Venables Valley Producers Co-op

The purpose for the association is to provide infrastructure and support for organic producers and artisans including: seeds, equipment, land, alternative energy, water, soil amendments, education, business planning, management and marketing.

Co-op Vision: Productivity, growth and sustainable, community-economic development.

Co-op Mandate: - Develop a seed bank, irrigation system, nursery - Publish growing plan for crops to be grown in the valley - Support Permaculture and Organic Farming Practices - Implement valley wide compost system - Create an office for business development and marketing of Valley products - Implement alternative energy systems (hydro, solar, wind, methane, etc...)

Co-op values: - Community-based economic development - Fair trade - Supporting healthy community initiatives Priority areas addressed by the Co-op are Food Security, Water, Healthcare, Education, Alternative Energy, Housing, Employment, Rural Economic Development, Sustainable Living, Habitat Restoration

Current Activities - taking stock of current resources: labor, skills, equipment, technology, land, seeds, root cellar, books - co-creating a water pipeline and utility - organizing a valley-wide composting program - acquiring and developing land and buildings for co-op operations - planning spring greenhouse, nursery and cooperative education center

Co-op To do list: - build on online database of current resources: labor, skills, equipment, technology, land, seeds, root cellar, books - organize a valley-wide composting program - design and print co-op shares (membership,investment and prefered) - choose a location for a spring greenhouse, seed bank, nursery, compost education center, R&D farm and business headquarters. - train board and plan for the future - design the Co-op logo - design the $100 Membership Co-op share certificate - publish a brochure and business cards - create an online accounting system for member transactions

Why a Co-op? - resource sharing and pooling - organizing effort to work co-operatively - encouraging productivity, growth and sustainability

Who can participate? Everyone in Venables Valley and the surrounding community is invited to participate in the Co-op. We are seeking new members and directors who would like to invest into the economic development of our region. ]

Membership and Investment: Individuals or organizations can be members and/or investors. A lifetime membership is $100 Canadian. Proceeds will be used to set up infrastructure for future growing, processing and marketing of locally made products.

Co-op Business Plan Meeting Minutes