I apologize for waiting over a month to update my blog but my schedule has not given me enough time (or internet connection) to commit to writing & posting pictures.
A quick update: I have been in Nicaragua for 4 weeks already & am taking two classes: Women's History & Political Science. I live with a wonderful host family in Managua & stayed for two nights with a family in Miraflor. The Reserve of Miraflor is in the Northern part of the country. I spent two weekends hanging out with my host family in Managua, another relaxing in Laguna Apoyo & one weekend walking around Masaya/Granada. To see photos go to the Nicaragua tab.
My time here in Central America is coming to an end (ONLY 2 weeks left- yikes!). I have so much to share about the my experience in Nicaragua, but for sake of time & for personal reflection, I would like to share a little bit about my experience with Cooperatives as a whole in Central America. (Sorry, it's a long one!)
A quick update: I have been in Nicaragua for 4 weeks already & am taking two classes: Women's History & Political Science. I live with a wonderful host family in Managua & stayed for two nights with a family in Miraflor. The Reserve of Miraflor is in the Northern part of the country. I spent two weekends hanging out with my host family in Managua, another relaxing in Laguna Apoyo & one weekend walking around Masaya/Granada. To see photos go to the Nicaragua tab.
My time here in Central America is coming to an end (ONLY 2 weeks left- yikes!). I have so much to share about the my experience in Nicaragua, but for sake of time & for personal reflection, I would like to share a little bit about my experience with Cooperatives as a whole in Central America. (Sorry, it's a long one!)
What are Cooperatives?
A cooperative is a group/community of people that join together to work, farm land, or run a business. They usually end up sharing some type of benefits, whether it be their income as a whole or certain common amenities like scholarships, donations, etc. Cooperatives start for many different reasons depending on the context of the community. Cooperatives in the U.S. and around the world have started and continue to function for/in many different ways.
Cooperatives create an alternative lifestyle that promotes the community to be self-sustaining, prosperous and unified. By alternative, I mean a different lifestyle than people fending for themselves or their family; instead a group of people all work together to provide for the community and to fight the effects of the neoliberal, capitalist world we live in. Most decisions (if not all) are made democratically, and educating their members is given high importance. Usually, the plot of land or "business" is owned together, rather than only by one individual.
The biggest thing I noticed that cooperatives do is give the poor, marginalized peasants a voice. The cooperatives can work together to be successful and self-sustaining. They can work hard to earn their income but also benefit from outside donations to send their children to school or build/create what the community needs.
Cooperatives create an alternative lifestyle that promotes the community to be self-sustaining, prosperous and unified. By alternative, I mean a different lifestyle than people fending for themselves or their family; instead a group of people all work together to provide for the community and to fight the effects of the neoliberal, capitalist world we live in. Most decisions (if not all) are made democratically, and educating their members is given high importance. Usually, the plot of land or "business" is owned together, rather than only by one individual.
The biggest thing I noticed that cooperatives do is give the poor, marginalized peasants a voice. The cooperatives can work together to be successful and self-sustaining. They can work hard to earn their income but also benefit from outside donations to send their children to school or build/create what the community needs.
How are they formed?
In my experience, the cooperatives I visited were formed because it was the only way the members of the community could and can survive. To understand their context, I had to recognize two events. First, these communities were affected by war & second, structural adjustments that were made within their economy left the poor even poorer.
Guatemala's civil war lasted from 1960-96, Nicaragua's civil war was 1981-90 and El Salvador was in war during 1980-92 - Costa Rica is a special case that I will discuss below. After any war, the people, the economy, and the society as a whole are in a tough situation of recovering from the devastation, loss and uproar while trying to find jobs and ways to live. Usually, jobs are scarce & people don't have many (if any) options. What do poor communities do then?
Structural adjustments were made in almost all of these countries during the implementation of Neoliberal policies in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A major effect of these policies is leaving the weak behind, which are usually the already poor.
Through the effects of both the war and structural adjustments, people and communities have been marginalized, suffer from poverty and are forgotten about by the government and the rest of society.
Generally, cooperatives are formed to build a community that shares the desire of being more equal among each other by all having an equal load of responsibility in many different parts of the community/business.
Guatemala's civil war lasted from 1960-96, Nicaragua's civil war was 1981-90 and El Salvador was in war during 1980-92 - Costa Rica is a special case that I will discuss below. After any war, the people, the economy, and the society as a whole are in a tough situation of recovering from the devastation, loss and uproar while trying to find jobs and ways to live. Usually, jobs are scarce & people don't have many (if any) options. What do poor communities do then?
Structural adjustments were made in almost all of these countries during the implementation of Neoliberal policies in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A major effect of these policies is leaving the weak behind, which are usually the already poor.
Through the effects of both the war and structural adjustments, people and communities have been marginalized, suffer from poverty and are forgotten about by the government and the rest of society.
Generally, cooperatives are formed to build a community that shares the desire of being more equal among each other by all having an equal load of responsibility in many different parts of the community/business.
How do they function?
MiraFlor, Nicaragua
This cooperative was my most recent visit. Even though there are three cooperatives within this community, we met & lived with the families of a few women in the women's cooperative. They have about six committees that include raising cattle, growing vegetables, producing coffee, hosting tourists, educating their children and managing the finances. There is an administration board of elected women who oversee the cooperative. They rely on donations from private companies and people to help run the primary/secondary school, hire teachers and send their children to University. This cooperative specifically gave a voice to women. After the war there were more women because many of the men had died fighting. There was a new responsibility for women to bring in an income, gain self-esteem and make their own decisions. This changed the dynamic for the family and empowered women to make bigger decisions about the family, including how many children she wants to have. |
Grupo Cajola, Guatemala
Grupo Cajola is organized in a similar manner to the Women's Cooperative in Miraflor. A major difference is that a man (who had migrated illegally to the U.S.) and a woman from New Jersey started this cooperative to empower poor, rural women & to keep people from having to migrate. This cooperative focuses on women's voices too, because many of them were left to fend and provide for their families while their husbands migrated to the U.S. Grupo Cajola provides funding and opportunity for women to become educated, skilled workers in many different areas. The women get to complete their schooling (since most of them didn't finish primary school), learn a skill (like weaving), and have a voice in how they provide for their family, too. They have many committees like Miraflor but the one I learned most about was their textile weaving & preschool committee. Through the help of selling their products and private donations the women are able to provide food for their children, become educated and skilled and become empowered to change the reality of their community. |
Longo Mai, Costa Rica
This community is unique for a few different reasons. First, it's roots are based in Europe. Cooperative communities there provided funding/inspiration for a community to be created in Costa Rica that promotes an alternative, self-sustaining lifestyle. Here, they focus on permaculture (growing all different types of plants/animals in one area) instead of monoculture (where only one plant/animal is grown on a piece of land).
The community quickly became a temporary home for Nicaraguan refugees and a permanent home for Salvadoran refugees and poor, peasant Costa Ricans. This cooperative gives a voice to the poor & those who choose to live their life differently.
They receive donations and support from Europeans to help children go to school. There are many committees also, but they work a little differently. People first grow enough food to feed their family, then they sell the extra food to earn money. Some committees include tourism, education, harvesting of coffee and sugar cane. This community included more self-sufficient members but still had an attitude of pure unity.
The community quickly became a temporary home for Nicaraguan refugees and a permanent home for Salvadoran refugees and poor, peasant Costa Ricans. This cooperative gives a voice to the poor & those who choose to live their life differently.
They receive donations and support from Europeans to help children go to school. There are many committees also, but they work a little differently. People first grow enough food to feed their family, then they sell the extra food to earn money. Some committees include tourism, education, harvesting of coffee and sugar cane. This community included more self-sufficient members but still had an attitude of pure unity.
Nueva Esperanza, El Salvador
For two days this past January, I stayed in a rural community called Nueva Esperanza. This was my first experience with cooperatives & set a base for my interest in these types of communities. Nueva Esperanza worked a bit differently than all three of the cooperatives I visited this fall. There was a president, vice president and board of the cooperative who were elected every year to maintain things. They have committees that include harvesting coconuts, sugar cane and corn, raising cattle. There are also many small businesses and stores within the rural community. The biggest difference is that this community gets paid for its productions once a year. At the end of the year, everything gets tallied up and distributed into the community depending on your hours of work. On a side note: Some day, I will write something about my time in El Salvador! |
Why am I sharing this with you?
I found my experience with cooperatives to be such a different experience for many reasons. Through the community engagement and unity of cooperatives, I saw people coming together to make a better living situation for themselves, as individuals, and for the community as a whole. I saw them sharing the wealth & responsibility rather than the profit going to a middle man or the executives of a company, while the bottom of the chain gets very little. I saw the marginalized and poor pushing past their "society set realities" and gaining a voice to work toward not only putting food on their table but also becoming successful agents in the world. I saw women being given the opportunity to gain their voice outside of the "boundaries" of their husbands and the four walls of their house. And lastly, I saw the power of communities that struggle together, work together, succeed together and LIVE TOGETHER.
How can YOU support them?
That's a great question because there are a few options:
And here is just a good article that talks about Cooperatives & how they can benefit you: http://www.alnmag.com/articles/2010/08/how-cooperative-purchasing-can-help-you-save-valuable-time-and-money
- Get educated! You might be surprised that some of the local products you buy come from some sort of cooperative, or that Minnesota has many local cooperatives (especially food ones). They function differently than the ones here in Central America but have similarities. Here is a few links to get you started: http://www.coopdirectory.org & http://www.cooperativenetwork.coop
- Buy from cooperatives! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cooperatives#United_States
- Donate! The money goes specifically to the cooperative for them to use how they need it. Most times the money is to help someone get educated, which is an important step to fighting against poverty. It is amazing how far the money we donate goes, I was able to see it first hand. Here are the sites of two of the cooperatives I just talked about, http://www.grupocajola.org and http://www.sonador.info/en/index.html, or find one of your own!
And here is just a good article that talks about Cooperatives & how they can benefit you: http://www.alnmag.com/articles/2010/08/how-cooperative-purchasing-can-help-you-save-valuable-time-and-money