18 Jun Discover How to Fuel Cooperative Economics
Personal Empowerment + Community Engagement = Cooperative Economics
A Conversation with Alana Griffin, Ambassador Ujamaa Collective
InflexionPoint Podcast Series Hosted on The Transformation Network
2025 Theme: Community Engagement and the Grassroots of Change
Episode 86 Air Date: June 18, 2025
In this episode we continue to explore the alignment of Personal Empowerment, Community Engagement, and Cooperative Economics through the lens of Ujamaa Collective, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The Ujamaa social mission is to act as a catalyst to advance Africana Women by providing a fair trade marketplace for cultural, artistic and entrepreneurial exchange through cooperative economics. Ujamaa stands on these 5 principles: Fair Trade. Meaningful Work. Community. Creativity. Wellness.
Our guest, Alana Griffin, Ambassador to Ujamaa Collective, continues the conversation digging into the shift from participation to power.
In the previous episode (Air Date June 4, 2025), we had a conversation with LaKeisha Wolf, Executive Director. In this episode we continue the conversation with Alana Griffin who serves in the role as Ambassador to Ujamaa Collective. We explore the shift from participation to power by “Reimagining the Power of We.” The point is to shift the perspective; to take action and create new possibilties with a different measuring stick.
In a time of mounting economic inequality, community fragmentation, and political disillusionment, many are asking: How do we build systems that serve everyone—not just the few? The answer, increasingly, lies in aligning two transformative forces: community engagement and cooperative economics.
Alana Griffin: Community-rooted entrepreneur, author, and visionary living out Ujamaa’s mission to empower Africana women through cooperative economics, cultural expression, and community healing.
As a community-rooted entrepreneur, author, and creative visionary, Alana leads with intention in the realms of wellness, advocacy, and arts-based engagement. She is the founder of Affirm I Am, a wellness apparel brand that affirms identity and healing. She serves as the program designer and facilitator of Place-Based Healing Affinity Circles. She is also a certified herbalist and trauma-informed yoga practitioner in training, with a passion for creating spaces where women reclaim voice, rest, and power.
In addition to designing and leading healing retreats, Alana serves as the Pennsylvania Hub Leader for Moms Rising and Chair of the Parent Advisory Council at the East Liberty Family Support Center. In all she does, Alana embodies Ujamaa’s principles of fair trade, meaningful work, wellness, creativity, and community.
From Participation to Power: How Does Community Engagement Align with Cooperative Economics?
Community Engagement – the intentional process of involving people in collective action to address local issues, shape decisions, and build power through participation, dialogue, and trust. It centers on equity, shared leadership, and long-term capacity-building.
Cooperative Economics – an economic model that emphasizes democratic ownership, shared resources, and mutual benefit.
Rooted in traditions such as Black cooperative movements and solidarity economies, it redirects capital and labor away from extraction and toward regeneration and reciprocity.
What are the barriers and bridges?
Barriers to alignment include lack of co-op education, capacity gaps, or legal and financial hurdles.
Build bridges to a new economic reality: By investing in local leadership, co-op incubators, public policy that supports shared ownership, and storytelling that lifts up these models, we build bridges to a new economic reality.
From Surviving to Thriving:
In a society that teaches us to survive alone (individualism), the alignment of community engagement and cooperative economics reminds us that we were made to thrive together. These are not fringe ideas—they are the seeds of a new paradigm where economic justice and democratic life reinforce each other. When engagement is paired with ownership, and ownership is guided by values, we move beyond reform into regeneration as communities become unshakeable.
“The education provided must therefore encourage the development in each citizen of three things; an inquiring mind; and ability to learn from what others do, and reject or adapt it to his own needs; and a basic confidence in his own position as a free and equal member of the society, who values others and is valued by them for what he does and not for what he obtains.” ― Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian Author and Teacher
Reimagine the Power of We
In a time of mounting economic inequality, community fragmentation, and political disillusionment, many are asking: How do we build systems that serve everyone—not just the few?
The answer, increasingly, lies in aligning two transformative forces: community engagement and cooperative economics.
Community engagement is the relational soil in which cooperative economics can take root and flourish.
Community engagement offers the “who.”
Cooperative economics offers the “how.”
When communities come together not only to voice concerns but to own solutions, they transition from being subjects of charity to architects of transformation. The alignment matters because it resists economic disempowerment—ownership combats precarity, a state of existence in which material provision and psychological wellness are adversely affected by a lack of regular or secure income.
It heals civic distrust – engagement fosters relational repair.
It builds local resilience – co-ops anchor wealth and reduce dependency.
It shifts the narrative – from individual struggle to collective strength.
Call to Action: Building Our Shared Future – Ujamaa Capital Campaign
“The strength of Ujamaa Collective lies in its proven ability to turn vision into reality. Our history of success, coupled with the determination and resilience of our artisans and supporters, assures us that this campaign will establish the foundation for a thriving, innovative home.”
Ujamaa Collective is embarking on a transformative journey to secure a permanent home in the heart of Pittsburgh—a space designed to nurture creativity, sustain cooperative entrepreneurship, and expand opportunities for artisans and the broader community. With your partnership, we are confident in bringing this bold vision to life through our concurrent Capital Campaign, Building the Future.
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