24 Karat
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Food is where we started
24 Karat helps people turn local ideas into organizations they can build and run together.
You don’t need a business plan. You don’t need to know what kind of organization this will be. You can start with an idea.
What 24 Karat is
24 Karat is a place where people organize themselves to build things together. The group has its own name. 24 Karat is not the product.
Food is the root. Organizing is the idea. Communities build the future.
Start with an idea
You don’t need a name, a business plan, or an organizational structure yet. Start with the thing you wish your neighborhood had.
Origin
We wanted to build a food business differently — locally, collectively, and with the people around it.
The more we thought about it, the bigger the question became.
What if people didn’t have to wait for someone else to build what their neighborhood needed?
What if they could organize themselves and build it together?
That’s where 24 Karat came from. We tried to build something ourselves, and that experience led to a bigger idea.
The philosophy
Sometimes the thing your neighborhood needs doesn’t exist yet.
That doesn’t always mean someone needs to start a company and sell it to you. Sometimes a group of people can come together and build it themselves.
24 Karat gives them a place to start.
How an idea becomes real
Idea. People. Conversation. Decision. Action. Meeting. Progress. Next action. An idea becomes real because people keep moving it forward.
Idea
Someone names a hope. A sentence is enough. You do not need a business plan.
An idea becomes real because people keep moving it forward.
Around here
Who. What. Where. What’s happening. What’s needed. What’s next. Not a directory. A picture of work already underway.
Example · not a live group
18 people · Chicago, IL, 60615
Building
A neighborhood food cooperative
What’s happening
What should we buy together first?
What’s next
First neighborhood meeting · Saturday
What’s needed
Someone to compare bulk suppliers
Example · not a live group
7 people · Chicago, IL, 60637
Building
A neighborhood bulk purchasing group
What’s happening
What should we buy together?
What’s next
Supplier research
What’s needed
Someone to compare prices
Example · not a live group
12 people · Chicago, IL, 60619
Building
A shared kitchen
What’s happening
Finding a space we can cook in together
What’s needed
A potential space
Example · not a live group
The website gets out of the way. The group becomes the product. This picture of Hyde Park Food Cooperative is labeled so it is not mistaken for a live group.
What should we do next?
Eighteen people are interested. Pick a room, a time, and what you hope to leave knowing.
Becoming real
18
people involved
2
gatherings held
3
decisions made
5
actions completed
Next gathering: Saturday · 11:00 AM · Library meeting room
Decision made
We’ll start by buying flour, oats, and coffee together.
Then someone has to compare prices.
Action
Compare prices from three suppliers.
Waiting for someone · I’ll take this
We need
Someone to compare bulk food suppliers.
Your turn
Some things are better when we build them together. Start with a wish. Find people. Figure it out. Meet. Do the first thing. Keep going.
Start something