Equal Shares: Oodi Weavers and the Cooperative Experience

Jeffrey M. Karabanow is an assistant professor at Dalhousie
University’s Maritime School of Social Work.

This analysis of Oodi Weavers in Botswana is an in-depth portrayal of
the complexities of work-cooperative culture and community economic
development (CED). The Oodi Weavers factory began in the early 1970s
with a vision to foster meaningful and sustainable employment, worker
ownership/control, cooperative spirit, social commitment, and
personal/collective empowerment.

The book is divided into two sections. The first section explores the
cooperative’s history and evolution, its main actors, and its
present-day culture. The authors also examine the political, economic,
and social environment within Botswana (primarily the three villages
affected by the factory—namely, Oodi, Modipane, and Matebele), thereby
allowing the reader to place the cooperative within its larger
environment. The second section presents the voices of three Weavers (in
both 1977 and 1997). Although at times difficult to fully comprehend,
these oral testimonies provide a sense of how the cooperative has
changed over the years. The final chapter provide a thoughtful and
explicit analysis of cooperatives and CED; here the authors piece
together the lessons learned from the Oodi Weavers concerning training,
education, marketing, management, organizational structuring, and
financing.

A complex picture of the cooperative emerges. On the one hand, the
workers’ standard of living has improved in many respects (sturdier
housing and expanded agriculture are two examples of progress) and
members of the cooperative have experienced nonfinancial benefits such
as gaining new skills and feelings of accomplishment. On the other hand,
there are stories of management/leadership disarray, falling revenues,
minimal social/economic benefits to external communities, and workers’
complaints regarding fair wages and true ownership. The fact that the
factory still exists and continues to provide a livelihood for many in
Oodi and outlying villages is its greatest “success.” The authors
attribute the project’s longevity to the workers’ “commitment to a
cause,” an integral requirement for CED enterprises.

Equal Shares is an honest portrayal of the struggles involved in CED
endeavors, and an important read for those involved in building
resilient, empowered, self-help and mutual aid structures.