Cooperation is Key

Cool Earth is celebrating how the people-centred model is providing the answers to rainforest protection in Peru. As always, simple, effective solutions are the key. And giving rainforest communities the chance to develop sustainable incomes of their own, helps keep trees standing.

Cooperatives are people-centred enterprises, owned and run by and for their members to achieve their common goals and ambitions. In the rainforest, a group of voices can make itself heard far easier than one alone, and that’s the key to beating inequality and developing sustainable incomes.

When it comes to selling rainforest produce, it can be hard to forge reliable market links on your own. And it’s difficult to know you’re getting a good price. In the Awajún, there’s a buyers cooperative from the local town. It runs a selling event where individual cacao growers can harness the collective buying power and get a great price for their crop. Last month, a record four tonnes of cacao beans were sold to the cooperative, returning a vital source of income for the growers’ families. The increase in quality and yield of cacao is testament both to the grower’s hard work, and to Cool Earth’s supporters providing funds for seeds, tools, and the skills of a cacao consultant.