~The Woodland Co-op~

Five people formed a co-op to allow us to work co-operatively, and because the principles and structures of co-ops fit with our ethics. Part of the idea was to have communal ownership of the land, yet at the same time to allow individuals to pursue sustainable projects of their own.

The co-op owns the land and manages those aspects of it that we do together, either because they are of benefit to the whole co-op (such as infrastructure improvements) or need to be done on a large scale or in an integrated way (such as woodland management or coppicing).

Members are licensed to use a plot for their own projects, such as gardening. The members have the freedom to do whatever projects they like on these plots, which are about 1,000m², as long as they comply with the rules the co-op has, for example the sustainability rules.

The co-op is a collective. This means that all members of the co-op are directors, referred to as “members of the collective”. This means everyone has an equal say in, and responsibility, for the running of the co-op. Decisions are made by unanimous agreement or consensus wherever possible.

The land was purchased using money loaned by the founding members. The idea is that the co-op sells a license for a nominal fee to each member for the use of their plot, and the new member loans the co-op 1/9th of the purchase cost to repay the original loans. This means each member has an equal 1/9th financial stake. After the inception of the co-op 4 more members joined, bringing our membership to it's maximum of 9 members at any one time. Since then, 3 founding members have left, and 3 new members have joined us.

Each member pays a small annual fee to cover administration costs, such as preparing the accounts, and we raise money for each project the co-op undertakes, which can include funding from the Forestry Commission, National Lottery and other such bodies. We have also raised some funds by running a Charcoal course at a low cost, and selling the charcoal produced, as well as by selling soft fruit and other produce (on a very small scale) at the local Craft and Produce Market run by Ferryside Village forum.