MANITOBA COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION
CO-OP CONNECTIONS
AUGUST 2017 EDITION
|
|
|
Brandon will soon offer another cooperative housing option for seniors
 Western Manitoba Seniors Non-Profit Housing Co-op, who received a Cooperative Achievement award at MCA's banquet last year, is now well on its way to providing another 63 units of cooperative housing to seniors in the Brandon area. The housing co-op, located at 2105 Brandon Ave., is the result of a partnership between the federal, provincial and municipal governments, and is expected to be completed in summer of 2018.
This project is the second phase of a dedicated group of volunteers vision to provide affordable housing to area residents and comes quickly after completion of their first phase located at 620 McDiarmid Avenue. This new building will include 48 affordable housing units and 15 with rates set at market value for Brandon.
The cooperative was established in July 2009 to provide safe, comfortable, affordable and accessible housing for seniors in the City of Brandon.
South Osborne farmers market providing a number of options to shop local
In its' second year of operations, the Farm Fresh Food Hub has hosted a weekly farmers market offering fresh veggies, local meat and more. This year the cooperative has moved to a new location at Lord Roberts Community Centre, added a number of new vendors and is soon to hold their first annual general meeting.
 MCA is pleased to have supported this cooperative through its various phases of development including helping them identify the type of cooperative they wanted to be. The cooperative is the first of its type in Manitoba to be incorporated as a community service multistakeholder with two groups of membership - Producers and Supporters. They are currently accepting applications for membership under each category. You can visit their website for information and make sure to like them on Facebook to follow their progress.
Visit them at their next farmers market which will be held tomorrow, August 23, at the Lord Roberts Community Centre. A complete list of vendors is available on Facebook.
Urban Eatin': The little co-op that keeps growing
Urban Eatin' Gardeners Workers Co-op's story began with four individuals from different parts of Winnipeg who dreamed of transforming the urban jungle into a lush garden. No land? No problem! They joined forces and, with the support of the aptly named SEED Winnipeg not-for-profit organization, the four founding members created their own gardeners' worker co-op, Urban Eatin’, in 2009.
 For these urban gardeners, who see the city as an immense field of possibilities, the key is to cultivate a certain sustainable development philosophy.
To tackle fundamental education at its roots, Urban Eatin’ has developed close partnerships with several city schools. Customized programs have now been developed that incorporate educational priorities, including building raised garden beds, introducing participants to sustainable development, the Prairie ecosystem and bee pollination, and continuing to maintain gardens planted by the students.
With representatives of this calibre, urban farming will no doubt continue to flourish in Winnipeg.
Continuing Learning
The Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet) will be offering a number of workshops From September 21 - December 7: Working Together to Create Inclusive Community Programming; Build and Grow Your Social Enterprise; When Media Comes Calling; Prepare and Deliver and Marketing and Brand for Non-Profits: tools and best practices to increase impact. Click here for information on how to register.
Save the date
Wednesday, October 18 is MCA's annual awards banquet, your opportunity to recognize co-ops and cooperators in our province who have made significant accomplishments to and for co-ops in Manitoba. This year, the awards banquet will recognize Stingers Credit Union and DSI Tandem Co-op Resources, our award recipients. The banquet will be held at the Norwood Hotel, 112 Marion Street with a reception at 5:30 and dinner to follow. Tickets are $75 each or a table for 8 is $550. Please contact us for tickets.
Friday, October 20 will be the Canadian CED Network's (CCEDNet) annual gathering of community minded individuals. It's an inspirational "pay what you can" event featuring an awesome lunch provided by local co-ops and social enterprises. Registration opens September 1 but you can click here for more information including highlights from previous years.
Sunday, October 22 will be the second annual Housing Co-op Day - a day to explore the housing co-op advantage. Housing co-ops not only fill housing needs within their communities but allow their members lifetime residency and control over their homes. The event will be hosted by the Co-op Housing Development Group. This will be a family friendly event. Details are being finalized but for more information, please contact info@chdg.coop.
|
