An Introduction
to
Daily Bread Co-operative
Roots
The original Daily Bread Co-operative was established
in Northampton by a group of nine Christians. They had been meeting
together in their homes since 1974 and one of their concerns
was how to take the Christian message of sharing and mutual support
into the workplace. Their response was to form a worker co-operative
- a business owned and controlled by its workers. The Northampton
co-operative began trading in 1980 and has grown steadily since
then, increasing both its workforce and turnover.
Daily Bread Co-operative (Cambridge) Ltd was founded in 1990
by one of the members from Northampton. It shared the same
objectives as the Northampton Co-operative and began trading,
in the King's Hedges area of the city, with 5 full-time workers
on December 1st 1992. The business has received the support
of a wide variety of organisations and has grown so that, at
the start of 2005, there are 20 full time and several more
part-time volunteers workers. This document is designed to
give you an introduction into our business and working practices.
(View Introduction to Cambridge here...)
How to pursue profit without being greedy? How to generate
wealth without compromising the teachings of the Gospel? How
to balance individual freedom and creativity with collective
responsibility to care for each other and for the wider community?
These were questions which occupied the thoughts of these early
pioneers.
To set the ball rolling, they formed a simple co-operative
which would be owned and controlled by its workers. Daily Bread
was registered as a co-operative business in March 1976 under
the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, the first of its
kind to adopt a new set of Model Rules for Industrial Common
Ownership.
As for any business,
capital had to be raised, premises found, and a business
plan devised. Trading started on the 1st October 1980 with
a working group of three and has grown steadily, including
part time staff to 20 people and sales of over £1.6million
in 2005.
Our Preamble
has five main headings:-
1. work is fundamental
"We wish working together to be a creative experience.
We will share the policy decisions that affect our work." We
aim to earn our living in an enriching manner. As a workers'
co-operative, each member owns a nominal £1.00 share. All
policy decisions are taken at a weekly meeting which all the
working group is expected to attend. Officers such as Chairperson
and Manager are elected from among the members, thus ensuring
that democracy is carried through to every level. Decisions are
taken by those who have to put them into practice. Such participation
is both fulfilling and necessitates respect for the views of
each worker. Experience shows that with a working group of not
more than 20, no further administrative structure is needed and
an efficient working fellowship is attained. Further growth will
be through other, independent co-ops.
As a Co-operative,
we decide what to do with profits. These are either re-invested
in the business or given away. We also decide how to pay
ourselves. We have taken the decision to pay by need rather
than status. This means that a person working as a packer
who has a large family may receive more remuneration than
the manager, who may have fewer family responsibilities.
This is contrary to popular practice, but goes some way to
meeting the practice of the early church "…and they
sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all,
as any had need." Acts 2.45
Daily Bread remains true to its roots on the site where it
was first opened 23 years ago: The Old Laundry on the Bedford
Road, Northampton. This building is in grounds owned by St
Andrews Hospital and retains some of the Victorian charm associated
with its former function.
Values
How do we pursue profit without being greedy? How do we generate
wealth without compromising basic Christian beliefs? How
do we combine individual responsibility with care for each
other? It is these questions of how to organise Christian
work with which Daily Bread Co-operative is primarily concerned.
We have shown that it is possible for a viable business to
have explicit social and spiritual objectives built into
its organisation. We believe that a co-operative is the ideal
vehicle for expressing concerns for fellow workers. The members
of Daily Bread have agreed on a statement, called the Preamble,
which expresses our religious and business values.
2. the world is fundamental
"We recognise that we are part of the rich world, but
we do not accept that contemporary value judgements and trading
patterns are unchangeable. Therefore, we shall give a significant
percentage of our total remuneration to causes outside the co-operative,
with special reference to Third World causes."
We are a business dealing in commodities, often imported from
the Third World, and sometimes on unfair terms. All too often,
most of what the shopper pays for goods goes to the retailer,
wholesaler, packer or shipper. Very little makes it back to
the people who do the hard work - the Third World farm workers.
Accepting that, small as we are, we cannot dictate to multinational
companies about terms of trade, we endeavor to help the developing
world. We give aid as well as trade. A sum of money is set
aside each year to be used in supporting various projects in
developing countries, often in the shape of intermediate technology
to help local producers. In this country, we actively support
local businesses, especially those sharing our aims and beliefs.
3. commitment
is fundamental
"Our inspiration comes from Jesus Christ. What we do
is a venture of faith"
The Christian Gospel is the same as ever, but we must work
it out in the world in which we live. We work out our Christian
commitment through our social objectives and also through our
daily worship. Worship is a central part of the working day
and decisions about work and people often spring directly from
it. Our time of prayer lasts for half an hour each day and
is led by members on a rota basis. We are ecumenical and interdenominational.
Out of our different backgrounds has come worship which has
challenged and united us, particularly the communion service.
The Christian faith is not something to practice only on Sundays.
Daily Bread Co-operative is a business geared to the world
as it is, but rejecting some of the conventional commercial
and industrial wisdom. The working members are all Christians,
and we believe that a co-operative business structure is a
Christian one. However, it is also possible for this to become
a model for much of our society in the future - a seed which
may enable more people to participate in a co-operative business.
4. food is
fundamental
"We wish to trade as suppliers of wholefoods which have
good nutritional value and are good value for money." We stock
a variety of dried fruit, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, beans,
pulses, grains, flakes, wholemeal and white flours, (together
with fresh yeast for bread), pastas, spreads, oils, drinks, fruit
juices and mueslis. From the humble beginnings when Daily Bread
stocked only a few simple commodity items, we now stock over
3000 different products.
We support the organic
movement and are registered with the Soil Association to
manufacture and sell more than 400 organic products. We also
have a wide range of gluten-free and wheat-free products
for the benefit of those on special diets. We even have a number of cooked products, including popular flapjacks
and granola breakfast cereal. Products are available in varying
sizes, from small (100g) to bulk quantities at competitive
prices. Wholefoods are natural, non processed foods which
are without additives. We endeavor to provide information on
their nutritional value and also have a series of food information
leaflets, including recipes, and a wide selection of wholefood
and vegetarian books. We will not stock anything that we know
to be genetically modified.
5. other people are fundamental
We will support people recovering from mental disorders
by offering them employment in a supportive setting." It is not
enough just to look after ourselves, and mental illness is a
woefully misunderstood problem. Our working group includes people
who are recovering from mental disorders, or are in need of a
supportive work environment these are associate workers, and
this is often part of their rehabilitation . They work alongside
members in what we hope is a relaxed and supportive setting.
They are paid on the same basis as members of the co-operative
and are expected to produce a good day's work in return. We can
help them adjust to the discipline of a working life and get
prepared to return to open society. It should be emphasised that
we do not hold any professional qualifications relevant to working
with the mentally ill. We simply try to provide a caring atmosphere
in which associate workers and members can grow together.
One World
Strive Overseas Ltd is a charity run in conjunction
with our sister company Daily Bread Co-operative through which
Third World and some other donations are made. It was an existing
charity which had been defunct when Daily Bread took it over
in 1984. Each year, Daily Bread pays to Strive through Gift Aid
a sum which is a percentage of the gross wage bill. Since 1984,
donations in excess of £120,000 have been made. In the
past we have given to Mother Teresa, and to numerous works in
India as well as schools in developing countries, orphanages,
mission and humanitarian stations. Strive Overseas have had a
long standing relationship with Intermediate Technology supporting
specific projects throughout the developing world.
The Community Fund
The Community Fund was set up on the same basis as Strive,
but with the aim of supporting local charities and other good
causes.
Sources of other information
Small is Beautiful by E.F. Schumacher first published in 1973
The Bible, a Description of the Early Church as described in
Acts chapters 2 and 4.
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