Co-operative Society: A Co-operative society is essentially an association of persons who joined together in a voluntary basis for the further once of their common economic interests.
Short Overview on Co-operative Society: The co-operative movement began in Europe in the 19th century, primarily in England and France, although The Shore Porters’ Society claims to be one of the world's first co-operatives, being established in Aberdeen in 1498. The industrial revolution and the increasing mechanization of the economy transformed society and threatened the livelihoods of many workers. The concurrent labor and social movements and the issues they attempted to address describe the climate at the time.
The first co-operative may have been founded on March 14, 1761, in a barely-furnished cottage in Fenwick, East Ayrshire, when local weavers manhandled a sack of oatmeal into John Walker's whitewashed front room and began selling the contents at a discount, forming the Fenwick Weavers' Society.
In the decades that followed, several co-operatives or co-operative societies formed including Lennoxtown Friendly Victualling Society, founded in 1812.
The early attempts at forming co-operatives met with varying degrees of success, and it was not until 1844 when the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers established the 'Rochdale Principles' on which they ran their co-operative, that the basis for development and growth of the modern co-operative movement was established.
Robert Owen (1771–1858) is considered the father of the co-operative movement. A Welshman who made his fortune in the cotton trade, Owen believed in putting his workers in a good environment with access to education for themselves and their children. These ideas were put into effect successfully in the cotton mills of New Lanark, Scotland. It was here that the first co-operative store was opened. Spurred on by the