Growing your Co-operative proved an informative day both for members of established co-ops and people who wanted to find out more about co-operatives and co-operation - and was enthusiastically received by those who attended. Some of the subsequent messages speak for themeselves:
"Really enjoyed the event - a great introduction and insight into the world of cooperatives"
"I met loads of interesting people and it gives me food for thought as to how I run my community orchard/other community projects"
"I really enjoyed it! There was an exciting 'standing room only' feel to it"
"Thanks to the team at Co-operatives South West for providing an inspiring day at the Cube Cinema in Bristol last week. It’s always great to meet with other co-operators and learn from their experiences".
Kerry McCarthy MP for Bristol East gave an inspiring keynote speech
Eli Sarre tells the story of Essential Trading's 40 years of trading
Kate Whittle runs a stimulating 'Co-operantics' workshop
Paul Martin takes delegates through the 'thrills and spills' of corporate legislation
For links to the presentations, see below:
Growing a co-operative enterprise (Essential Trading)
Growing a co-operative enterprise (Sparks Inc)
An A-Z of co-operative finance (CCF)
Growing co-ops - how to get mad AND get even (Co-op Futures)