History

GEODE was born out of a major INCO strike in 1992. The faltering job market conditions brought interested community members together to seek out grassroots solutions to local economic issues.

The programs GEODE has offered have been many and varied, but all have sought to maximize local talent and resources to address the needs of the most disadvantaged.

Initial programs included a bartering system for goods and services, a community supported agriculture program and a food security program called The Good Food Box. Later on, thoughts turned to local transportation.

In the 1990s Geode was involved in the creation of a Local Exchange Trading System (LETS). This system provided an alternative unit of currency to participants, this unit of currency could essentially be measured in services and goods as opposed to dollars and cents. Rather than paying one another in federal currency, a system was set up that allowed participants to pay and be paid with services and goods instead of money.

For many years GEODE operated RideShare, a community transportation co-operative, designed to alleviate transportation barriers for families with young children. Volunteer drivers assisted eligible individuals in getting around town and were reimbursed for their costs.

Just as GEODE aims to empower individuals in their own lives, we also encourage our programs to evolve and become autonomous, as with the Foodshed Project. GEODE developed and fostered this program to assist in building true food security in our area.

For over a decade, the jewel of GEODE’s programs has been the Stepping Stones Entrepreneurship program. Currently our flagship program, Stepping Stones has helped establish dozens of small business in the City of Sudbury through business skills training and peer managed micro-loans.