{"id":7706,"date":"2018-07-12T13:00:16","date_gmt":"2018-07-12T13:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highatlasfoundation.org\/?p=7706"},"modified":"2020-02-11T09:30:33","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T09:30:33","slug":"the-next-step-for-cooperatives-is-certification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/the-next-step-for-cooperatives-is-certification\/","title":{"rendered":"THE NEXT STEP FOR COOPERATIVES IS CERTIFICATION"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2013\u00a0The Next Step for Cooperatives Is Certification<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0The McGill International Review<\/strong>, by Amy Zhang (Undergraduate student and HAF Intern), 12 July 2018.
\n\u2022\u00a0<\/strong>Arabic:\u00a0
Al-Watan Voice<\/a><\/span>, 13 July 2018.<\/p>\n

By Amy Zhang<\/em>
\nMarrakech<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This week we celebrate the United Nations International Day of Cooperatives, commemorated every year on the first Saturday of July. Cooperatives\u2019 success in sustainable development, wealth creation, and poverty alleviation give many hope for an equitable future. As we commend cooperatives, it is important to recognize and understand how they function.<\/p>\n

Cooperatives are largely based on the Rochdale Society in 1844 from England. In a time of terrible working conditions and low wages, this group of poor, English weavers struggled to buy basic goods, like flour. Without a rich, capitalist donor, the members all pooled their money to collectively purchase necessities. Their contribution earned them a say in the management of the association, and an equitable distribution of the net profits.<\/p>\n

As the first largely successful cooperative, their principles have endured. Further, cooperatives have been a model for communities to come together and lift themselves out of poverty through democratic practices. According to the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) today, they should follow seven rules:<\/p>\n