A Cooperative Compost Company with Michael & Nathan of Tilth Soil & Rust Belt Riders

The Collaborative Farming Podcast

Talking cooperative compost company with Nathan and Michael from Tilth Soil, folks. Tilth Soil and Rust Belt Riders have been collecting and diverting food waste from landfills and, as a result, have been making some of the most amazing composts and soils around. When I heard they had officially organized as a worker cooperative, I had to get them on the line to learn more. Not only am I excited to learn more about a worker-owned compost business, I personally want to see more regional high-quality composters across the country. So, let’s do more of that? We talk about their humble beginnings, how they’ve always maintained collective decision making and are now formalizing those processes, how they have left and taken ideas about collaborative effort and growth from other industries, and philosophize a bit about the world changing nature of simply making some good ol’ compost. Mentioned in the show... Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows (book)

Dr. Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web Course

The Evergreen Cooperative Model

Slack for company communication

The Knowledge Project Podcast

The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber (book)

On Farm Composting (free ebook)

The Compost Handbook by Robert Rynk (book)

Community Composting Systems by James McSweeney (book)

Financial Intelligence (book)

The Community Composter Coalition

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