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Cooperation at Common Ground Fair
September 22, 2023 @ 12:00 pm - September 23, 2023 @ 2:00 pm
Friday, September 22 & Saturday, September 23
Fri 12:00 - 12:50 pm:
Can't do it alone? Consider Collectives, Cooperatives and Solidarity Economy
Presenters: Scott Guzman, Diggers Cooperative, & Jonah Fertig-Burd
Do you often find yourself saying you’d like to take on an idea for your business/farm or to meet a community need, but you don’t have the time or resources to do it alone? Are you forming an idea for a way to share resources or cooperate with your neighbors or colleagues? Come to our informal roundtable discussion to learn more about basic shared and solidarity economy approaches, covering both informal ways as well as formal ways, including cooperatively owned businesses. You will learn and discuss how others have gone from idea to forming working groups who collaborated and shared resources together, and created new cooperative businesses together.
Fri 1:00 - 1:50 pm:
Local Foods & Local Partners in Cooperation - How strategic partnerships in the food system can address food insecurity.
Presenters: Ron Adams & Doug Clopp, Maine Farm & Sea Cooperative
This presentation will feature and explore how the power of organizational and institutional collaboration can utilize local foods, strengthen Maine’s food system, increase revenues for farmers, and foster cultural inclusion centered on equity. Presenters from the Maine Farm & Sea Cooperative will discuss two collaborative projects that are being implemented in Maine in 2023.
Sat 12:00 - 12:50 pm:
Converting Businesses to Worker Ownership
Presenter: Rob Brown, CDI
Maine business owners who want to retire or grow their business can sell to their workers, and there are resources, financing and successful examples of worker ownership transitions to support them in the process. Hear from Cooperative Development Institute and owners and workers from businesses that are transitioning to worker-owned cooperatives about how it works and how worker ownership can make Maine’s economy more just, sustainable and prosperous.
Sat 1:00 - 1:50 pm:
Pine Tree Power: Owned by Mainers, For Mainers
Presenter: Nicole Grohoski, Pine Tree Power
From Fort Kent to Kittery, our state is defined by folks of every race and class who work hard for one another. From immigrants to Indigenous peoples, children to caregivers, lineworkers to lobstermen, we work together to power Maine. That’s why we deserve a power company that actually works for us. In recent years, Central Maine Power and Versant were both bought up by giant, multinational corporations. Instead of working for Mainers, they’ve been increasing our bills, standing in the way of clean energy, allowing dangerous outages, and trying to divide us with expensive ad campaigns — all while taking hundreds of millions in profit from our communities each year. Thankfully, there is an opportunity for cheaper, cleaner power that we can count on. Join Our Power member Nicole Grohoski to learn about the Pine Tree Power proposal, the opportunity it offers our communities, and the November election.
Take the opportunity to learn, connect, and cooperate at the 2023 Common Ground Fair! – Immerse yourself in interactive and engaging sessions, designed to enlighten and empower attendees with invaluable knowledge and skills. Expand your horizons as co-op experts and thought leaders share their expertise on various cooperative topics.