The article describes the narratives of three cooperatives from Maribor – BikeLab, Kooperativa Dame and Zadruga Dobrina. The author attempts to discover if it is possible to understand the aforementioned groups as mechanisms for the production of counterpower. The narratives, built through semi-structured interviews, are enhanced with key information, critique and analysis given by the head of the Centre of Alternative and Autonomous Production, Karolina Babič. Kaja Fiedler and Urša Breznik, two developers of the programe Združimo se! (Unite!), also contribute to the discussion by intertwining theory, fieldwork and criticism to position cooperativism in Maribor within the social, political and economic reality.