Presentation on the South African Federation
of Burial Society (SAFOBS) Secondary
Co operatives to the
Burial Society Indaba
Date: 28/10/2011
What is a Co-operative?
“an autonomous association of persons united
voluntarily to meet their common
economic, social, and cultural needs and
aspirations through a jointly-owned and
democratically controlled enterprise.”
•
A membership based business organisation
that must generate income for its
sustainability as well as its members.
Principles of Cooperatives
Cooperatives operate on the basis of
principles and ethics of good practice;
• Open and Voluntary Membership
• Democratic Member Control
• Member Economic Participation
• Autonomy and Independence
• Education, Training and Transformation
• Cooperation among Co-operatives
• Concern for Communities
Purpose to which
Coops began
to address the problems of economic and
social development i.e
• Popular ownership of capital and equal
opportunity of education and employment
for all of society
• Confront the potential poverty caused by
replacement and displacement of labour
• Community as a means for human
development
Types of Coops
Service Cooperatives – are cooperatives
established by members to receive decent
services i.e SACCO’s, Consumers, Housing
etc
 Worker Cooperatives – are formed by
members to create decent employment to
themselves i.e construction cooperatives,
agricultural cooperatives etc

Key activities when forming a
cooperative
Development of an idea into a business plan
 Verify and identify your market – do a
feasibility study
 Ensure that among the cooperative members
a skills base for the industry
 Check the funding possibilities for your
idea
 Register yourselves as a cooperative

Support Opportunities
to Cooperatives in SA
SAFOBS-Secondary co operatives
 SANACO – cooperatives movement
 Thedti – has an oversight policy
responsibility
 National Development Agencies (NDA)
 Development Finance Institutions (DFI)
 Provincial Agencies
 Government departments
 Municipalities

SAFOBS believes that...
Cooperatives can create more work and
wealth opportunities to the majority of the
people
 Cooperatives can assist the government to
reach its targets and ultimately eradicate
poverty
 Cooperatives develop communities socially,
economically and culturally

Continue




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Promote the concept and practice of a burial society
– becoming the organized voice of the burial
societies;
Educate and train members in burial society
organization and management;
Share information through quarterly publication of
Burial Society Voice newsletter
Minimize of funeral costs, through bargaining and
own insurance schemes.
Engage in socio-economic projects, including
consumer co-operatives, coffin production and sale
and financial co-operative projects.
Thank You!
Build the co-op burial society movement!
Contact:
Thulane Mabuza
Tel: +27 (0)11 339 1592
Fax: +27 (0)86 606 3177
Mobile: +27 (0)82 677 2146
Email: safobs@webmail.co.za &
thulane@sanaco.org