When you think of the Solidarity Economy do you imagine craftspeople doing the work they love to create the things we need with locally sourced materials? Sure. But if we are going to have anything other than neighborhood supplied goods immediately available to your neighbors, we’re going to need to have a serious conversation about distribution. How do the things we make get to the people who need them? We’ve found part of the solution.
This is an imagining of The Land Office a project of the Imaginal Services Bureaux which is in turn a project of Cooperation Humboldt. We are imagining the most just use of property for sale in Humboldt County. This is a work of art. You can read our Principles or just read on…
We’re not going to get into how even a full electric vehicle fleet won’t solve all the problems involved in distribution. Let’s just mention that paved roads in and of themselves are horrible for the environment, no matter what is driving on them. However, for now we’ll be traveling over them to get the stuff we make from the creators to the consumers. Sometimes it makes sense to store some stuff in a place until it is needed elsewhere. That’s where the Shelf Stable Warehouse comes in…
Where the local goods wait for their forever homes…
In this spacious warehouse the neighborhoods of Old Town, Westside, and the Commercial District come together. Neighborhood creations that can sit on the shelf will wait for the order to arrive from Cutten or Myrtletown. As any Teamster will tell you, the work of moving stuff around is important to any economy.
The crew who works here and makes the rounds to neighborhood stores will own the distribution center, working in concert with the worker owned collectives in the surrounding neighborhoods to find a just way for all involved up and down the supply chain to get what they need when they need it.
Sure, there will be staff who are good at managing orders. Others will have fleet maintenance as their area of expertise. Some will find the simple joy of keeping the warehouse maintained and clean. Everybody in this collective has a role to play, but no one will lord over the rest of the workers. The thing is this: everybody has got to participate. No one is going to run this place for the rest of the crew. Everyone needs to step up and take responsibility for their own growth in the business. There is work to be done (and meetings to be run). But it all can be fun!
Management of a cooperative workplace takes more responsibility than just showing up for work and letting the boss tell you what to do. However, the benefits are not having the surplus value of your labor stolen from you for your boss’ corporate profits. We think taking on responsibility for getting all the value you contribute to an endeavor is a pretty good deal. What business would you start if you had the back up to make the things the world needs? Furniture? Candles? Picture frames? As long as it’s shelf stable, it can go in this warehouse
Extended material and more perks are available for Patrons. Please contact us to start a conversation about how you can support The Land Office of the Imaginal Services Bureaux.
Here are some links to the background material:
Assessor’s Map for 001-084-007:
co.humboldt.ca.us/assessor/maps/001-08.pdf
Zillow:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/732-B-St-Eureka-CA-95501/2081084849_zpid/
Trulia:
https://www.trulia.com/p/ca/eureka/732-b-st-eureka-ca-95501–2085257562
The folks at the Mondragon Cooperative have thought about this:
https://www.mondragon-corporation.com/en/about-us/
Previously was 4051 North Highway 101 in Eureka, California.
Next is 174 Fox Farm Road in Trinidad, California. Link active 3/4/2020.