Three Cooperatives in a Village of Rojava

The people’s municipality in Sekar village in Dirbêsiyê, the town’s economic council, Women’s Economy Council and the village communes opened three economic projects supervised by cooperative societies with 116 participants. Their aim is to develop the economy in the region, achieve self sufficiency, break the siege imposed on Rojava and keep the spirit of cooperation and participation alive.

Economy and Women, by Abdullah OCALAN

Economy has been turned into a subject matter that ordinary people are not supposed to understand. It has intentionally been made complicated so that the plain reality can be disguised. It is the third force, after ideology and violence, through which women, and subsequently the entire society, was entrapped and forced to accept dependence.

Hevgirtin Cooperative: Developments and Activities in the Communal Economy

Hevgirtin Cooperative Society is working on the communal economy in Rojava in accordance with a master plan agreed by the founders of the cooperative and its members. The cooperative is concerned with several aspects of economy (commercial, industrial, agricultural, livestock, cooperative societies, consumer organisations), and aims to build a regulated and democratic economic society. It also coordinates

Why UK Coop Members are Fundraising to Support a Women’s Coop in Rojava

‘Resist Fascism, Build Co-operation’ is the slogan of the fundraiser – and we see co-ops not as just static businesses there to benefit their members, they should do that of course, but if they are to follow the co-operative principles they should actively be seeking to benefit the wider community both locally and internationally to fight against reactionary ideas. We don’t see this fundraiser as purely charitable, but rather something that is about raising the idea and principles of co-operation and the situation in Syria to a wider section of people in the U.K.

New Campaign to Establish Agricultural Cooperatives in Rojava

The Economic Council and Kongreya Star‘s Women’s Economy Council in  in Girkê Legê [Al-Muabbada], have made a campaign to form agricultural cooperatives in preparation for the agricultural season. The campaign is to form 13 agricultural cooperative societies.  The Economic Council and the Women’s Economy Council in Kongreya Star, in collaboration with the Agriculture and Livestock Centre in Girkê

Exclusive: Qamişlo’s Nisrîn Cooperative

Nisrîn Cooperative was established on 11th April, 2015. At that time, it consisted of five people, who each paid around 15,000 Syrian pounds (SYP), meaning they were able to raise 75,000 SYP between them. Their main aim was to help the poor and to break the traders’ manipulation of the prices of food and detergents, because the prices in Nisrîn Co-operative are cheaper and more competitive than the central market, which is controlled by the traders.

Canadian John Restakis Visits Rojava Cooperatives and Trains Members

Executive Director of Community Evolution Foundation (CEF), John Restakis, visited Qamişlo [Qamishlo / Qamishli / Al-Qamishli] in order to learn about the system of the cooperative societies. John is currently working on training the members of the administrations of cooperatives in Rojava. John Restakis went to Rojava and North Syria in order to learn about the way cooperative societies

Exclusive: Hevgirtin Cooperative’s Tirbespî Branch

Hevgirtin is the largest cooperative in Rojava, with branches across the region. It is somewhat similar to a UK consumer cooperative, but owned and run by its members in the local community. This project aims to help people in Rojava by providing them with their daily food needs and selling products at lower prices than other markets. This