On August 1st, I went to a “Resist and Build Gathering” in Boston hosted by the Center for Economic Democracy. An especially prominent organization that attended was one I have seen at other conferences called the Center for Cooperative Development and Solidarity (Centro Cooperativo de Dessarollo y Solidaridad): CCDS. I’ve admired the presence CCDS has in the cooperative movement and wanted to feature them here in the CoopMatters blog.

CCDS is a collection of bilingual co-ops in East Boston that has grown to include seven businesses. One of those businesses, the catering cooperative Sazón Co-op, provided lunch for the event attendees. For me they brought a vegan meal that used earth-friendly containers and utensils conveniently packaged in a branded paper bag.

CCDS wisely created and displayed a brochure about their organization explaining the cooperative ecosystem they have built. In addition to Sazón Co-op, the collective includes a seamstress business, Puntada, specializing in sewing, mending, and fabricating; Wonder Kiddos, a childcare cooperative; Renacer specializing in comprehensive elder care; United Hands Maintenance Services connecting tradespeople with dignified work; Clean Green, a domestic cleaning cooperative using environmentally friendly cleaning products; and EN/ES Translations, an international translation service.

In Brockton, MA, CoopMatters has been helping to educate youth and adults in co-op development. Maybe Brockton will soon have what is right nearby in East Boston, where CCDS has successfully created “an ecosystem of cooperatives that support each other, share resources, and empower each other to create a larger, stronger, cooperative community.” Starting as recently as 2015 by Latino Immigrants, CCDS shows not only the power of immigrants, but demonstrates impressive economic fortitude. As their brochure states: “Not only does CCDS work with the immigrant community, but we belong to this community.” This is the kind of ecosystem that every community and every city could benefit from.

“CCDS quiere impulsar ia economia solidaria en nuestro vecindario, ciudad y estado” (CCDS wants to boost the solidarity economy in our neighborhood, city and state). It’s an aspiration they have made a reality.