Monthly Archives: June 2012

A case study on Inner City Renovation, a social enterprise in Winnipeg’s construction sector since 2002 is being submitted to the North American Case Research Association (NACRA) for consideration in their Case Research Journal (CRJ) publication. The CRJ is distributed directly to libraries, publishers and universities including Harvard school of Business and Economics in the U.S. and Laurier School of Business and Economics in Canada.

The case illustrating various challenges facing Inner City Renovation in 2007 when it lost it largest customer will be a useful tool in business schools offering courses in social enterprise. The case is co-authored by my colleague John Melnyk at University of Winnipeg, Business Faculty and myself, ICR founder and past general manager.

Carrot Common home to The Big Carrot health food store on Danforth Avenue in Toronto is celebrating its 25 th. anniversary.  In 1987, I was assisted The Big Carrot to find a new larger location for their popular store. I introduced Mary Lou Morgan of the Big Carrot to David Walsh who I had met at a CED workshop some years earlier. It gave birth to Carrot Common, a two building two story complex with 21,000 sq. ft. retail store space and 10,000 sq.ft of office space for health care professionals. The Big Carrot is the anchor store in the Common and  has expanded over the past 25 years to take on an even larger presence.

The Carrot Common complex has been an inspiration to various organizations over the years including Neechi Foods Co-op Ltd. in Winnipeg who are about to open Neechi Common on Main St in Winnipeg’s North End later this summer. The 50,000 sq.ft complex will be home to community businesses promoting healthy foods and lifestyles.

Both Neechi Foods and The Big Carrot are worker co-operatives where the workers are the owners of the enterprise. Both are social enterprises with an environmental consciousness providing healthy food and lifestyles as well as employment for their workers.