The word ‘co-operative’ means to work together for a common goal. A co-operative is a group of people who together own and control an organisation or a business for the benefit of its members. A co-operative is democratic, and so the members of the co-operative are responsible to each other. They work for themselves; and together they decide how to run the co-operative and how to share the profits. / This booklet was put together by members of Cope, with the help of Paul Crankshaw (editing and layout), Leslie Lawson (photographs and interviews) and Sue Beattie (drawings)