Worker Cooperatives

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Referensi

1. Worker Cooperatives: Pathways to Scale, https://democracycollaborative.org/learn/publication/worker-cooperatives-pathways-scale

How To Build a Parallel Economy

Oleh : Peter Merry


It has always puzzled me how we seem to accept our current economic system when it is clearly so fundamentally flawed. It only values those things that generate monetary exchange, diminishing the value of non-monetized activity carried out amongst family, friends or community. It externalises the negative impact of any of that monetized activity - such as the environmental or social cost of producing stuff - meaning that the real cost is not reflected in the actual price, and that other people and life on earth have to carry those costs. It has become such an abstract system - another part of the expertocracy - that people feel very little ownership of it. And in crises such as corona, it stops working.

The thing is, it is such a huge system, embedded in all kinds of governance and processes globally, that it feels impossible to change. That is why I think we need to build an alternative economy in parallel to the existing one that better meets our needs as people and planet, and will still function when the next crisis hits - which it will. It should be an economy that reflects true cost, which people have an understanding of and which is connected to our local needs and experiences.

When I wrote the Why Work book, I researched what the various parallel economic solutions were, and connected them up to provide a coherent picture of how each and every one of us could engage in creating an alternative on our doorstep. Here is the summary graphic. I will describe the different elements briefly below.

Currency: clearly there needs to be a means of exchange that enables more flexibility than direct barter (although that can of course play a role). What is important is that the money that is generated keeps circulating as much as possible locally, and isn't siphoned off to companies elsewhere who have no interest in the community's well-being. Examples already abound of systems that can be used for this: community banks, credit unions, local currencies and Local Exchange and Trading Systems (LETS). The Blockchain of course offers possibilities here too.

Business: for our resilience and sense of ownership, we need to meet as many of our core needs as locally as possible. Food, energy and housing would be good examples. All of these can be run through community businesses that make sure the interest of the community is at the heart of the business. The cooperative structure enables that to happen. There can be an overarching community cooperative to focus on the local interests. Community Supported Agriculture where people subscribe to a weekly package of locally grown food supports local farmers and makes us less dependent on decisions taken by large food corporations whose primary driver is to increase the financial return to their shareholders.

Land: who owns the land determines what can be done on the land and at what price. Often land is owned by speculators whose interest is to make as much money off it as possible. Community Land Trusts enable the community to own and govern the land in the interests of the community - be it for housing, recreation or agriculture.

As you can imagine, there are many other areas in which we can reclaim local ownership of currently outsourced domains - e.g. education, healthcare. The three main aspects outlined above and the graphic lay the foundations.

During Humanity Rising our team have become inspired by the Parallel Polity strategy, that emerged with Vaclav Havel and the Charter 77 movement in the transition of Czechoslovakia. The idea is to just get on and build the alternative in parallel to the current system, enabling people to choose which they want to adopt. Once mature enough, the old system that everyone knows is breaking anyway is able to let go. People can withdraw their consent from the old system and channel their resources and energy into the new. This gives us some ideas on how to do that with the economy. Proceed until apprehended!

Referensi

1. How to Build a Place-Based Economy Where You Live, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31PyAjy6Nl0

Apakah Koperasi dapat Mengikuti Pengadaan atau Lelang yang Dilakukan oleh Pemerintah ?

Status : Draft

Referensi

1. Apakah usaha kecil dapat mengikuti pengadaan di atas 2,5 M ?, https://www.khalidmustafa.info/2011/03/16/apakah-usaha-kecil-dapat-mengikuti-pengadaan-di-atas-25-m.php
2. Peran UMKM dan Koperasi Dalam Pengadaan Barang/Jasa Pemerintah, https://segeringjiwo.wordpress.com/2017/01/31/peran-umkm-dan-koperasi-dalam-pengadaan-barangjasa-pemerintah/
3. Bisa Tidaknya Koperasi PNS Ikut Tender, https://segeringjiwo.wordpress.com/2017/01/31/peran-umkm-dan-koperasi-dalam-pengadaan-barangjasa-pemerintah/

Belajar Bareng Ekspor

Status : Draft

Ketika pulang kampung kemarin, diskusi dengan teman di Puspahiang yang memiliki kebun Manggis, hasil panen nya telah diekspor ke berbagai Negara. Sepertinya akan jadi proses belajar yang menarik, menantang dan bermanfaat jika kita bisa ekspor dengan bendera sendiri.

Disebuah diskusi, mungkin kareng saking kupernya saya dalam hal ekspor, ternyata Kementerian Perdagangan melalui salah satu unit kerjanya DGNED, Directorate General for National Export Development,  mengadakan pelatihan rutin tentang ekspor [1], jadwal pelatihan rutinnya dapat dilihat di [2]

Referensi

1. Pelatihan Ekspor, http://djpen.kemendag.go.id/app_frontend/contents/142-pelatihan-ekspor
2. Jadwal Pelatihan Ekspor, http://ppei.kemendag.go.id/ppei.php?x=jt&y=list

Koperasi Syariah 212

Status : Draft

Referensi

1. Koperasi Syariah 212, http://www.koperasisyariah212.com/

Gagas Minimarket Pemberdayaan, Dompet Dhuafa Dirikan Daya Mart

JAKARTA—Dompet Dhuafa menggagas sebuah model program pemberdayaan berbasis minimarket (ritel) bernama Daya Mart. Hal ini sebagai salah satu ikhtiar memandirikan masyarakat miskin.

“Konsepnya bukan bisnis murni, tapi sosial bisnis. Minimarket didirikan dan menjadikan masyarakat miskin sebagai pemiliknya. Keuntungan usaha minimarket ini juga disalurkan untuk membantu masyarakat miskin,” ujar Musfi Yendra, penggagas program Daya Mart saat peluncuran program di sela-sela pameran Indonesia Philantropy Festival 2016, Ahad (9/10) di Jakarta.

Musfi menerangkan, program Daya Mart bukan sekadar mendirikan minimarket kemudian diserahkan ke masyarakat miskin. Kalau begitu tentu tak akan berkembang atau bisa bangkrut. Karena perkembangan usaha apapun tergantung manajemen dan sistem.

“Dalam proses pendirian, Dompet Dhuafa bekerjasama dengan konsultan ritel. Usaha sosial ini dijalankan dan didampingi tenaga profesional. Karyawan yang bekerja adalah dhuafa yang dilatih manajemen, sistem IT, marketing dan kerja tim,” jelasnya.

Sebagai model percontohan secara nasional program pemberdayaan minimarket ini akan dimulai di Padang. Diberi nama Daya Mart, agar kemudian masyarakat mustahik bisa berdaya dan mandiri melalui program ini. Selain membina para mustahik untuk belajar bisnis ritel, Daya Mart juga melakukan pembinaan terhadap warung/kios/lapau yang berada di sekitar minimarket ini.

“Pembinaan berupa manajemen dan modal usaha dalam bentuk suplai barang dengan harga yang lebih murah. Tujuannya agar terbentuk kemandirian kolektif dalam masyarakat," terang Musfi.

Sementara, General Manager Ekonomi Unggulan Dompet Dhuafa Filantropi, Tendy Satrio menuturkan, selama ini Domper Dhuafa telah memberdayakan pekaku usaha mikro. Salah satu kesulitannya adalah memasarkan produk-produk mereka. Daya Mart diharapkan menjadi salah satu wadah memasarkan produk-produk pelaku usaha mikro.

"Maka kita butuh suatu outlet untuk menjajakan produk-produk mereka. Rencananya target ada delapan Daya Mart akan kami bangun di lokasi cabang Dompet Dhuafa," jelas Tendy.

Tendy berharap Daya Mart menjadi daya ungkit pelaku usaha mikro dan UKM. Mereka mendapatkan akses outlet dan bisa melejitkan usahanya.

Daya Mart berlokasi di Jalan Raya Ulu Gadut No.9 Lubuk Kilangan, Padang. Saat ini, Daya Mart dalam masa sibuk-sibuknya memasok berbagai jenis produk dari distributor layaknya minimarket pada umumnya. Meski begitu, Daya Mart yang berbasis nilai Keislaman, tidak memasok produk yang dinilai haram dan merusak, seperti minuman beralkohol dan rokok. (Dompet Dhuafa/Yogi AF)

"Fair Trade" : Salah Satu Aktualisasi Sila Ke 2 Pancasila, Kemanusiaan yang Adil dan Beradab

Apa itu Fair Trade ? 

GNOTA dan Fair Trade

Membayangkan GNOTA, dikombinasikan dengan konsep "fair trade".

Di sekolah, anak-anak belajar wirausaha, belajar menjadi "produsen", produk nya bisa macam-macam , konsumen nya adalah jejaring yg dimiliki sekolah termasuk orang tua asuh di sekolah tersebut beserta relasi-relasinya.

Fair Trade untuk Meningkatkan Indeks Pembangunan Manusia (IPM)

Toko online menarik margin 10% dari harga yang ditetapkan oleh produsen, 5% digunakan untuk tabungan yang digunakan untuk pembangunan Desa/Keluarhan tempat asal produsen, 2,5% untuk Tabungan wakaf dan 2,5% lagi untuk operasional.

Referensi

1. Fair Trade, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade
2. Fair Trade Without the Froth, http://www.iea.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/files/upldbook524pdf.pdf
3. Playing it fair: Fairtrade in agriculture, http://www.sourcetrace.com/fairtrade-agriculture/
4. 10 Principles of Fair Trade, https://wfto.com/fair-trade/10-principles-fair-trade