Small Farmers. Big Change.

By Aaron Dawson, Equal Exchange Interfaith Customer Service Manager

Mondragon

For my second post about Mondragon, I would like to talk about the 6^th co-operative principle: cooperation among co-operatives. Mondragon has done amazing work with cooperating amongst the different co-ops within their network, but they’ve also faced challenges.

I was blown away by Mondragon’s network of various co-ops. As noted in my previous post, there were worker-owned home appliance and auto parts factories, worker/consumer-owned credit unions, worker/consumer-owned grocery stores, worker-owned universities, to name a few, and they are all working together. The ways that they work together is just as impressive as the variety and types of worker co-ops themselves.

The first and most basic way in which the Mondragon co-operatives cooperate with each other is through the divvying up of each co-op. Below is a chart of how each co-op puts their profits towards the general Mondragon network:

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Last week, the Fair Trade world was all a-buzz from an interview with Franz Van der Hoff , one of the original founders of the movement. The interview sparked many discussions about the difference between a poverty alleviation model of Fair Trade and one which has economic transformation at its core.

A few days later, I received a tweet from El Dragon over at Fair Food Fight, about this awesome new one-minute video where Sean Doyle of the Seward Co-op in Minneapolis, one of the country’s most visionary (and beautiful) food co-ops, shares his views about how locally-owned businesses impact their communities and how co-op members have a real stake in shaping this impact. Another one-minute video from Just Food Co-op in Northfield talks about the role of a co-op as an alternative economic model; built and owned by members of the community itself.

Check them out; they’re really inspiring!

And then I got it in a new way: Inherent in poverty alleviation strategies is an intrinsic sense of US and THEM. WE have money and power. WE donate and WE purchase. THEY benefit. The more WE buy, the more THEY benefit. And, no one can really argue with that, can they? Well-off consumers change their purchasing practices and poor farmers benefit.

Go Fair Trade.

But, there is an alternative. If the goal of a movement is economic transformation, US and THEM can actually become WE – considerably more complex and nuanced an approach, but at the end of the day, a much more inspiring and worthwhile goal. And imagine the difference, when people feel ownership in a business model: farmers, workers, members all have a different relationship to their work when they own the decisions… and the results of those decisions.

Not only are co-operatives a more empowering model in and of themselves, but in a co-operative economy, the entire system can be transformative. Supply chains are carefully and thoughtfully built so that while each party has their role to fill, a true partnership is formed – people are not reduced to mere “producer” or “consumer”, but instead, all parties along the supply chain become actors, more fully developed and invested in the entire supply chain, the product and the partnerships: quality, integrity, respect and transparency occur throughout the chain.

Once, when visiting our farmer partners in Sri Lanka, I met a businessman who asked me why Equal Exchange doesn’t buy from plantations. “There are plenty of “good” plantations in our country,” he told me, “and they deserve to be certified Fair Trade just as much as small farmer co-ops.” It’s great, absolutely and undeniably, that the plantation owners he referred to want to do the right thing and treat their workers well; and they deserve respect for their practices, but Fair Trade isn’t about rewards.

It’s about economic transformation. And change. And as we all know, change doesn’t come about easily. Higher prices and decent working conditions are absolutely, critically important; but these criteria are only a part of the puzzle. And like any equation, if you have only partial factors, you won’t get the desired solution.

Recently, I’ve begun working more closely with some of our food co-op partners and have been learning more about their principles and practices. These are folks who have been steadily and tirelessly walking the walk… bringing economic development to their communities; supporting local farmers, Fair Trade, and sustainable agriculture; and creating democratic ownership models. Not only are they bringing us healthy food, but through their buying practices and their ownership structures, co-operatives are transforming relationships every day.

Unfortunately, food co-operatives (like farmer co-operatives and worker-owned co-operatives) aren’t always the best at tooting their own horns. They don’t have the marketing budgets, probably because they are busy running businesses. And yet, because co-operatives don’t excel at self-promotion, their mission – nothing short of transformation – can often get lost. What kind of marketing budget do you suppose Walmart and Whole Foods have to spend?

It’s time for co-operatives to start highlighting their values and principles, to promote their vision and impact. These videos make a great contribution toward that end. Because the world doesn’t have time anymore for poverty alleviation… we need new economic models.  And we need them now!  

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Photos and Story by Ashley Symons, Equal Exchange

One of the cranberry bogs on Mann Farms. This one is flooded for wet picking.

On Oct. 27, a group of us from Equal Exchange visited Mann Farms, the supplier for our organic cranberries in Wareham, Mass. They were kind enough to show us around their bogs and facilities during the busy harvesting season, which only lasts 3-4 weeks and is extremely hard work, especially for the harvesting of organic cranberries since it requires hand weeding, alternative fertilizers, and innovative pest control.

Monika Mann

“We were told organic can’t be done,” said Monika Mann, co-owner of Mann Farms. “It’s a lot harder, a lot more labor intensive … so not many are doing it, but it can be done.” The Manns are carefully watching their youngest bog, which is the first to be completely organic from the start. “I’m a little concerned, because the plants are behind and this has been a huge investment,” Monika said. “We won’t really know for five years, when the plants reach full production. You throw your heart out there sometimes and we’re doing it here.” Their other organic bogs were converted from conventional bogs; about 20% of the total farm is now organic acreage.

Keith Mann

Monika got involved in cranberry farming shortly after she married Keith Mann, but she had always had an interest in organic agriculture. “Personally, my mission was to keep this land in agriculture and not developed,” Monika said. She and Keith started leasing 3.5 acres to experiment with organic cultivation in 1994 from Keith’s father, a second generation and lifelong cranberry farmer.

For Keith, cranberry farming is part of his earliest memories. “I clearly remember my father asking me when I was five years old if I wanted to take over the farm someday, or else he was going to sell it. So, I felt a lot of pressure at a young age to take on the family business, and I took it seriously,” Keith said. “I don’t even know if he remembers that but I always have.”

Keith eventually took over managing all 150 acres, and it hasn’t been easy. For a few years of crashing cranberry prices, Keith had no salary and few options, but couldn’t just abandon his family bogs. But they kept at it, and have had growing success. Their farming methods involve beautiful antique wooden sorting equipment mixed with new computerized technologies for water pumps that have helped reduce the work load, improve yield and let the Manns sleep better at night.

Harvesting cranberries using the wet picking method.

They’re excited to be working with Equal Exchange in building the market for small organic farmers in the United States. “If you can do what you’ve done for international farmers and repeat that for small, local, family farmers, that would be quite impressive,” Monika said.

We are certainly working on it – and we invite you to join us in supporting small, family farmers like the Manns.

Related resources:
-Read about our Domestic Fair Trade Program.

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Bananas. 

There’s a lot going on in the industry right now… and if it weren’t so tragic, it could almost be entertaining.

• Dole goes Fair Trade while at the same time advertising the World’s Largest Banana Display selling bananas for 20 cents/pound.  That’s right, 20 cents a pound… and that leaves… how many pennies for the banana farmer?  One hand promotes Fair Trade while the other slashes prices promoting a race to the bottom for banana farmers?  Hmmm, that sounds Fair.

• Chiquita is the target of lawsuits and investigations of their financing of right-wing para-military death squads in Colombia.  More recently, questions have been raised about possible links to the military coup in Honduras… After all, deposed President Zelaya had received flak from Chiquita and Dole after he raised the minimum  wage of farmworkers by 60% shortly before he was forced to leave the country at gunpoint.

• Now, we learn of price wars throughout Europe (joined on our shores by Walmart/Sam’s Club) slashing the prices of bananas in grocery stores.  How can a 39 cent banana be good for the farmer or the environment?

Fortunately, our friends at www.Fairfoodfight have been covering all this news.  Check out their latest blog posts chock-full of articles, videos, current news, and provocative discussion.  Add your voice; it’s time for a Banana Revolution!

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