The Cooperative or simply Coop is a non-profit organization the indulges in business for the benefit of the members. In the rural areas, coops are getting popular. There is a coop I know that deals with seeds and planting materials that includes fertilizers and insecticides. Obviously it is a coop for agricultural farmers. In the urban areas, most coops deal with money matters such as it is a credit union in disguise. One thing good in a coop is its legality and tax free.
We have coops here. Our electric company is technically a member owned co op because we are supposed to have a say in who the board members are and so forth, but I don't know them, so I don't care. It is just a business. Food Co Op's manned by local growers are also something we have here. It is one of the things that we might be able to use to save a few dollars here and there.
Being tax free of the coop is being utilized by some groups to their advantage. One transport coop was able to have its own buses. And for more profitability, they import bus spare parts from Japan and sell them to other bus companies. In effect, their coop has become an importer. Although it is illegal and overbearing regarding the tax free privilege, it is in practice. I guess some other coops are doing the same importation and subtle trading - their reason is an excess in importation hence they sell those unused imported items.
We have co-operatives here in the UK too. They tend to be mainly produce-focused, in the form of community gardens and allotments or for housing. They tend to work quite well and open up a lot of opportunities to people who would otherwise be struggling.
We used to have that farm coop called Masagana 99. The scheme was to lend money to the farmers for the planting materials and pay it back when the crops are harvested. The concept was intended to uplift the financial situation of the poor farmers who are always in debt. However, corruption ruined the coop system and more than half of the loans were not paid. The government lost a lof of money and the farmers lost the opportunity to have a better life.
