Yes!
The Guild has been awarded a Farm Vitality Grant from the PA Dept. of Agriculture for assistance in setting up a Beekeepers Co-op.
The Grant is for $7,500 towards the $10,000 contract that the the Guild is entering with the Keystone Development Center.
KDC is a non-profit that specializes in developing cooperatives. The Guild has already committed $2,500 to cover the balance of the Grant.
Why?
The real answer to WHY will be determined by those of us who start the co-op. So the question you should ask is ‘why would I join such a business?’. A co-op can do anything that any other business can do. Here are a few possibilities:
- Marketing may be the most important…
- Build a Co-op brand
- Support Beekeeper Brands
- Provide quality certification – testing
- Differentiate local natural honey from commercial and/or adulterated offerings
- Distribution –
- Work with existing Co-op wholesale networks
- Develop new markets
- Could be anything from attending farmers markets to retail locations
- Provide professional processing facilities
- Automated bottling and labeling
- Develop value added products like infused honeys, mead, Jun, soaps, cosmetics, etc.
- Purchase equipment and supplies in bulk to lower costs
- Support propolis production, royal jelly, pollen and other hive products that require special equipment and access to special markets
If any of these seem to be things that you might value, then please join the discussion. A co-op is basically just a democratic form of business ownership and it can do anything that we want it to.
What is a co-op?
KDC has a lot of information about this on their site and you can explore the many co-ops that they have helped start. Legally a co-op is a form of shared business ownership that provides a way for new members to join. The Cooperative Principles are:
- Democratic Member Control
- Open and Voluntary Membership
- Members’ Economic Participation
- Autonomy and Independence
- Education, Training, and Information
- Cooperation Among Cooperatives
- Concern for Community