In 1985, several small groups of indigenous people throughout the Sierra area of the state of Oaxaca had begun to meet and reflect on the difficulty of the life for the rural, indigenous farmer. Such farmers are often exploited by the "middlemen" who buy their produce at a low price and sell it for much higher. From these reflection meetings, the groups began to form small community stores to sell their produce themselves. This was the beginning of the resource sharing and cooperative work that forms the backbone of C.C.C. Through a natural progression, the project began to grow and in 1995, C.C.C. officially formed with 49 farmers. Today, over 600 farmers play an active role in the cooperative.

Due to the mountainous geography of the state of Oaxaca, the farmland varies greatly over a small area, thus so do the crops grown. C.C.C. saw the need for centralized warehouses, where the various products could be easily distributed to the various community store. Today, there are three warehouses, which enable the farmers products to be easily available in all areas of the state.

Mission: To produce quality, organic products and market them directly to the consumer.

When new farmers are seeking to become members of the cooperative, the executive committee must ensure that they meet certain criteria:

• They must be a farmer.
• They must be fair and just in their business dealings, never taking advantage of others.
• They must be willing to struggle together with their brothers and sisters in the cooperative.

Lessons Learned

In 1996, the first committee of C.C.C. formed, to focus on marketing. The group struggled with buyers paying a lower price for their product because they claimed it was "dirty." When the committee investigated, they found that through the transportation of their product from the mountains to market, the produce picked up dirt, trash, and other undesirable properties. The decision was made to buy machinery which would clean their products. In the true cooperative spirit, the cost of the machine was divided among the participating farmers, with each family paying into the cost according to how much they used the machine.

Why Organic?

In the late 90's, farmers in the mountains of Oaxaca began the widespread use of pesticides and chemicals. Politicians saw the farmers' desire to produce crops more efficiently and began giving away or cheaply sell pesticides and chemical fertilizer in exchange for votes. Several communities developed health problems in reaction to the use of chemicals, which affected both the farmers and community members. C.C.C. was seeking an alternative away from political corruption that would care for the earth and the health of the community. In 1998, C.C.C. began the three year certification process to become organic produces, which they have just completed.

Struggles

Though one must not be indigenous to join the cooperative, 80%-90% of the members are. In the diverse area of Oaxaca, there are over 16 different ethnic tribes, each with their own language. Because many of the cooperative members never completed more than a first-grade education, many have never learned to speak Spanish, but only speak their native language used in their community. The cooperative must struggle to overcome these language gaps. "It's very hard, but we take our time," explains cooperative member Gerardo Pacheco Rodriguez.

What the members of the cooperative like best about C.C.C.

I am most proud that:

"We elected to form the organization ourselves and our decisions are made democratically" - Lupe

 

"The people are organized and we decide everything together." - Gerardo

 

"That we are producing organically. I am proud that we aren't destroying the land with chemical and our children have a future." - Ageo

Projects

• Production of organic crops, including sesame seeds, chilies, and peanuts.
  
  
• Marketing of organic crops - Though the group has been successful with their domestic marketing, they are soon hoping to export their products.
  
  
• Organic cattle project - This new projects hopes to deliver safe, organic milk products throughout their communities.
  
  
• Value-Added Processing - The group has begun a tortilla factory and will soon expand with projects to make sesame oil, sesame candies, and jams and jellies.

Future Plans

Soon, the group will receive a machine they have purchased from Korea to process their sesame seeds to sesame oil on a large scale. The cost of shipping will cost more than the machine itself.

The organic cattle project will soon be fully certified, ready to produce organic milk, yogurt, and cheese to be marketed throughout the community stores.

A Project of The Rural Coalition
1012 14th Street NW Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 628-7160 Fax (202) 628-7165
Toll Free 1-866-RURAL-80