We are pleased to cross-post this delightful photojournalism piece by Mark Phillips, inspired by the Field Guide Co-Cycle story. It was originally posted at the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance website. 

Though I’ve been in Philadelphia for about six years now, my interest in its cooperative economy is relatively new. It was only after attending the New Economy Coalition’s Commonbound conference last year that I began to appreciate the value cooperatives bring to their local communities and economy. In addition to their economic benefits, Philadelphia co-ops like W/N W/N Coffee Bar and Mariposa Food Co-op have become portals into local culture and economy, showing me what is possible for a community of individuals looking to make a difference.

And so, given a recent opportunity to visit a friend in San Francisco, I thought it would make for a more interesting trip if I spent my time and tourist dollars exploring the Bay Area’s cooperative economy over the standard tourist hot spots. This post offers a variety of personal photographs with accompanying descriptive captions, presented in a loose narrative of exploration throughout the week.  My hope is to share a piece of my travels with fellow cooperators from the Philadelphia and surrounding areas so that we may better appreciate the national context of our work and, in doing so, be inspired in our efforts locally.

REFLECTIONS ON THE VISIT:

The cooperative economy in the Bay Area represents an impressive array of businesses. The Arizmendi Association of Cooperatives are phenomenal examples of economic cooperation, while the bookstores all provide important meeting spaces in their local communities and cultural circles. The Missing Link Bicycle Cooperative was the first retail co-op I set foot in that didn’t sell food or beverages, leaving me with a tangible appreciation for the applicability of cooperative enterprise models to all business types. Nevertheless, the co-ops visited represented only a small fraction of all businesses in the Bay Area. Why can’t all businesses be like the Cheeseboard — just one big party, every day? What if those companies in the tech sector were responsible for abundance, not scarcity? These are perhaps questions for another visit.

What stood out to me at all of the different co-ops was the sense of community, both among the workers and the patrons. Each co-op was also a reflection of place — honoring local culture, history, and environment. Touring the Bay Area’s cooperative economy left me with a lot to think about for our work in the Philadelphia area. Mainly, what do we have to learn from our fellow cooperators on the west coast? Is there an opportunity for Arizmendi Bakeries here in Philadelphia? Could we turn one of our many bike shops into a worker cooperative?

Maybe it’s the weather, but I’m not so sure there’s any inherent difference between here and there. Philadelphia has an equally robust assortment of cooperatives thanks to years of hard work from local organizers. If anything, an awareness of other co-ops around the country should serve as a source of inspiration for our work here in the Philadelphia area. We can rest assured that while we take care of our communities locally, our partners across the country are equally engaged in the creation of a cooperative economy in service to people and planet.

We like to think of our Field Guide storytelling as the process of weaving a tapestry that, over time, reveals the increasingly rich and intricate patterns of the emerging Regenerative Economy. We've often been fortunate to discover that those patterns clarify themselves as one story spontaneously merges into another. Three recent stories are illustrative. Speaking with Aaron Reser, national director of the P6 Cooperative Trade Movement, for our story about how this growing network of retail and producer food cooperatives works to support a more just and healthier food system, she suggested we talk to a P6 member to understand exactly how that plays out in a real food coop.

She introduced us to Bjorn Bergman, outreach coordinator for the Viroqua Food Cooperative, who described VFC's P6 membership as an ongoing conversation with its customers about ways they can support businesses that represent an alternative to the industrial and corporate food system. Along the way Bjorn talked about how he came to live in the Driftless region of Wisconsin, which he calls "an amazing enigma of a place." He also described how the topography of the Driftless has nurtured a remarkable, cooperative economy. We knew there was a regenerative story to be found there! 

During the course of our research we found the website for Second Cloud on the Left Farm, a recipient of a Viroqua Food Cooperative micro-loan.   Toril Fisher, co-owner of the farm, turned out to be a remarkable artist and painter.  We asked her if we could use the photo below to illustrate our story and she kindly obliged us. 

But that wonderful photo seemed to beg for a musical accompaniment. In our continuing search we came across the band Meagan Saunders and The Driftless, whose music is described by Tom Miller of Don Quixote's International Music Hall as follows: 

"...evocative enough to enchant and warm and soft enough to cling to like sun dried sheets and a faded quilt fresh off a windblown line..."

And so our original story evolved into a tapestry of stories of a unique community of farmers, musicians, artists, and writers who have found both refuge, inspiration, and renewal in this unusually rugged midwestern landscape that mysteriously escaped the glacial drift of the last Ice Age. 

We invite you to immerse yourself in the music, art, and language of the Driftless, and perhaps add it to your summer vacation itinerary.—Susan Arterian Chang