VIEW, Issue six, 2012


Website: viewdigital.org


Page 16 ‘Co-ops are for life,


Above: Speakers at the conference ‘Co-operatives – A model for Sustainable Development’, and top right, a number of the delegates who attended the event in the Europa Hotel, Belfast


Una Murphy reports on a recent Co-operative conference in Belfast T


he Northern Ireland Assembly’s All Party Group on Co-operatives is keen to aid the growth of the movement, Sammy Douglas MLA told a major conference in Belfast. “I have been involved in co-operatives for


many years, if I can help,” Mr Douglas told around 100 delegates from throughout the island of Ireland and Britain. Turnover of the 251 co-operative enter-


prises in Northern Ireland is more than £35 bil- lion with the largest co-operatives based in the agricultural and dairy sector – Fane Valley Co- operative Society, Ballyrashane Co-operative Agricultural and Dairy Society, Fivemiletown Co- operative and United Dairy Farmers. One of the newest co-operative is the Belfast Cleaning Society. Alice McLarnon, a found- ing member, told VIEW that it had been set up by women who live in the Shankill and Falls areas of the city.


have already secured contracts for one-off con- certs as well as weekly work cleaning the offices of trades unions and local businesses. “We will be giving out flyers around the


university area of Belfast to landlords as well local businesses and community organisations,” said Alice.


years of experience – who work part-time in local hospitals. “I give my sweat equity doing the adminis- tration and I’m also an expert cleaner, having cleaned my house for years,” Alice said. “The women work together very well.


“The women are expert cleaners – with 95 The six women who formed the co-op


sectarian and anti-racism training. “We have four contracts at the minute, including the Tennent’s Vital concert in Belfast for which we will also provide 20 litter-pickers from both sides of the interface.


“In five years’ time we want to grow to compete with big cleaning businesses.” Limerick delegate Bill Kelly, from Meitheal


Mid West and the newly formed Workers’ Co-op Network, told the conference that Limerick city was to be rebranded as ‘Co-op City’. He said co-ops could aid economic devel-


opment in Ireland, north and south. Delegates also heard from Rosemary Do-


They are from some of the most socially de- prived areas of Belfast and have all received anti-


herty of the Irish League of Irish Unions that the Credit Union movement in Ireland has a fund to


help co-operatives businesses get established. David Rogers, president of the International Co- operative Alliance, told the conference ‘Co-oper- atives – A model for Sustainable Development’ that many people saw co-ops as a remedy for current social and economic ills. “It is seen as a better way of doing business – to create wealth for the many, not the few,” he said. Trust in traditional business was at a low


added.


Conference images: Kevin Cooper


ebb, he said, and more people were attracted to the democratic nature of the co-operative way of doing business. “Co-ops are for life, not just for profits,” he


spoke at a workshop about the recent launch of a share issue of Drumlin Energy – Northern Ire- land’s first wind energy co-operative. Other workshops considered credit unions, housing and workers’ co-ops. Peter Couchman from the Plunkett Foun- dation said that community owned and co-oper- ative stores helped to regenerate local communities – his foundation was asked to help script writers develop the storyline about Am- bridge’s village shop in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers.


ganised the conference along with Belfast-based co-operative Trademark. Tiziana O’Hara, develop- ment officer of the Northern Ireland Co-opera- tive Forum, said a need for new directions in co-operation has emerged in recent years. “New co-operatives such as housing, en-


ergy and workers co-operatives will expand the co-operative sector to create a more diverse movement,” Tiziana said.


Northern Ireland Co-operative Forum or- Paul Phare of the Energy4All Co-operative


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