Category: Cooperatives BRED supports

Earthbound Building is a cooperative of skilled builders, crafts people and farmers that formed in 2014. Earthbound grew out of Black Dirt Farm Collective and the realization of the importance of functional, durable, and ecological farm and land infrastructure. They aim to provide these attributes of a sustainable food system through Timber Framing, Natural Building, and Agricultural Infrastructure.

In 2021 BRED helped Earthbound with a land purchase loan. They now have an operations base which will allow them to take on larger projects.

Earthbound Building

Located in Baltimore City Obran Cooperative is a worker-owned cooperative conglomerate that was formed in 2019. Formed by a group of returning citizens, Obran empowers its workers through ownership and education. Through their cooperative holding structure Obran is able to make purchases and hold profitable small to medium size businesses and real estate on behalf of its worker-owners.

In 2019 BRED provided Obran Cooperative with a working capital line of credit.

Obran Cooperative

AFS is an experienced and insured property preservation and mortgage field services firm based in Hagerstown, Maryland. A share of AFS business is held by Core Staffing Cooperative, another business that we support. AFS offers services like: property renovations, Inspections and Verifications, and property management.

In partnership with Seed Commons, BRED financed the sale of the owner’s stake in the enterprise and in five residential properties to workers. We also provided intensive coaching and support in structuring the deal, and continue to support transitioning AFS to a culture of cooperative ownership.

Appalachian Field Services

Taharka Brothers is a social enterprise in Baltimore City creating jobs and opportunities to empower Black youth and use the ice cream they manufacture to advance a pedagogy of liberation. In 2021 BRED helped Taharka Brothers take their business and mission to the next level by helping them transition to a worker-owned cooperative business!

Bred provided our first loan to Taharka to help them get their amazing ice cream truck repaired and out on the streets in time for the summer of 2016. More recently in 2020 Taharka received a loan to purchase new equipment for one of their two scoop shop locations.

Taharka Brothers

Baltimore Bicycle Works is Baltimore’s worker owned and democratically managed full-service bicycle shop. They have two locations in Baltimore; Fells Point and Belvedere Square.

BRED is working with Baltimore Bicycle Works to fuel their continued growth.

Baltimore Bicycle Works

Thread Coffee Roasters is a coffee roasting cooperative located in Baltimore City. Thread is woman and queer owned, and is dedicated to working in solidarity with coffee growing cooperatives in the Global South.

BRED helped Thread to grow their business by financing Thread’s purchase of a larger capacity coffee roaster, and later an expansion loan, needed to meet higher levels of demand.

Thread Coffee Roasters

The Core Staffing Cooperative is a cooperative staffing agency owned and operated by and for residents returning to the community after incarceration.

In 2018, BRED extended a working capital loan to allow Core Staffing to better serve its members.

Core Staffing Cooperative