By Land and By Sea: Leveraging Co-ops for Business Success--Conference in Unity, ME Jan 19

Eat Maine Foods is sponsoring a one-day conference for Maine farmers & fishermen on the cooperative model of doing business. See http://www.eatmainefoods.org/events/coop-conference, and go to http://bylandandbysea.eventbrite.com/ to register.

CDI staff will be presenting a couple of workshops. One of the main organizers was CDI's board president, Erica Buswell.

More details:
Thursday, January 19, 2012 in Unity, Maine 9am to 5:30pm

• Learn exactly what a cooperatively-organized business is all about. What are the advantages, what are the different types of co-ops, and why might it make sense for your business? We’ll cover the nuts and bolts of co-ops.
  
• Connect with Experienced Co-operative Business People. What are the financing options for co-ops? What local resources are available for start-up, problem-solving and co-operative business development? Go home with connections and an action plan for moving your co-op business or idea forward.
• Celebrate 2012: International Year of Co-operatives. Hear first-hand stories from other farmers and fishermen about how they have implemented a co-operative business. What worked? What obstacles did they overcome and how?

Sponsored by The Eat Local Foods Coalition of Maine and its members: Putting more Maine food on more Maine tables more often!
With support from and participation of: Lobsters on the Fly, MOFGA, Maine Department of Agriculture, Penobscot East Resource Center, Maine Farmland Trust, Cooperative Maine, Island Institute, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Local Sprouts Cooperative, Cooperative Fund of New England, The Broadreach Fund, Cooperative Development Institute and more!