US co-op apex NCBA Clusa and the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) are partnering to raise awareness of the worker co-op model in Madagascar, Kenya, Guatemala and Peru.
Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Cooperative Development Program (CDP), the initiative forms part of the NCBA Clusa CDP project, Cooperative Ecosystem and Social Inclusion.
“The USFWC is proud to partner with NCBA Clusa in this international effort to elevate the worker co-op model as a solution for the exclusion of marginalised groups from the benefits of the traditional economy,” Esteban Kelly, executive director of the USFWC, told NCBA Clusa.
“As the only national membership organisation of worker co-operatives in the US, we are uniquely positioned to harness the experience of worker-owners and shape that into expertise such that co-op members themselves are the driving force behind this collaboration to expand the reach of the model to those who need it most,” he added.
As part of this project, the USFWC’s Co-op Clinic Training manager, Maureen Darras met virtually with two worker co-operatives in Madagascar – Koperativa Ombina Natao Ifampitsinjovana (ONI) and Cooperative Oeuvrant dans le Development Communautaire (CODeC). The meeting was an opportunity to learn more about their organisations and plan for the peer learning sessions due to start later this year.
ONI and CODeC provide coaching services to agricultural and dairy/livestock co-ops in Madagascar, which is home to a small number of worker co-ops. Through the peer learning sessions, the project aims to strengthen their operations and broaden their horizons about the possibilities of their businesses. US worker co-op members of USFWC will also be able to learn from learn from their Malagasy counterparts, says NCBA Clusa.
“Connecting worker-owners across borders to exchange strengths and insights is one of the ways we practice solidarity within the global co-operative movement,” said Darras.
CODeC president Finoana Rabesandratana told NCBA Clusa the co-op is “looking forward to continuing the exchange with USFWC to learn about the organisation and functioning of worker co-operatives, like ours.”
ONI President Rado Ramiadamanana added that the exchange with USFWC had allowed his organisation to learn more about worker co-ops in the US. “We do not yet have a similar umbrella structure in Madagascar. We expect this exchange to help us better understand the structuring of the [worker] co-operative movement: its organisation, functioning and conditions for sustainability,” he said.
The next stage of the project will see USFWC meet in person with co-ops and key co-op stakeholders in Guatemala and Peru in July 2025. NCBA Clusa plans to leverage its CDP-developed Co-op Business School for virtual programming across all four countries.
These activities will then help shape any additional learning exchanges and technical assistance that will be provided via this initiative.
Photo: Members of two worker co-ops in Madagascar, along with officials from the Ministry of Commerce and Trade, participate in a training led by NCBA Clusa’s Cooperative Development Program (image: NCBA Clusa)
