film

In a collapsing economy what can individuals and companies do for a more sustainable and mutually beneficial future? Alt-Orgs provides a look at alternative organizations - from Employee Ownership to community cooperatives - and asks if they hold the key to a more sustainable future?

Long Synopsis

Care worker Cathy will lose her job in a nursing home unless she can work with the bankrupt owners to create an Employee Share Owned Company. Despite family opposition, Tushar wants to save his father’s factory in Delhi through employee participation and ownership. Can these pioneers succeed through innovation? Yes, according to Dr Marc Thompson, Oxford University, who advocates a more diverse ‘ecosystem’ of organization models to create a better world of work. 'Alt orgs' range from an eco-village in wartorn Columbia to a co-op restaurant in New York founded by ex Twin Towers employees after 9/11, and to Mondragon Manufacturing, Spain’s 5th biggest company. There is overwhelming evidence that “alt orgs”, with greater worker participation and/or ownership, consistently out perform more traditional organizations in terms of employee satisfaction, long term profit and ability to survive a downturn.

The film will follow compelling individuals facing many challenges as they transform their organizations to become 'alt orgs'. We learn from successful companies, such as paper manufacturers Tullis Russell and chemical giant, Scott Bader Commonwealth as well as centres of excellence such as Emilia Romagna, Italy’s richest region where 80% of social services are provided by co-ops. We will look at how social entrepreneurs are using business models to achieve social change in developing countries through the eyes of poor farmers in West Africa.

The film will inspire viewers with a vision of a new reality and the practical steps they can take to change their lives.