Underground Local Co-op

[mattohara]

I just recently had what I think is a really great idea. What if, instead of just a bunch of jars of pickled green beans, some pepper jelly, some tomato jam, my own beer, etc., I could have all of these things PLUS the great stuff that other people are making?

My friend Katie makes cordials and syrups for cocktailes, dagordon and rae make chocolate, fentona makes killer cured meats and I'm sure there's lots of other people around who make stuff.

What if each person could pick a week or month (depending on how many people I can round up) and make a large quantity of their specialty? And what if they sold it at cost or just above, so they weren't really put out by making it in quantity? Then all of us could share in each other's areas of expertise, not pay too much, learn from each other, and who knows how it could grow in the future?

The only problem is that I'm at a loss as to how to start. Does anybody have any experience with anything like this?

[Chris Amirault]

I have no experience but will follow this with interest.

I'm a big fan of clarifying the sorts of obvious things that often lead to trouble, and the things I'm thinking about immediately are scale, commitment, and cost. Over some span of time, say a year, you'd need X people to commit to their fair share of portions for X-1 people. Choosing that X will be tricky: too big and it's difficult for each person to cook (cure, distill, brew, bake...) to scale; too small and the point of the co-op is lost.

You'd also want to have a discussion about what sorts of per person costs constitute a "fair share." My efforts with bacon, liquor, and bitters have made it clear that you can spend a lot without realizing it, and it would be a big mess if some people aimed for the cheap while others went all out. Best to work out what each person's produced share would look like, too, a sobering exercise, probably. For what it would cost me to make you a pint of, say, lavender honey syrup for cocktails I could make you about two ounces of pancetta -- one's too much to use and one's too little. By the same token, you wouldn't want someone to expect to pay wildly different amounts for a given share.

Finally, you'd need to get some agreement on what to do if someone doesn't want their share. The CSA model that I know says, basically, c'est la vie: barter on the spot, trade a given week's/month's share with someone, or lose it. No fair saying, "I don't eat/drink that."

The more I write out the challenges, the more I like this idea.

[mattohara]

Haha, thanks for the input Chris. Those are some of the same things I was thinking about. In the beginning we would have to reach a group of maybe 12 people. Then the main organizer would start a discussion wherein each person puts in their proposal. A proposal would include estimated costs and estimated output. The group leader would then give it the thumbs up or down. Then the leader has to propose a calendar.

Would it make more sense for the members to pay their "dues" up front or to pay as the product is produced?

[Chris Amirault]

Sure, like a CSA: you buy a share, and that money goes into the production of the product... I like it.

I'd also bet that a lot of the decision-making could be done collectively. The job of the organizer would largely involve keeping people on schedule, doing the set-up stuff, etc.

It needs a better name, though, something that conveys the sense of artisanal production.

[Chris Amirault]

Damn, I'm already making my list of people in my head.

[mattohara]

fentona recommended "Yes, We Can"