---
title: Earthworker Cooperative
type: cooperative
status: active
country: AU
website: https://earthworker.coop
logo: /assets/org-logos/earthworker-cooperative.png
contact:
  checked: 2026-07-30
  form: https://earthworker.coop/contact
  source: https://earthworker.coop/contact
summary: A Victorian network of worker-owned cooperatives focused on clean energy
  manufacturing and services — building a democratic economy as a response to both
  the ecological crisis and economic inequality.
concepts:
- worker-cooperatives
- economic-democracy
- cooperative
location:
  latitude: -38.2466
  longitude: 146.4307
  name: Morwell, Victoria, Australia
rss_feed: https://earthworker.coop/feed
events:
- date: '2011-01-01'
  title: Formally became a registered cooperative, rooted in discussions dating to
    the late 1990s
  url: https://theconversation.com/as-the-latrobe-valley-moves-away-from-coal-jobs-could-a-green-workers-cooperative-offer-a-solution-245850
  quote: Earthworker only formally became a cooperative in 2011, though discussions
    date back to the late 1990s.
  note: Title previously said "1970s Green Bans movement" — corrected to match the
    source, which dates the actual Earthworker discussions to the late 1990s, not
    the unrelated 1970s Green Bans movement.
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-12'
  notable: true
- date: '2016-01-01'
  title: Bought a hot water tank manufacturer in Morwell, becoming the Earthworker
    Energy Manufacturing Cooperative — its flagship worker-owned enterprise
  url: https://theconversation.com/as-the-latrobe-valley-moves-away-from-coal-jobs-could-a-green-workers-cooperative-offer-a-solution-245850
  quote: In 2016, the network bought a hot water tank manufacturer in Morwell and
    began making their own tanks and solar hot water systems as the Earthworker Energy
    Manufacturing Co-operative.
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-12'
  notable: true
activity:
  rss:
    checked: 2026-08-17
    date: 2026-07-13
    note: 'Latest post: Remembering Katherine Cunningham'
    url: https://earthworker.coop/remembering-katherine-cunningham/
last_checked: '2026-05-29'
---

Earthworker Cooperative is a grassroots network of worker-owned cooperatives based in Victoria, Australia. Founded as a response to both the climate crisis and economic inequality, its model is to build community wealth by structuring enterprises as worker cooperatives — where employees are co-owners with equal voice, and profits are distributed locally rather than extracted by external shareholders.

The network operates across several domains:

- **Earthworker Energy Manufacturing Cooperative** (Morwell) — manufactures and installs solar and heat pump hot water systems
- **Earthworker Smart Energy Cooperative** — integrated energy services, helping households and communities benefit from the energy transition
- **HOPE Co-op** — supports young adults from asylum-seeking backgrounds

Antony McMullen, who has spoken at [Designing Open Democracy events on economic democracy](../../blog/posts/2020-06-20-podcast.md), has been involved with the cooperative ecosystem around Earthworker.

## Links

- Website: [earthworker.coop](https://earthworker.coop)
- Energy cooperative: [earthworkerenergy.coop](https://earthworkerenergy.coop)

## See also

- [Worker Cooperatives](../concepts/worker-cooperatives.md)
- [Economic Democracy](../concepts/economic-democracy.md)
- [Cooperative](../concepts/cooperative.md)
- [888 Co-operative Causeway](888-cooperative-causeway.md)
- [Co-operative Bonds](cooperative-bonds.md)