Examining Community Economies in West Virginia
Sustainable Development Internship 2023
Sustainable Development Internship (SDI) Project
Through the CRC's SDI program, a group of graduate and undergraduate students participated in the Spring 2023 SDI program. Forming the Solidarity Economies Group, these individuals worked collectively to research and address the global issue of wealth inequality. The complexity of this problem is demonstrated through the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Specifically, the Solidarity Economies Team took actions that furthered the realization of three main SDGs. First, SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere. Second, SDG 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all. Lastly, SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. Within each SDG the group worked with distinctive Targets including Target 1.4: Equal rights to ownership, basic services, technology, and economic resources, Target 8.5: Full employment and decent work with equal pay, and Target 12.6: Encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices and sustainability reporting. Working within these specified goals and targets, the SDI project sought to answer three research questions:
- How are Community-Based Cooperative Development Institutions (CCDI) contributing to building solidarity economies?
- How has arts-based community building fostered a culture for building solidarity economies?
- How are campus-based youth initiatives contributing to building solidarity economies?
Click here for more information on UN SDGs.
What are solidarity economies?
"Global economic models and practices of different scales that seek to center the wellbeing of human beings and the environment. These models are governed by principles such as cooperation, sustainability, justice, equity, responsibility and collective empowerment through reciprocity and mutual aid. Solidarity economies are especially concerned with the social and economic wellbeing of marginalized and underserved and communities that have been excluded and exploited by the dominant economic model; neoliberal capitalism." -Solidarity Economies: Key Issues, Ethan Miller (2010)
Cooperative Community Development Institutions (CCDIs)
Two CCDIs were examined over the course of the semester including New Economy Works, West Virginia (NEWWV) and Seed Commons. Seed Commons "gives the power of big finance to small, community-centered actors, creating a national network that makes local investments that serve people rather than extracting from them." The Seed Commons Cooperative Network numbers almost 30 different organizations throughout America. NEWWV based in Charleston, WV is a part of this network.
Research Process
Research was guided by several conversations with the NEWWV Director of Lending, Mavery Davis. The members of the Solidarity Economies were able to gather available data from websites of each CCDI that is a part of the Seed Commons Network. Individuals additionally participated on the Seed Commons Quarterly All Network Call and interviews that provided further insight into how Seed Commons Operates. From this research and data compilation, the group aims to produce a report to be shared with the community partners engaged in the study.
Campus-Based Youth Initiatives
Firsthand Cooperative
Firsthand Cooperative is a worker owned coffee cooperative based in Appalachia. Firsthand works to go beyond fair trade, with responsibly sourced and non extractive practices that seek to connect the Appalachian region to the coffee’s source of Nicaragua. This work builds solidarity economies in both regions. This works helps connect local economies to global economies, creating cooperation along with solidarity.
One of the biggest driving forces to Firsthand success is youth participation. The cooperative previously had locations here at the WVUs, powered by young people’s participation and inclusion. Firsthand created opportunities for young people to contribute to economic decisions, help build solidarity economies, and provided access to responsibly sourced, solidarity based goods.
Connection to Research
The goal of examining Firsthand was centered on learning how to support their work, fostering youth participation in their present state. In the past 5 years, Firsthand has lost its campus locations due to the privatizations of dining services on campus with Sodexo’s contract. With this shift, youth became somewhat excluded from direct access to the economic participation they were given in the cooperative. The physical distancing of young people and the initiatives of Firsthand has led to a need for connecting the two entities.
Specifically questions on how to help re-engage young people into the conversation of solidarity economies emerged. Thus, how to help provide access to non-extractive, responsibly sourced goods and aid in extension of the initiatives of Firsthand through partnerships with other local actors.
Research Process
Research began by looking at the landscape Firsthand originally was operating in and where they are now. HIghlighting how youth participation collectively impacted Firsthand as a cooperative and young people's access to solidarity economies. Additionally, the team explored different cooperatives that could extend the initiatives as potential partners.
To do this the Solidarity Economies Group found that an outreach survey would work best to answer questions surrounding current opinions on co-ops, Firsthand, and engagement. The survey was developed to gauge student opinions about Firsthand, discovering if students would like to see Firsthand return to campus in a pop-up format. The survey was implemented through tabling on the 1st floor Brooks Hall, alongside free Firsthand coffee samples.
The goal being to receive both quantitative and qualitative feedback, inviting students to conversate and learn more about solidarity economies. The results from this work prompted an evaluation of scale in the future
Firsthand - Research Findings
A multitude of positive results were discovered from the completed field work. Result of the survey displayed that:
- Less than 60% of respondents have heard of cooperative enterprise as a business model
- More than 85% want to learn more about the cooperative model of business
- 70% of respondents are interested in the work of Firsthand specifically
- 90% of respondents are interested in learning about how their coffee and produce purchases impact the food system
- Most remarkably, 96% of respondents would like to see coffee/produce pop-ups on campus
Call to Action
Explore the RiffRaff's website and watch the videos that have been released for We Need to Talk! Engaging with this project can generate new perspectives, conservations, and awareness of arts-based community building.
Support Seed Commons and other organizations that aid local cooperative missions. These organizations are actively working towards a just and sustainable economy.