COOPELECHEROS R.L. is a savings and credit cooperative for dairy producers who are members of the Cooperative of Dairy Producers R.L. (COOPROLE R.L.) Dos Pinos. The founding assembly of the cooperative took place on December 9, 1994, at 10:00 a.m., in the Chamber of Ranchers Hall in San Carlos. The cooperative was established in response to the economic difficulties affecting the dairy sector, aiming to strengthen the group and seek a collective solution to the serious issues they were facing due to high production costs and a lack of economic resources. At the time, market interest rates were too high for financing, making it difficult to improve their economic, social, and cultural conditions.
In the founding assembly, the members agreed to contribute the equivalent of 1% of their weekly milk sales as a capital contribution to the cooperative. This money would be invested in the Cooperative of Dairy Producers R.L. (COOPROLE R.L.) in a special retention account for security, assistance, and support of the cooperative.
In 1997, the general assembly of members approved changing the weekly contribution from 1% to a fixed quota. On December 16, 1994, the board of directors decided to appoint Mr. Gerardo Rojas Barquero, a Dos Pinos employee and a forestry engineer by profession, as the general manager of the cooperative. Mr. Rojas, a Costa Rican, married, and a resident of Ciudad Quesada, San Carlos, provided his services to the cooperative on a voluntary basis.
On June 2, 1995, after considering several candidates, the board of directors and the general manager appointed Ms. Flor de María Acuña Rodríguez (deceased), a Costa Rican, single, and a business administrator, as the cooperative’s administrator, with no fixed term.
In July 1996, the cooperative was legally registered with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security under resolution No. C-1011, dated July 31, 1996, and was accepted by the General Superintendency of Financial Institutions (SUGEF). It is recorded in the registers of the Superintendency and the cooperative’s founding charter.
Initially, the cooperative’s general manager worked part-time, and accounting services were subcontracted. The cooperative had a secretary whose salary was subsidized by COOPROLE R.L. with ¢110,000.
At that time, COOPELECHEROS R.L. operated from a small office in COOPROLE R.L.’s facilities in San Carlos, provided by COOPROLE R.L. itself. From 1997 to 2000, the cooperative operated from the Chamber of Ranchers’ offices in San Carlos. Starting in 1998, the cooperative began issuing its first loans to members.
By the end of 2000, the cooperative rented an office located 600 meters east of the cathedral in Ciudad Quesada. At that point, the staff included a general manager, an accountant, two credit analysts, a secretary, and a service window for Banco Popular y de Desarrollo Comunal. The cooperative was serving 417 active members. Today, COOPELECHEROS R.L. has more than 802 active members nationwide and a capital of ¢540,218,574 (as of March 31, 2010), steadily growing over time with one goal: to strengthen the dairy producer sector associated with COOPROLE R.L. through savings, loans, and various services.
In 2004, the COOPELECHEROS R.L. building, constructed with contributions from the members, was inaugurated next to the Dos Pinos plant in Ciudad Quesada.
As of today, COOPELECHEROS has more than 1,200 members throughout Costa Rica.
Find out more about COOPELECHEROS R.L. via their website:
coopelecheros.com
Also, you can check them out on social media:
