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Building
OUR WORK COLLECTIVELY
Architecture students from Tuskegee Univ. & Auburn Univ. worked with the Local for a
semester to envision a community restaurant for Selma. Click here to see the book of professional drawings we hope the community might bring to life at some point...
Our Story & Work...
the Local Cooperative is short-hand for two food-related cooperatives (co-ops) which were incorporated as cooperative businesses in 2018 & are located in Selma, AL: the Local Farm Cooperative & the Local Restaurant Cooperative. They are organized using fundamentals of cooperative economics, namely shared/democratic ownership & democratic control, & are committed to fighting the general & the racial wealth gaps.
The co-ops are in development & will grow & shift as our pilot phases continue to unfold (learn about our people & the Local Farm Board here). Our origin story dates back some years & has evolved along the way as a labor of love & commitment, but includes initial incubation support from the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth & Reconciliation & gifts of time, treasure & talent by plenty of others. This is our rough working model as of now:
Interested in helping us build this work & the local economy, or just want to learn more? Contact us at or 334-526-0615--we are looking for:
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Volunteers for both co-ops
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Additional owners of the co-ops (worker-owners, community-owners, & chef-owners)
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And anyone interested in food, culture, farming, & everything in between...
Our Community...
A scene from our Chef & a Show series, this one with Chef Callie Greer telling a story behind one of her famous dishes.
Find out more about the Rotating Chef & a Show Series here, where you can also see any other upcoming & past events for the Local Restaurant Cooperative.
Restaurant Co-op
Farm Co-op
Our Future?
Our future is evolving from month to month, "we make the road by walking" as the late Brazilian educator Paulo Freire put it--want to be part of figuring out & doing this work? Contact us at or 334-526-0615, we'd love to hear from any & everyone. See our above list here to learn some of the type of volunteers, co-op owners, & others we're looking for to join us in this work, & check out the rest of our website using the menu at the top or by following these links to see:
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our shop here,
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the book we put together with our partners at Tuskegee Univ. & Auburn Univ. here,
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more about our people here, &
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some media coverage & videos about our work here.
As shown above, these are some of the types of work we currently are experimenting with, or are considering experimenting with, in the two co-ops:
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