An In-Depth Look into COOPERFAMILIAR
We’ve already introduced to you our 18 seed projects for Moeda’s Pilot Seed Program. And now, we can give you a more in-depth look into several of them, and tell you the stories of the cooperatives and the people in them. We start with the fifth project of the program, COOPERFAMILIAR. (To see our original article, click here.)
The Cooperativa Alternativa da Agricultura Familiar — COOPERFAMILIAR— was established on April 17, 1995. It formed in response to the problems faced by the exclusion of family farmers in the western region of Santa Catarina, mainly in pig and poultry farming. Large agro-industries had become the dominant producers in the region, and would often force the smaller farmers to sell their production for very low prices, leaving them in a difficult financial situation and cause young people to leave. COOPERFAMILIAR focuses largely on dairy production, and in effect united the milk producers region and developed a production and profit sharing program since 2002. It aims to act on the principles of cooperativism, as a form of organization of society, for sustainable development of communities where family farmers are involved, and to use technology and qualification as an instrument for the competitiveness of family agriculture.
COOPERAMILIAR is organized by sectors such as technical assistance, administrative sector, school feeding sector, and milk line industry. It even has the support of a professional cheese maker who will lead the training of those who make the products in the unit. The management of the cooperative as a whole is adequate and in balance. For the dairy, at this time in general the cooperative does not have day-to-day experience of a dairy in both management, manufacturing and marketing. For this, it still counts on the support of UNICAFES and UCAF. The cooperative is in good standing with the government and has environmental credentials by being the only producer in the region with a progressive system of waste treatment through tanks rather than dumping or creating runoff. Their target audience is generally family farmers who will be the suppliers of their own raw materials and also the beneficiaries of the leftovers from processing, since all are members of the dairy and strategic management and will be formed by an extended group of partners. They hope to be able to sell directly to bakeries, restaurants, and supermarkets in the near future. Regarding the products, like strawberry and coconut yogurt, what sets it apart from other producers is that it comes from the agro-industry of the family agriculture and is managed by the owners, and the production of the raw material-milk is focused on the pasture generating final products of better quality and with lower prices. The cooperative today has a woman as president and has organized a collective of women in its organizational structure. Training actions on gender are carried out and in the daily work of the cooperative, and there is involvement of men and women in the work and the dairy is another actions of strengthening the collective work, since the families involved are the majority of the women responsible for the dairy activity.
COOPERFAMILIAR has seen many alternative proposals for the organization since its founding, including the construction of channels for transferring agricultural credit to farmers, through the partnership with Banco Brasil, the transfer of pasture and seed exchange to farmers, as well as the organization of groups for the production of creole seeds, the construction of a partnership with NGOs, such as Apaco (association of small farmers in the West of Santa Catarina). In 2002, in partnership with the municipality of Chapecó, the first national experience of acquiring the products of family farming for school feeding in the municipality was carried out. In the year 2006, the cooperative was was added to the Food Acquisition Program (PAA), and from 2011 onwards, the cooperative has been building and deepening the productive inclusion debate and consolidating areas of activity and marketing of products such as school feeding and representation of cooperative family agriculture in the region with bases in solidarity economy.
In 2011, the dairy agro-industry project started to develop, but had limited potential, because the cooperative didn’t have access or the capital to purchase the necessary facilities and machinery. Unsurprisingly, the also faced serious obstacles in obtaining government loans due to the notorious red tape of Brazil’s bureaucracy. This is where Moeda comes in. The nearly 187,000 USD in microloans it provided will be able to start up COOPERFAMILIAR’s agribusiness in full force. The complex now has an effluent treatment structure, and will have a system of photovoltaic energy capture with capacity for processing 6,000 liters of milk per day. It will produce pasteurized milk, various types of cheese, butter and other by-products that will bring a higher value added, providing greater return to the cooperative, bringing real impact on the lives of families and communities. Currently, COOPERFAMILIAR’s milk production program has 31 producers, who will be benefiting directly from their families. Now let’s meet some of the extraordinary women who help run the cooperative (remember, Moeda’s specifically supports projects that are led and have extensive participation by women). Note: ‘Dona’ means a Brazilian woman of rank, analogous to ‘Mrs.’ as a title.
Dona Lourdes.
The mother of 5 children and grandmother of 8 grandchildren, everyday she has the routine of handling the cows in the pasture. Between herding the animals across the grass, the milking of the cows, and all the care with the family, she aims to raise the value of the dairy production, and thus, to improve the structure, its equipment, and to buy more cows, being able to show to her grandchildren that the life in the field can be prosperous. Her dream? To keep the family close and close to their work.
Dona Claudia
What a woman, what a struggle, what a story! Claudia is always accompanied by her husband Mr. Arlindo’s for all hours. Mr. Arlindo lost his leg about a year ago because of a thrombosis, Claudia also takes care of her father-in-law, who has Alzheimer’s. As much as the story sounds sad, it does not take life that way. She currently has help from her daughter Arivane and they are always surrounded by the joy of little their Luis who always brings light wherever he goes. With the difficult routine of a dairy farmer, she is always holding her head high, overflowing with pride and confidence. Their dream is that Mr. Arlinodo learns quickly to understand the prosthesis so that they can dance together again at the dances they used to attend. With the increase in the sale value of milk, hopefully they’ll be able to increase the number of animals they have and improve the structure of the farm for their daughter.
Dona Helena
Mother of 3 children and 2 grandchildren, everyone else has already left the field in search of a life with more opportunity. Vain and overly concerned with the organization of the house, she is passionate about animals. Vanity does not stop her from doing the work that life requires, milking cows twice a day, needing her husband’s help in grazing, and carrying containers full of milk weighing more than 50 kg. With the operation of the agroindustry she intends to increase the amount of dairy cows in its property. The joy she and her husband convey and the harmony they have are simply inspiring!
Dona Marisa
This woman is unstoppable, working all the time. She receives help from her brother, who can no longer live alone. He suffered a motorcycle accident a few months ago and had suffered brain damage. It is clear the beautiful exchange of family support that happens. With approximately 12 dairy cows on her property, 2 milking a day, and large and distant pastures of the milking barn, she hopes to be able to move the milking site closer to the pasture and thereby reduce the daily commute and improve the quality of life for her family. She has in her gaze a beautiful shyness, with a strength and determination of who commands an empire.
These are just a few of the extraordinary women, on just one of the groundbreaking cooperatives that Moeda is involved with, and we’re so very proud to be! Check back soon for more stories coming from the farms of Brazil!
