Worker-owned Philly masa collective to expand in 2023
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
A worker-owned masa co-op that launched in Philadelphia about a year ago is looking to test its concept on a larger scale in 2023.
Why it matters: Masa Cooperativa, organized by Philly restaurateur Ben Miller, is designed to legally provide work to undocumented folks in the city and give them ownership of their business.
Driving the news: The co-op is harvesting its maize as the year comes to a close, Miller told Axios. It'll then be dried and steeped through a process of nixtamalization before it's turned into dough to be sold to restaurants.
- The cooperative, meanwhile, is gearing up to triple its output next year.
State of play: Miller and four other members, three of whom are undocumented, make up the co-op.
- They spent the past year working out logistics, including how to make the operation sustainable and how to ensure undocumented immigrants can work legally for the business.
Between the lines: Undocumented workers are unable to file employment papers, but Miller said Masa Cooperativa's model provides a path forward by giving those workers co-ownership of the business.
- "Nobody is working illegally as an employee because work is criminalized if you don't have papers but owning a business is not," said Miller, who's also behind the People's Kitchen.
- "We want to do everything really to the letter [of the law] so that our business is going to be able to sustain itself, pick up speed quickly and scale, and hopefully do a lot of good for a lot of people."
By the numbers: The co-op worked with four farms in the state this year, including at The Rodale Institute, an organic farming research nonprofit in Berks County. They planted blue, red and white corn on nearly six acres.
- Farmers have harvested more than 3,000 pounds of the co-op's maize so far.
What's next: Miller wants to secure more storage facilities. If they could harvest and store more masa, they can then grow their restaurant customer base, he said.
- Miller also hopes to open a storefront at The People’s Kitchen where the co-op could potentially sell small amounts of freshly ground masa to customers.