Intervjuade i engelska utgåvan av Lundagård, 22 november 2016:
Changing the rules of the game
“In today’s world most of the food distribution is owned and controlled by big corporations. Nevertheless, there is a co-operative movement going on, which stands for more freedom of choice and justice.
/…/ The concept of small co-operatives has also arrived in SkÃ¥ne. The “Ekolivs†store in Malmö is an organic corner store run by 25 members with each of them working in the store twice a month. Antti Lavén has been a member for a while and joined the co-op initially because he did not have any work:
“I actually live on the same street and knew this place. For me it was nice to start doing something useful. It’s fun because you meet a lot of people and you can organize events.â€
The little shop is indeed more than just a grocery store. In the past the members have organized concerts and also flea markets were hosted.Asking him which events are planned right now, Antti Lavén laughs:
“Right now we have nothing planned. You know, it always depends on the members, on how much time they have.â€
Talking about the future of the shop Antti sees a lot more potential: “One could make the concept even bigger. People could place their own products in the shop and sell them here.â€
Co-operatives are enjoying a steadily increasing popularity worldwide and symbolize as no other project that a group of people has the capacity to change the rules of the game. Notwithstanding, it is not a system that works for everybody and not each person can bring in the same degree of commitment. But being a member in a co-operative is not only measured on how much you bring in, but also on how much every single person takes out of it and uses.”