Case studies
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Coffee Cranks: Cappuccinos, co‑operation and community spirit
Find out how a worker co‑op in Manchester is making a difference to local people while empowering its members – and giving them a better working life…
1 year 4 months
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Beanies: A wholefood co‑op with plenty of benefits in store
There’s no need to shop around for another job when you work at Beanies. And being a worker co‑operative sets the Sheffield grocery apart in more ways than one…
1 year 4 months
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Loaf – real bread, real co-operation
Content by Co‑op of the Year
Bakery and cookery school Loaf is a worker co-op that aims to promote real bread and cookery skills – and build community through food.
2 years 6 months
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Lupine Adventure co-op: A real say in your work
Content by Co-op Fortnight
Lupine Adventure is a not-for-profit workers’ co-op offering fell and mountain based outdoor recreation, education and training.
2 years 7 months
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LEDA co-op: A community that cares
Content by Co-op Fortnight
Building services co-op LEDA provides sustainable construction solutions – from new builds and refurbishments to plumbing, heating design, green energy installations and more.
2 years 7 months
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Enabled Works: empowering people with disabilities to become business owners
Content by Co-op Fortnight
Fully owned and run by its disabled workforce, Enabled Works is a social enterprise co-op specialising in contract packing, distribution and storage.
2 years 7 months
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Innovators making changes that matter: Animorph Co‑operative
Content by The Hive
The ingenious team at Animorph Co‑operative produce augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) solutions that create a positive social impact.
3 years 1 month
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Serving up help, hope and hearty meals: Warehouse Café
Content by The Hive
Creating delicious vegan dishes, the Warehouse Café is a worker co-op situated in the Friends of the Earth Building in Birmingham. The café has been in existence for 35 years. And in early 2019, the…
3 years 2 months
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Rehabilitation the co‑operative way: New Leaf Co‑op
Content by The Hive
The New Leaf Initiative is a Birmingham-based mentoring organisation that supports people with criminal convictions to find work.
3 years 3 months
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Flat pay and an equal say: Greencity Wholefoods
It’s 1978 and Glasgow’s Greencity Wholefoods co-operative is formed – born from the local activist movement with moral, ethical and environmental values at its heart.
3 years 4 months
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InFact Digital Co-op: “Co‑op working is the future”
Content by The Hive
They met through a digital boot camp. Loved working together. And discovered a shared belief in the power of technology as a force for good.
4 years 2 months
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Forty years and counting... the story of Suma
The UK’s flagship worker co-op, Suma was founded 40 years ago when seven people formed a wholefood wholesaler in West Yorkshire.
4 years 4 months
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Helping Blake House Cooperative plan for a sustainable future
Content by The Hive
As a new start‑up business, filmmakers Blake House Cooperative applied to The Hive to access an experienced peer mentor to help them with a range of areas, from business development to client…
4 years 9 months
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Using technology to make a difference for good: Outlandish
Content by Co-op Fortnight
Working for Outlandish – a thriving digital agency and worker co-op – and then becoming a member, has made a massive difference to Amil Vasishtha.
5 years 6 months
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“Social and environmental aims are fundamental to our work” – OrganicLea
Content by The Hive
OrganicLea is a small workers’ co-operative growing food on London’s edge in the Lea Valley.
5 years 6 months
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Doing good with wood: Bristol Wood Recycling Project
Content by The Hive
Bristol Wood Recycling Project collects tonnes of good quality timber from construction yards and other businesses around the city that would otherwise be wasted.
6 years 2 months