In a humid shed along the Hooghly River, approximately 40 kilometres north of Kolkata, a woman named Rina Mondal feeds raw golden fibre into a carding machine that has been running, with repairs, since 1987. She earns around ₹320 a day. Two years ago, she earned ₹210 — and her mill was weeks from shutting … Read more
India has one of the largest cooperative movements in the world, with over 8.5 lakh registered cooperative societies serving more than 290 million members. If you have ever wondered how ordinary citizens band together to form dairy cooperatives, credit societies, or housing cooperatives that reshape entire communities, the answer lies in a structured but surprisingly … Read more
Millions of Indians live in apartments governed by cooperative housing societies, yet most residents have never read the rules that shape their daily lives. Understanding these rules is not just useful — it directly affects your property rights, maintenance charges, transfer fees, and the power you hold as a member against a managing committee. Legal … Read more
The women of Chamoli district had been picking wild brahmi from the hillsides for generations, selling it to middlemen for ₹12 per kilogram. When those same leaves arrived in wellness stores across Berlin and Amsterdam, they were priced at €45 for a small glass jar. That gap — staggering, almost grotesque in its proportions — … Read more
If you have a savings account or a fixed deposit in a cooperative bank, there is a good chance you have wondered at some point whether your money is truly safe. The collapse of Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank in 2019 shook public confidence, and it forced regulators to rethink how urban cooperative banks … Read more
On a Monday morning in the Ramanagara Cocoon Market, the largest raw silk cocoon trading hub in Asia, a farmer named Manjunath from Channapatna taluk watches as his weekly harvest of bivoltine cocoons fetches ₹485 per kilogram — nearly ₹70 more than what he earned this time last year. He credits his local sericulture cooperative … Read more
A carton of Amul cheese sitting on a supermarket shelf in the United States might not seem remarkable, but behind it lies a supply chain powered entirely by millions of small dairy farmers organized into cooperatives. India’s cooperative movement — one of the largest in the world — is increasingly becoming a force in international … Read more
In the summer of 1998, a twenty-three-year-old woman in Bhujodi village, Kutch district, Gujarat, walked into her local cooperative society office and asked for a loan of ₹200. The clerk hesitated — the amount was so small it barely covered the paperwork. She wanted to buy raw cotton yarn and natural dyes to weave shawls … Read more
In the winter of 2019, Kamla Devi of Joshimath block in Chamoli district earned ₹1,200 for an entire season’s collection of wild jatamansi roots — a Himalayan herb that high-end wellness brands in Mumbai were retailing for ₹3,500 per kilogram. By 2026, she earns closer to ₹48,000 a season. The difference? A cooperative that decided … Read more
Cooperatives across Asia are generating over $700 billion in combined annual revenue, and the trade fair circuit has become the most dynamic meeting ground for these member-owned enterprises. I have been tracking cooperative events across the continent for years, and 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most packed calendars I have ever … Read more
