CDI is committed to building sustainable rural and urban communities where people work together to meet their needs, have access to quality jobs, affordable products and services, and share ownership of essential resources.

Our organization provides education, training and technical assistance to existing  and start-up cooperatively-structured enterprises in all business sectors:  food, housing, energy, agriculture, arts, health, forestry, fisheries, retail, service and more.

  CDI's core values are:

1. The Process: Cooperation, Community, and a Willingness to Listen.  In an age such as ours when the familiar supports of neighborhoods,  families, and other institutions seem to be crumbling, people yearn for  warmth and a sense of belonging, a sense of place. Many have found support in joining cooperatives, where isolation gives way to community, competition gives way to cooperation, and each one's voice is heard and valued.

2. The Form: Cooperative Economics. Cooperative economics emphasize the common good and the value of each  member. All share in the triumphs and successes. All shoulder the  responsibilities.

Cooperatives use basic democratic principles to elect  officers and to form decisions. Members invest in the co-op by paying a membership fee or similar cash security, and they receive benefits in  proportion to the use they make of the co-op's goods or services. Profits are returned to members in the form of Patronage Dividends, or members may decide to reinvest the dividends back into the co-op for capital purchases  or other needs. 

 3. The Outcome: Sustainable Community Development. Cooperatives strengthen the bonds of community life. Cooperatives help  to stabilize the local economy by ensuring that profits return to those who  produced them. Co-op members value their communities, support local  governance, and are likely to buy from other co-ops and small family  enterprises. In rural areas, cooperatives work to preservefamily farms by helping the small producer join with others to purchase supplies in bulk and  to join in region-wide marketing campaigns. This strength in numbers gives communities a voice when outside interests threaten to overwhelm them. By retaining a local focus, cooperatives provide a vehicle to invigorate  community life.

CDI fully supports the statement of values and principles adopted by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA). Please click here to find out these standard principles for cooperative business.  CDI's work is also guided by the Madison Principles, professional standards set by cooperative development leaders in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. Click here to find out about these professional standards.

Click here for CDI's services and programs. Click here for CDI's educational and training programs. 

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