Co-operative News - Sri Lanka

News From the Congo

Rodney North — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:19:59 +0000

The following post was written by Rodney North, Equal Exchange’s Answer Man

Lately the Democratic Republic of the Congo (aka DRC) has been in the news again, but for the worst reasons. The feared M23 rebel group is on the march in the eastern part of that vast nation. On November 20th they captured the city of Goma, and announced their intent to capture more cities. Meanwhile tens of thousands of Congolese ─ people already displaced by earlier violence ─ have had to flee their refugee camps as the rebels approached. In all about 500,000 people are displaced within the country. A powerful piece this Sunday in the New York Times, “The Worst War” explains in broad strokes what has been going on, and going wrong, in the region and how the DRC came to be this way.

Thanks to a special effort by our Quality Control Manager, Beth Ann Caspersen, we at Equal Exchange now pay special attention to what happens in the DRC, and want to share what we learn. We have a long history of working in war-torn countries, and regions recovering from civil conflict, like Central America and Peru in the 80’s and 90’s, Chiapas, and Sri Lanka. But until 2011 we had never worked in the DRC, partly because the violence there has been going on for so long that its coffee industry had been debilitated and simply conducting any business there was too dangerous, and sometimes impossible. But last year Beth Ann established key relations that have changed all that.

First Beth Ann got to know the Panzi Foundation, whose hospital on the Eastern border of the country provides critical care and rehabilitation assistance to thousands of women who are the victims of Congo’s now infamous gender violence. Beth Ann became determined to find a way to help raise funds for the hospital. That effort soon became our Coffee Congo Project, through which up to $2 from the sale of each package of coffee is donated to the Panzi Foundation.

By the end of 2012 we will have raised $20,000. Recently Beth Ann wrote a powerful piece about her visit to the hospital last month, and the great work she saw being done every day.

But Beth Ann knew that it ideally we would also import coffee from the eastern DRC and thereby help with the revitalization of their local coffee industry. It’s also what we do best, make the coffee trade a tool for economic development and social justice. To that end Beth Ann formed a connection with Joachim Munganga, President and founder of the SOPACDI farmers co-operative.

Last year we begun to buy coffee from SOPACDI and depending upon availability it makes up all of, or part of, the beans we use for this project. So we’re very excited about this parallel approach of working with both the SOPACDI farmers and the Panzi hospital.

But despite this good work we have to remember, and have to remind the US public, just how grim the situation is in the eastern Congo. The reality is very bad, horrific really – like a school shooting repeated every day, all year long. As impossible as that sounds. It’s estimated the country’s brutal warfare has taken about 800 lives each day, every year, for the last 18 years. That adds up to over 5 million killed. And the Congolese women – even more than soldiers and rebels – are the targets of this violence. Rape is a regular weapon in the conflict, affecting hundreds of thousands of women, and is now spreading among non-soldiers, too. It’s at its worst in the eastern Congo.

As we conduct our work in the DRC we’ll keep educating ourselves and updating you and we hope the news will be better in the months and years to come.

Red Chillies

admin — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 16:58:22 +0000

In Sri Lanka, women are extensively involved in agricultural activities. However, the knowledge and attitudes gain by them in a conservative environment are no longer valid to face the challenges. They suffer from inability to obtain fair prices for their produce. Mainly due to the relaxation of import restriction, the situation resulted in decline in prices, especially at harvest times. Due to lack of price and market information, and in the absence of proper storage facilities, they are compelled to sell their produce at a low price. They internally are in debt to the middle man. Though they are given loans at preparatory stages, they are unable to repay them due to crop failure on account of droughts. In a situation where a specific strategy to empower farmers is not in existence, the violence associates with devaluation and disempowerment. Despite these obstacles, Sri Lankan women have a great desire to continue farming. It is in this context, that the invaluable presence of co-operatives brightens their lives. The film was produced by Ms. Samadanie Kiriwandeniya, Sanasa Development Bank and Directed by Rohana Warnakulasooriya.

Full text available to premium subscribers only

Kotikawatta Thrift and Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. (KTCCS)...

AnthonyMurray — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 14:04:49 +0000

Kotikawatta Thrift and Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. (KTCCS) from Sri Lanka has joined the ICA as its 274th Member.

KTCCS provides micro-credit and savings facilities to its members, they are also involved in economic social development in their region.

They have many interesting services for their members and the community including running a clothing outlet, banquet facilities with catering service, events, aesthetic classes, and fitness classes such as yoga.

KTCCS had 6,641 individual members in 2010 and 4,800 in 2006. The population of Sri Lanka is estimated to be 20,860,000 in 2010.

In 2011, they had 12,000 account holders of which 7,000 are members, SLR 126 million (CHF 886,000) in member savings, and gave SLR 722 million (over CHF 5 million) in member loans.

For more information: http://www.sanasakotika.com/ or to join the International Co-operative Alliance visit here.

Cooperatives can offer solutions to hunger and poverty, President of Costa Rica says

Lyne Gagnon — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:16:00 +0000

FAO nominates Special Ambassadors for cooperatives

The cooperative model offers unique solutions to "free people from hunger and poverty in a globalized world in which crises, including climate change, touch everyone", President of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla said in a speech last week at FAO.

Using the example of her country, the President stressed that cooperatives can make a major contribution to sustainable development and the competitiveness of small agricultural producers.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva held up Costa Rica as a model of the economic, social and environmental role cooperatives can play. He cited the production by Costa Rican cooperatives of carbon neutral coffee as an example.

Chinchilla and Graziano da Silva took part in a side event on cooperatives held during the Committee on Commodity Problems meeting at FAO. The event, in the framework of UN International Year of Cooperatives, was also attended by ministers and vice ministers of agriculture of Georgia, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Kenya and Sri Lanka.

Special Ambassadors

Graziano da Silva appointed Elisabeth Atangana and Roberto Rodrígues as Special Ambassadors for Cooperatives, with the mandate to promote the role of cooperatives in the fight against hunger. Atangana, of Cameroon, is president of the Panafrican Farmer Forum and the Sub-Regional Platform of Peasant Organizations of Central Africa. Rodrígues, of Brazil, is president of the Superior Council for Agroindustry of the São Paulo Federation of Industries, former Minister of Agriculture and Supply of Brasil and former president of the International Cooperative Alliance.

Atangana and Rodrigues, who are well known cooperative and farmer associations leaders, were nominated with the support of the main cooperative and agriculture producers organizations in the world, such as the International Alliance of Cooperatives, the World Farmers Organization, the Organization of Peasant Women and The International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty, amongst others.

Atangana committed herself to contribute to the mobilization of all stakeholders, including private and public sector as well as civil society, to combine their efforts to "build a world in which food security and food sovereignty are assured" along with a durable and sustainable development.

Graziano da Silva underlined that Atangana represents the important role of women farmers for African agriculture.

Rodrigues launched a challenge when accepting his nomination: "Let's work together to achieve the Nobel Peace Prize for the international cooperatives movement".

He stressed that cooperatives are the best allies of democratic governments to achieve peace and "the biggest social movement in the world", with four billion people involved directly or indirectly. "There isn't a bigger movement for peace and democracy."

The two new FAO Special Ambassadors will work for the strengthening of cooperatives and their role in promoting economic, social and environmental development and the work of the small-scale farmers of the world.

"These nominations are a recognition of the importance of cooperatives in promoting food security and the commitment of FAO in widening its cooperation and promoting a constant dialogue with this movement," said the FAO Director-General.

Graziano da Silva added that FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP), are working together to identify new ways to support cooperatives.

Picture: FAO Director-General Graziano da Silva and the President of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla.

Source: FAO Website at http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/146435/icode/

Over 500 Stores to Participate in WFTD Campaign with FWP & 6 Dedicated Brands

Jeff Goldman — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:26:25 +0000

Dedicated Fair Trade Brands Announce Major Consumer Campaign for World Fair Trade Day - May 12, 2012

More than 500 Retailer Events Planned – National Contest Offers a Fair Trade Adventure to Sri Lanka

PORTLAND, OR – The fair trade advocacy organization, Fair World Project (FWP), will coordinate more than 500 retail store events on World Fair Trade Day, May 12, 2012. The coordinated campaign to celebrate and promote World Fair Trade Day is being sponsored by dedicated fair trade brands Alaffia, Alter Eco, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, Guayaki, Equal Exchange, and Maggie’s Organics. Over 500 natural product retailers across the country have already signed up to participate in this unique initiative. “Demand for fair trade products is growing day by day. New Seasons Market is looking forward to hosting World Fair Trade Day promotions in all twelve of our stores in the Portland area” says Cindy Young, New Seasons Market’s wellness buyer.

In-store retailer events country-wide will include sampling and promotional discounts from dedicated fair trade brands; a screening of a new educational video about the principles of Fair Trade; and the opportunity to enter a contest to win a 17 day “Fair Trade Adventure to Sri Lanka.” The contest will be the first of its kind organized nationally and will provide an all expenses paid trip in conjunction with Intrepid Travel for 2 random winners to visit the ‘Coconut Triangle’ region of Sri Lanka where the world’s first organic and fair trade coconut oil project was developed over the last half-decade.

More on FWP Campaign at FWP News Release

More on World Fair Trade Day at FTRN WFTD

Global Takaful Event – Returning to our roots; Realising our potential

AlisonGrant — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:30:30 +0000

ICMIF member Amana Takaful, Sri Lanka, recently hosted a global takaful conference and welcomed leaders from takaful insurance providers for a two day event in Colombo. The meeting is held annually and brings together takaful and re-takaful providers from many countries for the purpose of networking and deliberation over how to shape the global thinking and practice of takaful. This year’s event brought together the three main global takaful organisations in the world for the first time ever; namely the Federation of Islamic Insurance and Takaful Companies (FOIITC), the Global Takaful Group (GTG) and ICMIF.

The conference was themed ‘Returning to our roots; Realising our potential’ and sought to explore the current practices in the takaful industry, its conformity of the tenets on which takaful is based as well as discuss potential growth areas in global and regional markets for both life and non-life takaful products.

Technical sessions were based around topics such as critical issues facing the takaful industry; values-based approach in marketing and branding of takaful; building trust in the people served; and creating access to the low income population. Also, a special session was also held on standards for on solvency requirements for takaful providers.

The conference was attended by many eminent speakers from the international takaful circle including Shari’ah Council Members and CEOs of takaful and re-takaful companies. Delegates came from more than 20 countries and including Malaysia, United Kingdom, Singapore, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Qatar, Pakistan, Bahrain, Tunisia and Palestine; many of whom were ICMIF members.

The takaful industry has seen tremendous growth in the last few years. The takaful industry as estimated by Ernst and Young in their 2011 Global Report on Takaful highlights that the takaful market saw contributions amounting to USD 6.9 Billion with growth of 31% in 2009. They estimate that this growth has been sustained in the 2010 and estimate takaful contributions to surpass USD 11.9 Billion in 2011.

The conference is part of a series of annual events organised by ICMIF in collaboration with the FOIITC (Federation of Islamic Insurance & Takaful Companies) and GTG (Global Takaful Group).

WOCCU Says Give the Gift of Microloans - Credit Union Times

AnthonyMurray — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:01:44 +0000

The World Council of Credit Unions is encouraging holiday gift givers to consider giving the gift of microloans.

Gifts in the form of $30 donations to the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions will help support farming and microbusiness loans to credit union members in Haiti, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and Afghanistan, WOCCU said.

My vision for the 21st Century Movement

admin — Tue, 31 May 2005 23:00:00 +0000

If you take some of the images I have just encountered in a visit to Sri Lanka and Indonesia and couple them with African poverty and the ravages of HIV/Aids, one begins to see the world in a rather different way.
A divided world of haves and have nots; a world where the accumulation of material wealth knows no bounds while poverty knows no limit of despair. And a world where politicians, particularly in the West, refuse to take seriously the role that our Movement could play in alleviating this dreadful situation.