A cooperative is defined as an autonomous association of persons and/or legal entities united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.
This definition describes the key elements and main purpose of cooperatives: to meet the needs of their members. Such needs include, for example, access to markets and greater income stability for members who commercialize their production through a cooperative; reasonable prices for members of consumer cooperatives; access to employment or better working conditions for members of a workers’ cooperative; or access to tools and machinery for a producers’ cooperative.
(SOURCE International Labour Organization (ILO) Recommendation No. 193)
