COOP Members
Now launching during 2015 - visit PODnet to learn more about how the vision below is now becoming an action plan.
Anyone participating in the Sola Roof Community is welcome and invited to consider joining the Sola Roof Coop (also referred to as the COOP) as members and therefore also as shareholders in the COOP. The purpose is to use collective buying power to establish supply of prefabricated components direct from the Manufacturer(s). This strategy to establish volume manufacturing and supply of components meeting the COOP's specifications will secure the best possible value at an excellent price. Feedback from the COOP Members and large number of POD Growers will provide ongoing improvements to our Open Source specifications for best quality and design and these specifications can continuously be improved in cooperation with the manufacturing & supply network who will also have initiatives based on feedback from POD Growers.
Members will organize this business following the principles of Cooperative Organizations, which have a long history and a strong tradition in the "free market economies" of the world and the COOP is a relatively recent business model that is supportive of democratic principles (the COOP Members each have one vote and therefore an equal voice). We anticipate a strong support from the cooperative movement wherever the COOP will be starting up its operations. During the autumn of 2012 the founding participants in our Sola Roof Coop initiative will register formation papers with the Co-operatives Directorate of the appropriate jurisdictions to commence our operations. At the start up we are looking for 10 Members to join the COOP who are committed to building the COOP by becoming certified as Enterprise Members - these are special Members who will demonstrate and sell the COOP product, the DIY Kit, and provide other Members who join to purchase and use the product the technical support that they may need.
COOP Members will be able to purchase the DIY Kit direct from the SE Net through an Online Exchange. At the time of registration as a Member each person will become a shareholder of the COOP and each has one vote and equal voice in the operation of the COOP as is usual. Members will have the financial benefit that operating profit of the COOP that is surplus to the objectives (as agreed by Members) will be distributed to the Members.
The key to the success of the COOP at the start up is that all the Members will be satisfied to purchase a standard Vertical Farm, which we call the Agri POD - this design represents an optimum specification for beginners - and is also a serious source of solar energy and nutritious food. Sola Roof Members can build to other specs but the COOP will not initially provide more than one product and will need to build volume of production with this product before diversifying into the production of other types or larger scale Sola Roof DIY structures.