|
|
| Author |
Message |
| 10 new of 34 responses total. |
scott
|
|
response 25 of 34:
| 
May 31 12:53 UTC 2002 |
The coop concept goes back quite a ways in rural America, and often just for
the practical purpose of sharing big investments. My grandpa the wheat farmer
was part of a coop.
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 26 of 34:
|
May 31 13:28 UTC 2002 |
The UM Housing coops were set up in the 1930s, long before the hippies
came along.
Coops, in general, are an alternative business management system.
Under the capitalism model the capital for the enterprise is provided
by Party A (investors) so that party B (managers) can use it to hire
party C (workers) and buy machinery to make products that are then
sold to party D (consumers).
This business system is codified in US corporation laws.
Under the cooperative model, the parties are combined. For example,
in the food coop, the owners of the coop are Party A, C, and D.
Originally they were also Party B, but when the coop got to be a
large business (we do over $4 million a year in sales), we hired
full-time managers and some full time workers.
This business system is codified in US cooperative law. You may not
call your business a coop unless it meets the legal requirements of
the coop.
Rural electric coops were an early example of a consumer coop, where
the consumers of a service or product got together to provide it for
themselves.
Credit unions are money coops, where the consumers are also the
owners of the bank.
Wheat, dairy, and other farm product coops are marketing coops, where
the members provide the capital to market their crops as a single
business, rather than individually. I think Land O' Lakes dairies
are a coop.
Anyway, it is an alternative business system, codified in US law, so
that the business is owned by the consumers of the service or
product. Part of the law is that only people who meet certain
criteria can join the cooperative.
In housing coops, you buy a share of the coop, which makes you a part
owner of the house or houses owned by the cooperative. Some coops
are single family units (in Ann Arbor there are 20 or 30 of them)
others, owned by the UM Housing Coop, are shared living space, whose
membership is limited to students at the UM. In this coop, the work
to maintain and feed the residence and residents is mostly done by
the owners themselves.
|
orinoco
|
|
response 27 of 34:
|
Jun 2 20:02 UTC 2002 |
(Nitpick: It's the Ann Arbor Inter-Cooperative Council now, membership is
open to any students at Washtenaw County schools, and non-students can move
in if the house votes to allow it.)
If you're not interested in socialism or alternative business models, then
yeah, it's a glorified roommate setup. But it's a glorified roommate setup
that seems to work pretty well. When I shared an apartment with four other
people, nothing got done and we were at each others' throats the whole time.
I lived in a house of 45 people last year, and it ran ten times as smoothly.
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 28 of 34:
|
Jun 2 20:30 UTC 2002 |
Thanks for the nit-picks. I didn't know those things.
|
jaklumen
|
|
response 29 of 34:
|
Jun 3 07:10 UTC 2002 |
If it works well, wonderful. That's why I was intrigued. I don't
think I'll see it out here, though.
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 30 of 34:
|
Jun 3 12:56 UTC 2002 |
Actually, REI (Recreational Equipment ?I) is one of the country's biggest
coops. As I remember, they got their start in Oregon or Washington.
|
orinoco
|
|
response 31 of 34:
|
Jun 3 21:40 UTC 2002 |
A quick web search turned up the Kindermeadow Housing Co-Op in Olympia,
the Sherwood Cooperative in Seattle, a few co-op houses at Oregon State
University, a Student's Cooperative Association in Eugene, and a bunch of
houses in Portland. Now, these are all probably on the wrong side of the
Cascades from you, right? I'm not finding any student housing co-ops on
the east side of Washington or Oregon, or any at all in Idaho.
Still, as Colleen points out, there are definitely other sorts of
co-operative businesses in your neck of the woods.
Quick, someone get me off my soapbox...
|
jaklumen
|
|
response 32 of 34:
|
Jun 4 00:12 UTC 2002 |
resp:30 that sounds about right..
resp:31 yep, Dan, all on the west side. But of course, there are a
number of farmer co-op stores. That's it, though. Pretty basic. No
herbs, spices, etc.-- just mostly a Joe Conservative Farmer deal.
|
dtk
|
|
response 33 of 34:
|
Dec 25 20:35 UTC 2013 |
Some techniques are really good for scaling (sous vide, roasting).
Measure by mass, not volume, as you can scale more easily, and can just retare
to add the next ingredient.
Use techniques that offer a wide margin for error (sous vide, braising, etc),
since your cadence will be different to cook for 40 versus ooking for 4.
Fussy dishes and proper plating go out the window unless you have a crew. Just
serve family style.
Casseroles scale nearly linearly, and are always appreciated.
|
keesan
|
|
response 34 of 34:
|
Dec 26 03:44 UTC 2013 |
Soups stretch easily too.
|