The Common Share

Apr 24 2024 75

The Common Share Podcast artwork

Welcome to The Common Share, a podcast about the opportunities and challenges of developing co-operative businesses. The Common Share is produced by Co-operatives First, a business development organization that increases awareness and understanding of the co-op business model and supports co-operative business development in rural and Indigenous communities across western Canada.

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Childcare in Canada

Apr 24 2024 40 mins

This year at Co-operatives First we’re focused on helping groups start childcare co-operatives to help meet the need for childcare across the western provinces. To help us guide this initiative, we are privileged to have an advisory committee that consists of today’s guests: Sue Delanoy and Dr. Susan Prentice. These two brilliant experts have studied and advocated for the child

Co-operating among the cornstalks

Mar 19 2024 21 mins

In this episode, Trista speaks to Lea Zeise and Jen Falck of Ohe·láku, a nonprofit co-op in Wisconsin. The co-op's members are Oneida families relearning how to grow traditional White Corn together and sharing the lessons they learn. This is a lovely conversation about using a co-operative to grow food for the community while embracing tradition and ceremony.

What can we learn from co-ops in Wisconsin?

Feb 28 2024 42 mins

In this episode, Kyle spoke to Courtney Berner, Executive Director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives. They talked about the co-op landscape in Wisconsin and how it compares to Canada, why Wisconsin is such an incubator for innovative co-operative development, and what we can learn from each other by looking across the border.

The Battle River Railway Cooperative

Jan 31 2024 26 mins

Matt Enright is the general manager of the Battle River Railway Cooperative based in Forestburg, Alberta. A local grain farmer, Matt has served as GM since 2015. This new generation co-operative was formed in 2010 when area producers and residents bought the 52-mile stretch of rail from CN. In this episode, Kyle and Aasa talk to Matt about the impact the co-op has had on the region

Growing Canada's Renewable Energy Co-ops

Nov 30 2023 18 mins

This summer, Aasa attended the "Scaling up the impact of renewable energy co-operatives in Canada" conference in Ottawa, where Renewable Energy Co-op (REC) leaders met to discuss how they could collaborate to grow their impacts. While there, she spoke to Johan Hamels of the Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative about what RECs are and why they're important for communi

The benefits of business plans

Oct 20 2023 36 mins

In this episode, Kyle speaks to James Grieve, Certified Management Consultant, about his approach to creating a business plan, including how to know when you need one, understanding the why of your business, and recognizing the value of experts and resources in this process.

The Caisse populaire Kahnawake and the importance of Indigenous financial institutions

Sep 11 2023 33 mins

In this episode, our Director of Indigenous Relations, Trista Pewapisconias, spoke to Michael Rice – a founder and past manager of the Caisse Populaire Kahnawake, a hugely successful Indigenous credit union which has been around since 1987. He tells the story of how the credit union was started, the impact it’s had on its community, and benefits of Indigenous people having cont

A primer on co-op governance

Jul 31 2023 27 mins

In this episode, Director of Education Kyle White had a great conversation with Federated Co-operatives Limited's General Counsel and Corporate Secretary (and Co-operatives First board chair) Sheldon Stener. Sheldon is an expert in governance with important insights for members of co-op boards, and gives an excellent primer for things for co-op directors to consider in their r

Good Governance Lessons

Jun 30 2023 36 mins

After six years of leading the Good Governance Matters course, our Director of Education Kyle White has heard a lot from co-op leaders. In this episode, we talked about the themes and lessons that have emerged from the conversations had during the course — the result is insights that can help any co-op board and a glimpse into the debates being had around board tables of co-ops o

Co-op Development Training through an Indigenous lens

May 31 2023 29 mins

Co-operatives are a way for people to work together to better their community and reach their common economic, social, and cultural goals. Indigenous people have practiced this community approach to economic development from time immemorial. But colonialization has impacted every aspect of Indigenous society, including historic economic development practices. Although the value of