wrote on Sep 27^th, 2009 at 1:19pm:

Yes,that's understandable but if there are enough seriously minded people to start the ball rolling and some kind of entry fee just to sharpen that commitment,who knows.... I was thinking more along the lines  increased selling power perhaps.Equipment sharing could prove slightly more difficult. 20 individuals each taking 1 ton of carobs will get the going rate and will be at the mercy of the mill owner,they after all are a business not a charity.However a far better price could be negotiated for 1 load of 20 tonnes either to a mill or direct to the end user.

Looks like cactus jack has more or less answered that one.  The buying power point was based on the complaints I've seen on here about prices for timber etc.  What items do we probably all buy ?  Blocks, aggregates, timber, chemicals, irrigation materials etc. where I think perhaps better prices could be negotiated.  having said that, a lot of it is having inside info as to where the locals would go to buy their stuff.  I have a couple of good sources for irrigation, chemicals and blocks.  Still looking for reasonable timber (that isn't 100 mile round trip away).