The solidarity economy in Ohio builds on a long legacy of social movements for economic democracy around the world

New Communities 1969–1985

New Communities 2016

Franco (in power 1935-1975)

Mondragon’s founder and their school today

Community Land Trusts

Worker co-ops

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Vision for a Solidarity Economy in Africa

Key Pillars of Transformation:

• Embracing a Solidarity Economy Model:
• Shifting towards an economic system prioritizing collective well-being, local production, and equitable distribution over profit maximization.
• Emphasis on community-led initiatives, cooperatives, and fair trade practices within the nation.
• Reasserting National Sovereignty & Security:
• Measures to address and remove foreign elements perceived as "intruders" or destabilizing forces from the country.
• Strengthening national security and territorial integrity to protect national interests.

Pan-African Agricultural Collaboration:

• Forging alliances and partnerships with other African nations to foster collective food security.
• Initiatives aimed at boosting intra-African agricultural production, sharing expertise, and reducing reliance on external food imports.

Ending Resource Exploitation:

• Implementing policies to ensure that the continent's natural resources primarily benefit its own people and nations.
• Negotiating fairer terms for resource extraction and potentially nationalizing key sectors to retain control and value.

Facilitating Intra-African Travel & Integration:

• Introducing policies, such as free visas, to enable easier travel and movement within specific regions of Africa.
• Promoting greater regional integration, cultural exchange, and economic connectivity among African states.

Safeguarding Natural Resources:

• Protecting and sustainably managing natural resources for long-term national development and environmental preservation.
• Ensuring that the wealth generated from these resources is reinvested domestically for the benefit of the population.

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Planting Seeds 👩🏿‍🌾

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Plant: Gather ideas

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Grow: Break out into small groups

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Harvest: Come back & share what we’ve learned

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How to host a conversation, aka plant a seed

• Propose a topic related to the solidarity economy you’d like to explore with a group. Think of a topic or open-ended question that you’d like to learn more about, or work through, with people in your break out.
• In the group, the host will share their topic or question, then will mostly listen!
• Everyone should practice ‘step up, step back’
• Select one person to take notes on the sticky note, and one person to report back

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Planting Seeds 👩🏿‍🌾

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Future Cleveland Events

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• Little Africa Farmers Market - Mondays 5-7pm
• 12910 Soika Ave. Cleveland, OH. 44120
• Solar School with Cleveland Solar Cooperative - Tuesdays 6/17-7/22 6:30-8:30pm
• RSVP at Clevelandsolar.org
• IRTF Summer Solidarity Social - Fri 8/1
• Tentatively at St. Paul's Community Church UCC

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Future Cleveland Events

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Future Cleveland Events

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Next Stops 🚌

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Next Stops 🚌

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When we rise

We will hear the music

When we rise

We will paint the future

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Appendix

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https://solidarityeconomyprinciples.org/what-do-we-mean-by-solidarity-economy/