Type Cooperative federation Fields Activism | Purpose Social change Website radicialroutes.org.uk | |
Formation 1 April 1992 (1992-04-01) Services Moneylender, Mutual aid | ||
Radical Routes is a United Kingdom-based cooperative federation. The organisation provides mutual aid and lends money to housing, worker co-operatives and social centres. Members of the network share information about social change.
Contents
Work
Radical Routes provides small loans (up to about £50,000) to member co-operatives. Decisions on making loans are made collectively by other member co-operatives (this is described as "peer-group loan appraisal").
Radical Routes publishes booklets on subjects such as how to set up a housing co-operative, how to set up a worker co-operative and how to work out your ecological footprint. The publication are available free of charge, either as a download or in print.
With Cooperatives UK they launched proposals for an independent cooperative regulator after the government announced that it would be abolishing the FSA. Previously the FSA had regulated co-operatives, which were registered as industrial and provident societies.
Members
Member co-operatives are expected to commit to a share of Radical Routes' workload as volunteers, and work toward radical social change.
Housing co-operatives
Workers co-operatives
Social centres
Affiliations
Radical Routes has an ethical investment arm called Rootstock. In the summer of 2011 Radical Routes agreed to join the federation of UK co-operatives called Cooperatives UK.