Collectivity in the generation of income and local development: A comparison between Israeli Moshavim and an association of Maria da Fé, Brazil (original) (raw)

Local Organizations and Rural Development in the Douro-Duero Region of Portugal and Spain

Many organizations today work in the rural areas of Portugal, Spain and throughout Europe, attempting to implement strategies able to promote the local economy and sustainable livelihoods. These organizations -public, private or third -, work in diverse fields, such as education and training, social and economic development, environmental protection or cultural promotion. The paper presents a critical and comparative analysis of organizational dynamics in the Douro area of Portugal and Spain, identifying problems, issues, initiatives and challenges to the sustainability of such organizations. This research was inspired by the recent theoretical reflections about local development, the importance of social capital and social territorial competitiveness, the State-civil society relationships, the new models of participation and participatory democracy, and the creation of partnerships and networks as an asset to development work. The research was part of a EU funded INTERREG Project -"Douro-Duero Século XXI" -, jointly conducted by the Universities of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (Portugal) and Salamanca (Spain). The studied area, characterized by its rurality, relative isolation, and low population density, is a living space in organizational terms. This work allowed us to understand that local development organizations are numerous, have very different histories, have interventions in diverse domains and in different territorial scales, from the parish or municipality to broader areas, and face a wide range of problems, being organizational sustainability a major one.

Partenariat, autonomisation et dévelopment local Asociación, empoderamiento y desarrollo local

This paper tries to understand how partnership between local organisations (associations, cooperatives, worker's unions and others) and Government affects local development. It explores to what extent partnership is an effective strategy for local development in areas of historical conflict between local Government and the local organisations that defend the interests of family-based, small-scale rural producers. Particularly, this paper concentrates on debate of partnership as a mechanism of power sharing and empowerment of the people that historically have been excluded from the development process. Empirically, the paper is based on data collected in the municípios of Ourém and Igarapé-Miri, Northeast of Para State, Amazonia, Brazil. Key-words: Partnership. Empowerment. Local Development. Resumo: Este artigo busca entender como a parceria entre as organizações locais (associações, cooperativas, sindicatos dos trabalhadores e outros) e o governo contribui para o desenvolviment...

THE IMPORTANCE OF COOPERATIVISM FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF COEX – CARAJÁS – STATE OF PARÁ, BRAZIL (Atena Editora)

THE IMPORTANCE OF COOPERATIVISM FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF COEX – CARAJÁS – STATE OF PARÁ, BRAZIL (Atena Editora), 2023

The objective was to understand the relationship between the extraction of jaborandi seeds and leaves and the form of subsistence for local communities in the municipality of Parauapebas/PA. This is a bibliographical research. Extractivism and the management of non-timber forest products in the Amazon are identified as the main ways of guaranteeing a source of income for these communities. The entity that represents the municipality's leaf collectors is COEX-CARAJÁS, responsible for the families' livelihood/income.

The Amazon Rural Economy and the Social Way Cooperative

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014

Amazon are capable of remake their way survival through the solidarity economy, even if under the nexus of capitalists relations. It Can say, finally, that the Social Economy presents itself as an economic activity promising and capable of responding to social development and environmentally sustainable.

Brazilian settlers from agrarian reform in the Midwest region of Brazil: Factors involved in collective action through cooperatives and associations

Journal of Co-operative Organization and Management, 2018

Because of the high concentration of land in Brazil, agrarian reform plays a significant role in reducing inequalities in the countryside. However, globalization increases competition, and the survival of farmers depends on technological and marketing efficiencies, which represent difficult aspects for settlers to address. Collective organizations are becoming increasingly important; however, these organizations are rare in the settlements. Based on this finding, this study identifies the factors that influence collective action in rural settlements in the Brazilian Midwest. For that, 1162 questionnaires were completed in 54 settlements in the states of the region, and 55 presidents of collective organizations were interviewed. Organizations were classified as commercial, political and mixed, depending on their activities. Most organizations invest mainly in short-term investments for which it is difficult to exclude beneficiaries. Sanctions are rare, and when they are possible, they are rarely applied. This is a problem in commercial organizations, where it is an obstacle for the effective participation of members. In political organizations, membership is not a problem, but the lack of leadership should be addressed. Mixed organizations are not a solution, since the characteristics of political and commercial organizations are antagonistic. The creation of two distinct organizations is preferable.

Family Farming Cooperatives: the Case of the Mixed Cooperative of Family Farmers of the Ipanema Valley

International Journal of Scientific Research and Management, 2021

This article addresses cooperativism in the context of family farming, based on the experience of the Cooperativa Mista de Agricultores Familiares do Vale do Ipanema (COOPANEMA) based in the municipality of Águas Belas, Pernambuco, Brazil. This is a reflection on the importance of COOPANEMA for local social and economic development. We used qualitative and descriptive methodology supported by case studies, interviews, and documentary and bibliographic surveys. The cooperative maintains a participative management, with good administrative quality, thanks to its specialized accounting, technical and legal assistance. We conclude that COOPANEMA is a socially consolidated institution, regarded as a reference in cooperative management, acting in the execution of actions and occupying seats in forums, municipal and regional public policy councils, thus contributing to local development.

From the associative companies to the nuclei of rural entrepreneurs De las empresas asociativas a los núcleos de emprendedores rurales

Agronomía Colombiana, 2010

RESUMEN Since the second half of the twentieth century, the impulse to the creation of Rural Associative Organizations (RAOs) has become one of the main tools to implement rural development policies. However, most of these efforts have ended in failure, and have been marked by both the paternalism of the institutions and the lack of active participation from the rural communities. Faced with this situation, other methodologies and approaches have started to emerge. These new views have provided rural people with tools to participate in their own development processes and recognize that rural issues go beyond agricultural production. The Rural Management and Development Research Group in the Department of Agronomy at Colombia's Universidad Nacional has been working within this conceptual framework that tends to focus not only on participatory methodologies, but also on gender focus, the new rural setting and the territorial development. The research group has been involved in rural areas of Bogotá and Cundina-marca, building proposals with the active participation from the Nuclei of Rural Entrepreneurs as an alternative model to the conventional rural associative enterprise. A partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, el impulso a la conformación de Empresas Asociativas Rurales (EAR), se constituye en una de las principales herramientas para llevar a cabo las políticas de desarrollo rural. La mayor parte de estas iniciativas terminaron en el fracaso, marcadas por el paterna-lismo de las instituciones y la falta de participación activa de las comunidades rurales. Frente a esta situación, se ha desarrollado metodologías y enfoques que contemplan la participación real de los habitantes rurales en sus propios procesos de desarrollo y que reconocen que lo rural va más allá de la producción agrope-cuaria. Dentro de esta corriente de pensamiento, que contempla dentro de su marco conceptual a las metodologías participa-tivas, el enfoque de género, la nueva ruralidad y el desarrollo territorial, ha venido trabajando el Grupo de Investigación en Gestión y Desarrollo Rural de la Facultad de Agronomía de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, en territorios rurales de Bogotá y Cundinamarca, construyendo la propuesta de trabajo con Núcleos de Emprendedores Rurales, como modelo alterna-tivo al de la empresa asociativa rural convencional.

cooperatives and sustainable rural livelihoods.docx

The aim of this thesis is to understand whether the two cacao cooperatives, COPRACAFUC and COSEMUCRIN, contribute to the development of sustainable rural livelihoods in the municipality of El Castillo. The municipality, located in the South East of Nicaragua, is part of the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve. The area represents one of the major agricultural frontier of the country, a lot of pressure is posed on the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve by many actors, such as wealthy ganaderos or poor households in search of land. Furthermore, the forest is also threatened by the widespread use of slash and burn techniques and of extensive agriculture and cattle raising. The municipality is characterised by various constraints, such as the lack of employment opportunities and of stable and reliable markets for agricultural products. In addition, the physical characteristics of the municipality do not suit neither extensive agriculture or cattle raising, even though they are the most popular households' activities. In order to alleviate the pressures on the Indio Maíz biological reserve and to provide a good market to the rural households of the municipality, a network of actors, from international cooperation agencies to local organizations, such as Fundación del Río, encouraged the expansion of cacao plantations in the municipality and the organization of producers in the two cacao cooperatives, COPRACAFUC and COSEMUCRIN. These organizations offered a new opportunity to the rural households of the municipality which could generate income while respecting the environment. Nowadays, the cooperatives are experiencing a negative period, characterised by debt and disinterest between the members. These problems were for the most part caused by managerial inexperience of the cooperatives committee's members. Although the situation of the cooperatives is now far from ideal, they still represent a great opportunity to foster the development of sustainable rural livelihoods in the municipality. For this reason, the survival of the cooperatives is fundamental. To conclude, the paper points out the importance of involvement and participation by the members for the continuity of the cooperatives.