About
Welcome to Open Web Systems
We are a worker co-op, providing open source email and collaborative tools, which are free from surveillance and powered by renewable energy – as an alternative to the “free” options offered by the big corporates.
Mission
We are on a mission to grow the cooperative commons.
Silke Helfrich and David Bollier, the authors of Free, Fair and Alive, define commons as “…living social systems through which people address their shared problems in self-organized ways.”
We expand the vision of the commons by focusing on building cooperatively owned and managed enterprises, which we see as the most ethical and equitable ownership structure for business.
Profit for a purpose
Open Web Systems uses profits for a purpose. 100% of our profits are reinvested in the business, and our related projects, to help grow the cooperative commons.
Cooperation in action
Open Web Systems is a collaboration between The Open Co-op and Collective Tools, both of which are worker co-ops working on creating a more ethical, equitable world.
The Open Co-op was founded in 2004. We have produced several conferences on platform co-ops and run a range of collaborative projects to help create decentralised collaboration at scale.
