Half a century ago, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world, with rural life particularly harsh. In the aftermath of the Korean War, devastated communities were suffering from chronic food shortages. A government-led push created an agricultural cooperative system to revive the rural economy, eradicate poverty and improve the socio-economic status […]
Pulling Nigerians Out of Poverty
Nigeria, the “Giant of Africa”, has the continent’s largest population and economy, now worth over $500 billion thanks in large part to its oil reserves. This wealth, however, has not stopped 60% of Nigerians living in extreme poverty, nor youth unemployment being close to 80%. Peter Obiorah, president of the De Parach Multipurpose Co-operative Society, […]
Celebrating the success of the co-operative cuppa
Tea is enjoyed by many people many times a day. So it’s refreshing to know that thanks to Essential Trading you can choose a cuppa that will make a real difference to the livelihoods of thousands of people involved in co-operative, biodynamic tea production. Egypt is not the first country that springs to mind when […]
Kigayaza Youth Co-operative, Kayunga District, Uganda
Kigayaza members not only sell products together, but they also have shared projects including pigs and growing trees. They concentrate on sharing information with each other, including through training and meetings which they see as a way to build each others knowledge. They have received a series of sensitisation and training meetings provided by Uganda […]
Youngest cooperative in Lower-Austria supports members and the region
Nearly every tourist who visits Lower Austria stops for a pleasant stay in Wachau. The unique cultural landscape around the Danube is characterized by steep vineyards, which are edged from natural stone walls and bordered by apricot trees. Wachaus wine is famous all around the world. The apricot trees excite visitors in the springtime with […]
Transforming African Farmers into Cooperative Entrepreneurs
Mozambique sits on the coast of southeastern Africa, blessed with fertile soil, but suffering the effects of difficult transportation and little communication infrastructure in its rural areas. 81 percent of its population contributes to its agriculture production, which amounts to nearly one third of the countrys GDP. Since 1995, CLUSA International (CLUSA), a program of […]
Reconciling interests to make big business
The wine trellises fill the fertile valley floor of Rotaliana. It is often described as the most beautiful wine garden in Europe. Striking for its modernity in this region of Trentino, northern Italy, rich with Roman ruins and medieval buildings, is a steel-enmeshed three story office block with a low-lying grass roofed tasting building. This […]
The Amazon’s Unexpected Chocolatiers
The indigenous Kichwa live deep in Ecuadors Amazonian rainforest, a region whose particular climate and geology conditions are ideal for growing cacao, especially the rare Cacao Nacional variety, prized for its floral, fruity, black peppery flavor. But for years, the beans fetched meager prices about 20 cents a pound as the Kichwa sold their harvest […]
Saving the Potatoes of the Andes
The potato was originally domesticated around the shores of Lake Titicaca, and the Andes are still home to thousands of potato varieties. Potatoes here come in a rainbow of colours: red, pink, purple, yellow, orange, black, blue. This invaluable wealth of genetic diversity is at risk from increasing agricultural standardization and climate change, but a […]
The Sweet Scent of Community Empowerment
Get close to a tourist in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and you might catch the light fragrance of lavender. Ask them about it and they will describe the finely packaged bars of soap in their hotel room and the delicate aroma that lingers with them throughout the day. Drive a short distance up the […]