Who: Spoke Folks Cooperative
What: Hauls trash/Recycling/Compost and offers delivery and general hauling all on bikes
Where: Norway and South Paris, ME
When: Soft launched spring/summer 2020 during pandemic, officially up and running Oct2020/
Why: To lessen idling traffic and our impact on the environment by taking cars off the road and re-imagine our waste systems by educating the community about food waste and recycling
Spoke Folks Bike Cooperative Pedals into 2021
A new Western Maine worker-owned co-op blossoms out of a year of hardship and uncertainty
Spoke Folks Cooperative Inc., a worker-owned cargo bike cooperative business, has fully launched to haul trash, recycling, and compost via bike & trailer in Norway and South Paris. Their vision? To offer a people and bike-powered alternative to gas-powered pickup/hauling services and a reimagined approach to the waste system.
Spoke Folks is a project of the Center for an Ecology-based Economy(CEBE), a Norway, ME non-profit founded to engage the community in addressing the climate emergency. CEBE and Spoke folks have also benefited from and built this business with essential resources and training provided by The Cooperative Development Institute, a New England based non-profit with a mission to build a cooperative economy.
Scott Vlaun, Executive Director of CEBE, was originally inspired to begin a cargo-bike project after hearing about Pedal People; a successful cargo bike co-op in Northampton, MA. He turned the idea into a working project through a CDI training designed for rural communities, and was joined by founding members Jessica Cooper, a young mother and climate activist, and Justin Bondesen, a local composting and outdoor enthusiast, in the winter of 2019.
Early in the spring and through the summer of 2020, Spoke Folks changed their initial course to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. They began delivering food (via bikes) from local food banks to at-risk residents in the community and with grant funding, they were able to provide meal delivery free of charge for local restaurants.
In October of 2020 Spoke Folks officially began hauling trash, recycling, and compost for customers. They also offer general hauling services for a flat rate of $25/hour, delivery services from the local food co-op, and meal deliveries from a local farm fresh meal program, Foothills Foodworks. Prices for service are in the same range as other trash hauling companies in the area, making Spoke Folks a competitive service with an environmental benefit.
Spoke folks has 4 member-owners, 3 of which are founding members: Scott Vlaun, Justin Bondesen, and Jess Cooper. Lu Brown, a Casco native and avid biker, joined Spoke Folks as a steering committee member in the summer of 2020 and quickly became an enthusiastic worker-owner and a main rider.
The member-owners seek to reimagine waste in their community with the launch of Spoke Folks, inviting the community to opt for an environmentally friendly pickup service, and offering education on compost, recycling, and cooperatives.
Spoke Folks is currently the only (known) hauling service of its kind in Maine but the worker-owners have a goal to replicate their cooperative bike-powered model in other towns and cities throughout Maine where it could create good jobs and provide a valuable, fossil fuel free service.
You can learn more about Spoke Folks Co-op and/or sign up for their services on their website: www.spokefolks.me
They can be reached via call or text at 207-890-9776 as well as by email at spokefolksme@gmail.com and are on Facebook and Instagram: @spokefolksme