We met the founder of Co-operate WNC, Zev Friedman, at Earthaven Ecovillage. Earthaven Ecovillage is an intentional community near Asheville that focuses on learning and living sustainably through natural building, organic farming, and community collaboration.

Zev walked us around the neighborhood where we saw gardens and a set of solar panels, that took up about as much space as someone’s backyard swimming pool, but powered 19 family’s homes with energy from the sun.

We sat on the forest floor to talk about the mutual aid society Zev founded called Co-operate WNC.

Co-operate WNC is a regional mutual aid society whose mission is to meet human needs and address economic and social challenges through regional scale cooperation.

The simplest way to explain what a Mutual Aid society is that it’s a beneficial association that seeks to provide its members with more than monetary assistance, but support especially in the face of loss or economic and social threats – like climate change to give an example.

Zev Friedman says it all best, so we hope you enjoy this Forest Friday video!

Kimala Luna

Kimala Luna builds and supports the Dogwood Alliance community. She connects people to the Dogwood mission. She runs programs, organizes events, and finds volunteer opportunities. Kimala makes volunteering easy and rewarding. She is committed to helping others protect our forests and communities. In her free time, Kimala loves to roller skate and learn new things.