Below is a list of some of the readings we use for onboarding new members into SCRUF Collective. We recommend the readings below for anyone working in a co-op, or interested in starting a pet care collective!

Cooperatives history and business model

• Collective Courage by Jessica Gordon (2014)
• Worker Cooperatives: Pathways to Scale by Hilary Abell (2014)

Pet Care x Politics:

• Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey (2016)

Democracy:

• Tyranny of Structurelessness by Jo Freeman (1970)
• South Mountain Company’s document Meetings & Consensus

Being a better cooperator:

From AORTA – Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance:

• Infiltration: How the Values of Oppressive Systems Tend to Arise in Organizations (and what to do about it)
• Group Roles “This two-page handout provides an overview of positive and negative roles that members of a group can play when engaged in decision-making, meetings, or collective management.”
• Anti-Oppressive Facilitation for Democratic Process, Making Meetings Awesome for Everyone
• and MORE

From Sassy:

• Setting Up a Safe Space video and handout
• Facilitation Games “This is a compendium of games to use to get to know each other, lighten a tense moment, think outside the box, or re-energize your group during a long process.”
• What Does Facilitation Mean?
• and MORE