Learning cooperativism by living it – Basque Country
30 September 2026
Meet TAZEBAEZ, the Basque cooperative showing organisations from around the world that cooperation is not just a business model, but a way of learning, leading, and building resilient communities.
Based in the Basque Country, Spain, TAZEBAEZ is a worker cooperative dedicated to territorial development, social innovation, and education. Through strategic consulting, communication, business development, and international learning programmes, it helps organisations place people at the centre of sustainable transformation.
The story of TAZEBAEZ began more than fifteen years ago when a group of young entrepreneurs enrolled in the very first cohort of the LEINN (Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation) degree at Mondragon University. They did not know exactly what awaited them, but they were attracted by a different way of learning and doing business. Their curiosity and willingness to embrace new challenges eventually led them to create a cooperative of their own. Even the name they chose, Tazebaez (meaning “And why not?” in Basque) captures this entrepreneurial spirit and openness to experimentation.
Today, TAZEBAEZ has grown into a cooperative of 35 professionals, 19 of whom are worker-members, supported by an international network of collaborators across Europe, Asia, and the United States.
While the cooperative has expanded significantly since its beginnings, its mission remains unchanged: to help people and organisations develop sustainable projects through collaboration and human-centred innovation.
The cooperative is structured among four pillars: Education (Travelling U), Communication (Make it Visual), Strategic Consulting (bira) and Business-building (Innkubo).”
“At TZBZ, we believe the complex challenges of modern business cannot be solved in isolation. Whether we are designing a strategic roadmap (bira)or leading a global immersion (Travelling U), our methodology is always rooted in radical collaboration. We don’t just work for you; we build with you, placing people and cooperative values at the heart of every decision.”
Education remains at the heart of everything TAZEBAEZ does. Through its educational branch, Travelling U, the cooperative designs international Learning Expeditions that connect students, professionals, entrepreneurs, and executives with innovative ecosystems around the world. One of its flagship programmes invites participants to the Basque Country, where they experience first-hand how the Mondragon cooperative ecosystem operates through visits to cooperatives, universities, and local institutions. Rather than teaching cooperation only in classrooms, TAZEBAEZ believes the most powerful learning comes from experiencing it directly.
This philosophy also shapes the way the cooperative itself is governed. Although TAZEBAEZ has a CEO and a President, decision-making is based on democratic participation and co-responsibility. Cooperative members follow the principle of “one person, one vote,” while assemblies and dedicated participatory sessions ensure that the wider team also contributes to important decisions. According to the cooperative, involving people in governance creates stronger commitment and keeps everyone aligned with the organisation’s shared purpose. It is also the same governance model they introduce to participants during their international learning programmes.
The cooperative’s workforce also reflects its values. More than half of the team are women, the average age is around 30, and its members come from diverse cultural backgrounds. International mobility, continuous learning, and cross-cultural immersion are considered opportunities for personal and professional growth rather than employee benefits alone. Instead of rigid career paths, TAZEBAEZ encourages each person to contribute where their talents and passions can have the greatest impact.
For the members themselves, being part of a cooperative means much more than sharing ownership. It offers the possibility of aligning everyday work with personal values while taking collective responsibility for the organisation’s social, economic, and environmental impact. As cooperative member Joanes Roso explains, “Although it is impossible to be 100% coherent in all our habits and decisions, belonging to and working in a cooperative allows you to feel more satisfied with the impact of your own actions.”
Like many organisations working internationally, TAZEBAEZ has had to adapt to an increasingly unpredictable world. Climate change, geopolitical instability, and economic uncertainty have all made international collaboration more challenging. At the same time, the cooperative is managing a generational transition as new members join while preserving its founding culture. Rather than seeing these changes as obstacles, TAZEBAEZ views them as opportunities to strengthen cooperation, relying on its global network of partners and fostering mutual learning between experienced and newer members.
Collaboration extends well beyond the cooperative itself. TAZEBAEZ works closely with Mondragon University, Florida Universitaria, the Mondragon Corporation, and numerous cooperative organisations and public institutions in Spain and abroad. These partnerships allow the cooperative to co-create educational programmes, support territorial development, and promote cooperative entrepreneurship internationally. For TAZEBAEZ, cooperation is not simply a subject of study, it is the foundation upon which every project is built.
At the core of TAZEBAEZ’s work lies what it calls a “Culture of Care.” The cooperative believes meaningful social impact begins by prioritising the people behind every project. Its programmes seek to foster empathy, diversity, and ethical leadership while helping participants understand different cultures and perspectives. Whether through international learning expeditions or local consultancy projects, the cooperative aims to demonstrate that sustainable development is only possible when people work together.
Looking ahead, TAZEBAEZ hopes to continue connecting organisations from around the world with the Basque cooperative ecosystem. By creating spaces where people can learn directly from successful cooperative experiences, the cooperative believes it can inspire more resilient organisations, stronger communities, and a new generation of leaders who see collaboration not as an alternative, but as the most effective path towards lasting change.
A true example of learning through cooperation.
TAZEBAEZ is a member of the Basque cooperative movement and actively collaborates with cooperative organisations and networks at regional, national, European, and international levels.