SF agreed £2,000 to fully fund two places for worker cooperators on the Barefoot programme, to give them grounding and training to become co-op organisers and business advisors themselves. The programme takes on 15 people in each cohort, and will run for six months starting in September 2025.
Barefoot is promoted and coordinated by Solidfund member Stir to Action. Training delivery is by our members Co-op Culture and People Support Co-op. The 2025 cohort includes worker cooperators Maddy Neghabian from Outlandish/Space4 and Wongani Mwanza from Transition by Design. The programme is delivered online on a fortnightly basis for 6 months. Past alumni of Barefoot have gone on to work as co-op advisors in professional services, community energy, HR, music venues, digital tech and more.