Old Money Is The New Money

Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on Friday, 5 June 2015
Session time: 
Friday, June 26, 2015 - 3:00pm to 4:30pm
Session Room: 
Unitarian Sanctuary
Short Description: 
Explore cooperative economics in action in communities of color with Cowrie Village (Bay Area) and The Cowry Collective (St. Louis).
Description: 

Join the founders and leaders of Cowrie Village and The Cowry Collective for a lively workshop on alternative economic practices in communities of color in the Bay Area and St. Louis, MO.
Cowrie Village, an umbrella organization, offers various ways for the community to enter the world of cooperative economics through Barter to the People events, Rootical Gathering, a lending circle, and BAOBOB – Bay Area Organization of Black Owned Businesses. YaVette will share the history of Cowrie Village with a focus on the summer 2015 launch of BAOBOB.
The Cowry Collective is a timebank where individuals and organizational members engage in a reciprocal exchange of services where the unit of currency is an individual’s hour of time. Members exchange cowries (time dollars) to receive services from yoga instruction to legal advice. Chinyere will share the history of The Cowry Collective, current projects, Time For Food and Powered by Cowry, and the launch of a sister chapter in Chicago. Derek will share how timebanking is being proposed to reform the local court system as a method to pay off bench warrants and to support youth protestors in need of services.
Explore with us!
How can we daily practice cooperative economics improving our quality of life and building community?
How can we privilege the voices and practices of people of color in the solidarity economy movement?
How can we build a national or international movement of people of color led cooperative economic projects?

Fronts of Struggle: 
Cooperative economics – poverty, housing, and workers’ struggles, anti-capitalism, and economic alternatives
Earth and planet – sustainability, food sovereignty, and ecological justice
Youth and students - struggles for economic stability, health, housing; access to credible information and media tools; political study and awareness, movement planned and directed by all black lives, queer and trans black bodies and voices, the young; reconnection and appreciation of arts & culture
Organization: 
Organization for Black Struggle
Organization Web site: 
http://obs-stl.org/
Organization Description: 
THE ORGANIZATION FOR BLACK STRUGGLE was founded in 1980 in order to fill a vacuum left by the assaults on the Black Power Movement. OUR MISSION is to build a movement that fights for political empowerment, economic justice and the cultural dignity of the Black working class.
Polycentric Site: 
San Jose, CA
Presentation Languages: 
English