Interviews With My Students - S1 E1

When Basia told me about her involvement in a cooperative I was really excited. The whole idea is very close to my own heart and something definitely worth educating people about. I do hope you will find the interview and the idea interesting. I am leaving the comments section open this time. Please feel free to share your thoughts with us or just let us know you've enjoyed the read. Thank you!

​Episode 1 - The one where Basia tells us about a cooperative. ​

​Basia, let us start from telling others what the cooperative idea is all about?
​
Food cooperatives in Poland are informal, bottom-up movements. Their main purpose is to cut the supply chain and create a community focused on local, often organic food and products. Food cooperatives are part of the food sovereignty (~ independence) movement. And now during the coronavirus lockdown, we can better understand how important it is.

How long have you been involved in that?
​
I have been involved for over 2 years.

What made you interested in it?

I’m a mother of two and when I had my first child, I started to think about what I wanted to feed him with. Unfortunately, at that time there wasn’t a lot of organic food in supermarkets and there was only one organic shop in my city which was extremely expensive for me. I started to search for alternatives, after two years somebody began a food cooperative in my city (thank you Wiola!). I joined our cooperative in the first six months and the beginnings were exciting. It was a new chapter in my life, now I am so much more conscious of my consumer decisions and I do appreciate this knowledge every day. Sometimes we forget that we can vote for changes with our wallet and the way how we spend our money. I believe this is the power which we should use intentionally.

Is it for everybody?

Definitely not! I have met a lot of people, who thought that it was pretty easy and they had enough time, after two months they quit. Before you join any food cooperative, you should ask yourself two questions: do I have enough time for it?, Is this idea really important for me?. In all cooperatives, you have to remember about the order’s deadline and picking up your shopping on a specific date, not when it is convenient for you. Last, but not least you will have to spend around two hours each month working for your community. It isn’t for everybody.

What’s the best thing about it?

People. I have met a lot of amazing people, who are really kind, engaged, conscious and open-minded.

and the worst ?

Conflicts. Every cooperative is a movement that is constantly developing. Conflicts are part of this development. However, by solving them we can learn a lot about ourselves, about others and about the process of growth.

All the photos in the post come from Basia's private collection. All rights reserved.