The objective of this project is to educate and develop services for producers and processors interested in forming marketing cooperatives. We began our work in Delta Junction with several dairy farmers. We also worked with Wrangell residents interested in a boat haulout and dry dock, and an artists cooperative. Most recently, sponsored by the Alaska Economic Development Center, we went to Unalaska to help the Unalaska Fisherman's Association begin a cooperative to lease a multifunction seafood processing plant. The latter was the only group who formed a cooperative to accomplish their objective.
Cooperatives are often misunderstood as a vehicle that can be used to obtain grants.
Our group strongly emphasizes that a cooperative is a business. It is only as strong as its members because the members own the cooperative. Therefore, the members must understand their own businesses, their own business objectives, and their own financial, cash and product flow status before they enter into a cooperative business with others. Importantly, the group that wants to act cooperatively must have a very specific objective and the objective must be within the means of the group to accomplish. The objective was well within the means of the group.