Making Worlds Bookstore and Social Center

The first visit was to Making Worlds Bookstore and Social Center in West Philadelphia. Using the Market Street subway it was then a short walk to get to their location on 45th Street. The store lived up to being a community social center when I visited. A writing group was meeting and remained silent as they all worked on a writing prompt. I sat in a comfortable chair to look at books. There was a comprehensive selection of book sections around progressive topics such as “Global Capitalism,” “Organizing & Movement Building,” “Class & Labor,” “Police & Prison Abolition.”

The space was organized, colorful, and comfortable to meet their mission of “…building an inspiring space for all who embody and share the principles of a better world built through grassroots, community-powered movement building.” I was inspired to buy Between the Bullet And the Lie: Essays on Orwell by Kristian Williams about George Orwell. I left thinking that Making Worlds is making the world a better place.

Mariposa Food Co-op

Also in West Philadelphia, we visited Mariposa Food Co-op. It is on a Trolley line on Baltimore Ave. Without large grocery stores nearby, the co-op, in a former bank building, was somewhat of an oasis in a residential area. They had a large bulk container section and organic co-op brands including Equal Exchange and Frontier Co-op. One lettuce product was from Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op in Pennsylvania which represents over 100 member farms.

I talked with a cashier, Marlique, who is originally from Maine. She was happy to be working in a store that she felt was an important contribution to the community. She once worked at Whole Foods but said it had not changed for the better once Amazon bought it. Now she is a unionized food worker with The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

There is more than meets the eye in the long history of Mariposa. It started in 1971 according to the website. They moved into the current location in 2012. Sales tripled when it moved to the new space all while selling sustainable food.

The Wooden Shoe Books Collective

For the next co-op, CoopMatters member, Ellen, and I went over to South street. Similar to Making Worlds Books, The Wooden Shoe Books Collective was a community space and was hosting a book group having a political discussion. I heard Cooperation Jackson mentioned as I browsed.

Like the Mariposa co-op, Wooden Shoe also started in the 1970s. They have a long and resilient history of location changes and have ended up on Philly’s vibrant South Street.

Paul was working behind the counter. He came from Vermont and has been working there for about a year and a half. He told me about their structure and success. Wooden Shoe, which refers to French workers stopping machinery in protest with their wooden shoes, is a non-profit run by volunteers. Today, Paul is one of 25 volunteers that keep the store open 7 days a week (as much as possible). This business model allows the store to pay the rent every month and not depend on selling a huge number of books.

South Street in Philly is a cultural center of the city, and places like Wooden Shoe are needed. Corporate America has arrived. Whole Foods/Amazon has descended on South Street. Preserving a storefront on increasingly valuable property is always challenging. Paul told me that buying a property has been discussed, but for now they are lucky to have the arrangement they have with a landlord who likes them.