Thoughts and success stories

  Displays of kindness were quietly taking place throughout the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some people gathered food for those in need. Local…

December is a special time of the year — the giving season. It’s a time when organizations, businesses, corporations, and even families and individuals give…

Photos taken in 2019, and provided by Hand in Glove Community Service Co-op    From the outside of a stalwart brick church in the north…

Big changes are happening in small towns. Baby Boomers are approaching retirement. Urban amenities, career advancement, and higher wages are pulling many young people away…

When the pandemic started, Modo Carshare Co-op‘s business took a big hit. But by focusing on what was best for their members and staff, the…

This year parents had a difficult decision: send their kids to school or keep them home?  While a first for most parents, it’s nothing new…

Photo courtesy of Co+Host Collective The word “Millennial” has come to mean “change” in business circles in recent years. And while discussions around these changes…

What started as a conversation about a lack of “cut and wrap” services on a ranch driveway in the Boundary region of BC is about…

Surviving a pandemic will be hard for most small businesses. But if you’re an artist-run start up with a revenue model based in events ……

Co-ops play a big role in keeping communities vibrant in Canada’s North. In this podcast episode, we spoke to Mary Nirlungayuk from Arctic Co-operatives Limited…

Sangudo, Alberta is nestled within a bend of Pembina River and is home to just under 300 residents. Like many rural communities across the prairies,…

In this episode we had the pleasure of speaking to Carol Kitchen, former President and CEO of United Farmers of Alberta. During Kitchen’s tenure with…

Agriculture’s not an easy industry to break into. Start-up costs can be insurmountable; the cost of land alone puts farming out of reach for those…

Locally and independently owned grocery retailers are often forced to compete against major chains without the benefits of being a major chain themselves. Many of…

Links mentioned in this episode: Neighbour Lab Victoria community unveils ’emergency bench’ to help bring neighbours together The Thingery Sustaingineering  

People are resourceful in small-town Alberta. In Smoky Lake — population 960 — there had never been a daycare facility, and parents always had to…

The retail grocery co-op business is hard. Large upfront capital costs for space and inventory. Small margins and stiff competition. The need for marketing, procurement,…

In the construction sector there is plenty of room for inefficiency. Often one contractor will frame a building, another will wire it, someone else will…

The Mountain CoLab co-operative The nature of work is changing, and with it, the model of traditional office space. With the rise of the gig…

Maggie Bluewaters shares a story of healing and food security in rural Saskatchewan. Our thanks to Maggie and everyone at The Food Forest and Learning…

Newcomers can have bigger, more complex barriers to well-being than people born in Canada. They can experience isolation when they arrive in their new country….