The Cortes Self Sufficiency project continues to grow and change with the community it serves. Like the plants around us in this changing season, we have been putting our energy into the roots. The foundation of the project has been strengthening as we polish the vision and intentions as well as the CSSC space rental policy for our members. This information has been put together by the founding board of directors, following in the footsteps of Sedley Sweeny.

After an eventful summer of stumbling through getting the Café up and running, we are very happy to be able to finally open the space to the community for space rental as well. What follows is the vision and intentions that shape the purpose of the space. You will also find them beautifully painted on the wall in Trudes Café ­ home of Cortes Self Sufficiency Cooperative.

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Vision

To promote and support all aspects of sustainable living through working together for a healthy, supportive community.

Intentions

Examine our genuine needs and educate ourselves in sustainable ways of living and encourage the sharing of this knowledge amongst us
Encourage opportunity for local economic growth
Encourage a local trading and gift economy
Foster community spirit by providing a public meeting space and vibrant community center

Membership to the Co-op can be obtained from staff working at Trudes Café during regular Café hours. Membership cost $10/year or $15 for a family membership. We continue to revise paperwork to become a fully registered cooperative, but the end is in sight.

Rental and membership fees are kept as low as possible. It is in the Cooperative's interest to serve the community. Monies generated will pay for the rent, hydro, propane, maintenance and café staff salaries. It is in the spirit of volunteer energy that enables CSS to have a home base. Volunteers are the heart and soul of this project, It's beautiful to see the way the community comes together to make this place function by fixing doors and porches, dropping off donations, cleaning up the yard, creating safe spaces for children to play, support through café patronage and so much more. Any inspired minds who have ideas for greening up the building-please bring your ideas and skills to us. It would be nice to have the space itself reflect our sustainable intentions!

Fees

Healing Room $5/hour base rental fee or 10% of hourly revenue. This space is open to any body workers on the island in need of affordable space to practice.

Meeting Room after Café hours - $10 minimum donation (up to 3 hours)
During Café hours ­ free with your kind patronage (up to 3 hours)

Front Room $$10 to $50 donation (for up to 3 hours)
For rent only when the Café is closed

Special Event/Grounds Must have CSSC Board approval ­ fees vary depending on need.
With an event involving food sales, 20% of gross profit will go to CSSC in lieu of rent al fees.

To Rent Space ­ Please fill out a rental policy form at the Café. The Café Coordinator will write you into the facility rental calendar. Stephen will be available 8:30 to 4:00 pm on Fridays, otherwise leave a completed form at the Café and you will receive a phonecall.

The Café hours continue to be 8:30 am to 4:00pm, from Thursday to Sunday. To all of you who have been requesting more days and hours of operation ­ Thank you for your kind support! We are working hard to make four days a week run smoothly and pay staff salaries. We are certainly hoping that in the future we can offer more to the community.
The way to get there is through volunteers! The Café would love your help. The greatest need right now are volunteers for 3 hours shifts from Thurs ­ Sun either as serving staff or behind the scenes helping with food preparation. A meal and beverage are always offered to our volunteers during the time they help out. Please call Stephen at 935 6422.

The Mexican Fiesta on September 16th was a huge success and has inspired more Friday night dinners. In the coming months we are hoping to host guest Chefs at Trudes Café. The space is licensed as a restaurant and has a certified commercial kitchen. Any cortes Chefs are invited to call Lovena at 6993 for details about this opportunity.

Dwayne Rourke has created a fabulous interactive map on the Cortes Tideline. The map is open to all islanders to use as a tool to tap into the trade/barter system. Anyone can post their skills and trades as well as their needs and easily connect with others. Check it out by clicking here.

There is also a movement towards making public transportation available on the island. The starting place for this project is to run a bus or van north/south on Fridays, helping people get to the market. Anyone interested in working on this project ­ please call Dwayne at 0091.

Local Economy is where it's at folks! The rising gas prices will certainly affect product prices on anything transported here. We can shape this whole island community to be much more self sufficient if we want to. The Cortes Self Sufficiency Co-op is an offering to the community. It is a physical space where people can come together to problem solve and figure out a more sustainable way of living in this world out of balance. The founding board of directors are doing their best to run the building and get information systems up and going. It will take all of us to put ideals into practice.