Life Stories-2

photo: sean hawkey
Life Stories
Women Without Borders:
Leaders of their own stories,
agents of change
A glance at the experience of women producers in the organizations
of Cooperativas Sin Fronteras Internacional

Life Stories
Women Without Borders:
Leaders of their own history,
agents of change
A glance at the experience of the female producers
in the organizations of Cooperativas sin Fronteras
Sponsered by:
Hivos, ONG International
Cooperativas Sin Fronteras Internacional

Greetings
As my fellow associates who precede me in this publication have done, I would like to
introduce myself, my name is Juanita Baltodano, I am a farmer and I live in Talamanca,
land of cocoa and banana. I am one who believes that every person should be in contact
with the land, air and nature. Enjoy the beauty that is to plant a seed in the land, and in a
few days watch the plant sprout, without any effort from me, just with the power of
nature. And even more gratifying to harvest what you have planted.
Every profession is good but farmers are the ones who grow crops and feed us. And that
is why I am proud to be a female farmer. This publication is dedicated to all of us women
who work in agriculture; it is indeed hard work and it is even harder for a woman,
because she is the first one to wake up in the morning and the last to go to bed. But it is
rewarding to know that from your labor many are being fed and you are preserving lives.
Our intention is to bring to light the work of the farmers from Women Without Borders,
colleagues whom I encourage to keep cultivating the land, and to feel joyful of their
work, for we are not only producing healthy food, we are preserving the soil and
biodiversity, taking care of our natural resources, preserving the landscape, and instilling
with our example this respect and love for nature to the future generations, to our
children.
I am going to share with you an anecdote as a female farmer and as a mother. I taught
my children since they were very young to cultivate the land so they realized that we are
fed from Earth. This way they learned to cultivate before high school, and when one of
them graduated he moved to the city. In the capital one day his coworkers made fun of
him because he knew the details of how to grow plantains, his fellow workers started to
laugh when they heard him and did not believe that a boy from the city would know
about sowing seeds. But that did not bother him, he told me that he felt proud that
during his adolescence I taught him to cultivate. This is pleasant, knowing that I did not
waste my time, that growing a seed in a young boy is to cultivate, because even though
he is not working the land today someday he will. That is why I encourage the women
who struggle in the field to keep going and take responsibility of their leadership. It is not
about excluding men, it is about working side by side, just as we can be united on the
field, we can also do it from other circles of the organization, exerting leadership, and
participating in making decisions for the sake of peasant families and to make this planet
a better place, with equal opportunities for all, and where we all win, producers, traders
and users alike.
Juanita Baltodano Vilchez
President
* She is also vice-president of the Small Producers of Talamanca, APPTA, and member of the
National Coordinator of Small producers Costa Rica-Panama Organizations. (CNCJ-CR-P), of the CLAC.

Introduction
We are an international cooperative composed of
34 cooperatives or associations of organic and
fairtrade producers from eight different countries
in Central and South America as well as Southern
Europe. Since 2007 we have been working to
strengthen our organizations and improve their
positioning within the food market value chain,
managing new channels of commercialization
and searching to stimulate the market with high
quality products.
photo: natalia lópez
Governed by the democratic principles
of the cooperative movement and Agro
ecology our associates commercialize
agricultural products such as cocoa,
coffee, sugar, tropical fruits and honey,
in markets of Europe, Japan, USA and
Canada, in alliance with commercial
companies and/or cooperatives of
consumers.
This way, we have shortened the
distance between producers and end
users, created spaces for the exchange
of technical knowledge between our
associates and forged connections for
the establishment of fair and direct
trade between distributors and
producers.
Our associates in Argentina, Peru, Brazil,
Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua,
Guatemala and Italy, use clean and
sustainable agriculture systems and
promote the democratic participation
of their members, where women
remain a key element in the
development, sustainability and
strengthening of their organizational
structures and production systems.
This publication is a recognizes the
women of Cooperatives Without
Borders, that with courage, vision and
leadership contribute with the growth
of their organizations and
communities, and the transformation
of a more fair and inclusive society.
Women that with their example have
ploughed their way into positions
where a persistent male presence
exists, as most cooperatives and
organizations in Latin America are. This
publication is directed to all of them,
and the thousands of women without
borders around the world, which every
day plant the seeds of environmental
consciousness, push an ethical
economy and promote biodiversity,
security and the food sovereignty of
their villages.
The statistical data of our women
Without Borders will be for now an
outstanding debt, however, we have
been up to the task of gathering some
life stories of women which in a
symbolic way illustrate what they have
been building from their leadership
positions in favor of agro-ecology and
the production of clean and nutritious
food for the fair trade and organic
markets of the world.
In Cooperatives Without Borders
International we will keep working in
the construction of a different and
more fair economic model, in which
agricultural families, organized in
collective and associative structures,
assume a leading role and are key
actors in the management of a truly
inclusive and sustainable development
for them, their communities and the
rest of Latin America.
2 3

Bernarda Morales is a native Bribri by birth, an ethnic
group settled in the south of Costa Rica, in the zone
denominated as Alta Talamanca. She lives in Yorkin, a
community on the banks of the river by the same
name, inhabited by a little over 200 people dedicated
to cocoa and banana planting as a way of life. In order
to get to Yorkin you have to travel against the current
for about one hour over the homonymous river that
separates Panama from Costa Rica.
Bernarda belongs to the Bribri clan Surariwak, which in
Spanish means guardian of the seed. A
very appropriate title for whom in practice
is also guardian of the culture and
knowledge of the Bribris and promoter of
a clean, healthy and sustainable ancestral
production system.
In the Bribri culture, our grandparents
teach us that we do not have to use
chemicals because it depletes the land
and that we have to know how to farm.
That is the reason why we cultivate this
plot of land this year and the next year
we farm in another place and in five
years we go back to the first plot. They
also teach us not to plant just one crop
in the farm, but banana, cocoa, fruit
trees, timber trees. We have it all there
so the soil will always have organic
material. Therefore all the leaves,
branches, everything that comes will
rot and will maintain the plant.
Surariwak of the seed,
guardian of life
4 5
photo: natalia lópez

That is why when you scratch the layer of
the ground the first thing you see is the
organic layer which will not let land erode.
Bernarda owns two hectares of land where
she plants cocoa and banana to sell,
among other products for family
consumption. From a young age she
cultivated and traded cocoa with her
father as a way of make a living. But when
she joined the Association of Small
Organic Producers of Talamanca, Appta,
she realized that this traditional farming
system has a value in the global market.
I realized that everything they talked
about in Appta was true, that our culture is
the one who best grows organic produce
and not the chemical, this is why I got
involved to support the organization, so
that the system can be protected, and it
always remains organic.
We are now producing organic and
earning money without hurting people.
With our labor you are going to eat
something that is not going to cause you
any harm. This is why I support Appta. It is
true that we want money, but we wanted
money without using chemicals. If we all
sell everything organic it will be better for
people.
Today Bernarda has been with the
organization for more than 15 years and a
few more in the board of directors of
Appta, long enough to recognize the role
played by the organization in social,
economic and cultural development of
native communities of the area.
It is very important because the
organization fights to protect the lands, to
sell organic products, to have a market and
for this practice to never end. If Appta
didn’t exist people would have used
chemicals.
When we started to sell banana, buyers
wanted them without a scratch, just like
bananas from the banana industry, but we
said, what banana are we going to have
without a scratch if it is organic? And if we
use chemicals, birds and bugs who give
life to this land are going to die. But now,
people are not going to be polluted with
chemicals from banana companies,
instead they make their own farms here,
organic, and work, and have the same
income that a banana company would
have. It is a total change. On the other
hand, I think that what Appta is doing is a
dream, to not leave young people without
land, and it will be achieved if we do not
use chemicals.
She also acknowledges that the
organization has been a vehicle for
development of women’s social leadership
roles, but that the rest they made it
themselves, with decisevness and
courage, because in spite of what any one
wants to believe, the Bribri’s matriarchal
society did not escape from male
chauvinism.
It has been years of work which started in
the communities,. They believed we
women could not decide, we did not
know how to organize. That is the way
they thought of us, but we said no, we are
going to fight for what we believe.
Now, I think they chose us due to how
responsible we women are. We participate
in meetings more than men do, and the
other thing is we have more patience
managing things than men. We are a
majority now, but we share with them the
things that are right and those that are not,
and just because we are a majority doesnt
mean are we going to take away the
significance of what they do.
Through Appta we have achieved
change. It is no longer just one person
making the decisions, now we all decide
and we listen to everybody.
As a cocoa and banana producer for
export she knows the importance of
being organized and the necessity of
establishing alliances and fair business
relations that guarantee the sale and
positioning of the products in world
markets, as well as the contribution fair
trade has on the development of farming
families.
The main concern as a producer is that
we do not sell the product. Let’s say, if we
work and work and suddenly they tell us
there are no banana sales or there are no
cocoa sales, or that the produce was lost
so it could not be taken to the market.
That is a big discouragement to the
producers, because if I am producing and
they come and say that everything was
lost or the purchaser is not buying,
people get immediately mad because
there is no security in the market.
Fair trade is very important for us
because it helps the community develop.
Every year we discuss what do the with
the award prize, we leave it to invest in
the communities that integrate Appta,
we rotate it, for instance, 7 years ago it
was our turn (Yorkin) and we bought
land for the high school. Six years ago
was Katzy’s, and 4 years ago was the time
for Mojoncito, and so on.
Bernarda Morales is 41 years old, besides
Appta, she is the leader of other
organizations like Actuar and Finca
Educativa. In 1985, she founded the first
organization of Bribri women for tourism
purposes named Stibrawpa.
6 7
photo: natalia lópez

The Tubolwak, from
organic roots & tradition
8
photo: cyril mischler
In the Costa Rican Caribbean, guarded by
the mighty waters of Telire river, is the
native community of Boca Uren, in the
Bratsi district of Talamanca. Here live
about 40 native Bribri families dedicated
to the farming and trade of
agro-ecological cocoa, banana and
plantain. Candida Salazar and her family
is one of them. She owns three plots and
on each she has an average of 60 crops, a
very common characteristic of native
families.
Candida belongs to Tubolwalk clan,
which means root of yam, a very popular
tuber in tropical regions. And it is
precisely from root or tradition that our
leading lady is guided to cultivate the
land without chemicals.
My relationship with the organic comes
ever since I was born, back in those days
chemicals were unknown, everything
was organic, and nobody used
chemicals. We never saw the necessity,
because the crops yielded really well, and
if a chemical was expensive or not, we
did not pay attention.
But it wasn’t always like this, as years
went by, intermediaries arrived to the
river with their trucks demanding bigger
banana clusters and they punished the
producers by buying two, even three
bunches for the price of one.
Once they started to talk about bigger
clusters, the people started to say that if
natural crops are not going to give me a
very big bunch I do not want them to
punish me by buying two for the price of
one, and they started asking, what can I
do so the plant gives a big bunch? That is
when the people from outside started
saying to fumigate and use chemicals.
Those were difficult times in which
several families from the region were
tempted to use chemicals in order to
avoid their production being punished
with low prices, but luckily, by that time,
Candida found out about an
organization which had different pay
scales. It was Appta.
In those times, I heard that Appta paid
one price to their members and another
to their non members, and that was what
caught my attention, so I thought, why
don’t you get into Appta and sell
directly? So I became part of Appta and
in the beginning I was selling them my
cocoa. Then I convinced my husband,
because he was selling to a different
company, and he said alright. Anyway, it
was the same, because what we needed
was to sell our product, and maybe, with
a little bit more of an advantage since in
Appta a member has more priority than
one that is not a member. From that
moment on I started to sell them all my
products.
Becoming a member of Appta meant for
Candida and her family an economic
security and tranquility that their product
would not be wasted. Also, it meant the
beginning of a new stage of learning,
opportunities and personal
development.
I was already a member and at the at the
time of the board of directors election I
had the chance that people who knew
me gave me the confidence, they saw
that I could work well in the organization,
so they proposed me and I accepted. For
me the first year was a very beautiful
experience that I would never forget.
9

I received trainings, got to know more
about my organization, learned about
Fair Trade, which we know is security for
us, because our product is paid at a
good price and I learned a little bit
more of what needs to be done in the
organization. That first year helped me
as well, how can I say, it helped me
learn a little bit more and how to
interact with more people and that to
me was very good and I am grateful
ever since. I was able to show my
capacities to people and other
members which is why I keep having
the opportunity to stay on the board of
directors. Perhaps, one year they dont
need me, but the following year I am
there, at this moment I assume the
fiscal roll.
It changed me, of course it did. Actually,
the way I am, the way I think is not the
same as I used to before, because if you
have the opportunity of interacting
with more people, you start to change
the person you are, your thoughts
change, it is no longer that I am
embarrassed, or that I will not be able
to do it, or they are looking at me, and
all those things. Today I feel secure of
what I can do and say. I know that what
I used to be, I am not anymore, I am a
whole new other me.
there comes the moment when a
company says: we do not want more
banana, do not bring any more, and
maybe you only have one buyer, so you
become paralyzed because there is no
way to go back and find someone else
who will buy from us. So that is the
biggest problem for all the families
because their product will remain in
the farms and to whom are we going to
sell it to? You cannot sell it in the
community because they all have
bananas.
Candida teaches catechism of the
Catholic Church, she is president of the
neighborhood board of Boca Uren, and
member of the Association for
Development of her community,
activities which she conducts with
proven leadership, a leadership that
she claims comes from birth but which
she has been able to develop thanks to
the opportunities she found on the
way and to the partner in life that was
given to her. She recognizes the
support which the farmer’s
organizations have given women in
social matters, and the environment
they create, where male and female
producers break through old
stereotypes and acknowledge each
others as people with capacities.
it, and now they are realizing that we
can. Now our partners got used to it,
and they even respect us and they
know that when we make a decision it
is a firm one.
Candida Salazar produces between
700 and 800 pounds of organic cocoa
and 1000 organic banana bunches a
year, which are traded in European and
US markets.
Candida has been part of Appta for
more than 18 years, and another eight
as member of the board of directors.
From her experience commercializing
remains the biggest concern of the
organization and its producers.
Selling the product is what has been
the most problematic, as an example,
During the training courses these days
we, mostly women, can see that people
acknowledge that women, also have
equal rights as men have. So today you
can observe more women
participating in the organizations,
where before they wouldn’t. Before
only the males participated. Perhaps
they thought that women coudln’t do
COSTA RICA
Association of small
producers of Talamanca,
APPTA,
1200 native families 38%
women and 62% men. They
trade banana and cocoa in the
US and European markets.
Average production of cocoa
per year 200t
photo: natalia lópez
10 11

Profitability of cocoa
for Ngäbe women
photo: natalia lópez
Rosita Guerrera Castillo is 45 years old, she is a cocoa producer,
wife and mother of 4 teenagers. She owns 2 hectares of land in
the region of Barrio Lindo, in Valle Rico´s community, at Bocas
del Toro, Panama. A district inhabited by natives of the Ngabe
Bugle ethnicity.
Since she was little, she was involved in the growing of cocoa.
Her father was a cocoa grower and even though he didn’t have
much work he was able to send her and her eleven brothers to
elementary school. Despite being the daughter of one of the
oldest members of Bocatoreña Cocoa Organization, COCABO,
R.L., for her all the affairs pertaining to the farming of cocoa and
above all its commercialization were her husband duties.
For many years she pulled the weeds from cocoa plants, she cut
the excess shoots and joined her partner with the harvest work,
who would then be in charge of commercializing the product
as a member of the cooperative. Even though the work load
was shared, profits were not that much, because from the
income, Rosita at best received enough for groceries and
clothing.
All that changed for the better two years ago when she decided
to become a member of COCABO R.L. Since then she has had
nothing but progress in every aspect of her life. She went from
total social anonymity, to being involved in activities of public
responsibility and generating and managing her own economic
resources.
Before, I received when my husband sold cocoa, I did not pay
attention to the money he earned, he was the one who would
buy food, he bought clothing for me or my family; he had the
money. I did not pay attention to money, because I did not
know about money, I did not sell my own product, but now, as
a member, I earn from my own farming, now I know what it is
like to have money.
But the economic and social standing were not the only things
she achieved by becoming a member, for her it also meant the
possibility of distancing herself from the domestic violence
many country woman are surrounded by.
So I realized that it is better like this, living on your own, because
this way what you earn is yours, you can buy things, and your
man will not be able to say anything.
12 13

Because if your man is a rude or mean man, who
does not want to give you money, and out of
necessity you take one or two dollars, then he
will reprimand you. On the other hand if you
have your own profits and you want to spend
them, nobody is going to tell you anything, so it
is better to have your own. Women are worth as
much as men.
Rosita has gained economic independence, due
to her joining the cooperative. She adds her
courtesy of: COCABO
technical knowledge
acquired to improve the
quality in her production.
My cocoa is high quality,
COCABO demands we only
cut pure ripe cocoa, since
the one that is not mature
will damage the cocoa. Then
we place the cocoa in a box,
and during 8 days we turn it
until it is fermented and
then we lay it under the sun.
Before, we did not know
about this procedure, we
would cut the cocoa, put it
on a sack, we did not
process it so the cocoa did
not come out well. So
COCABO demanded that
we have to do it like this, so
cocoa can turn into
chocolate, we tried it and it
is turning out very well.
COCABO taught us to
produce better cocoa, of
excellent quality. Being
organic means more money
and more benefits for me.
When you grow organic you need
to work properly so you can get
good pay. We do not use
chemicals, a machete is all we use
and here in our community
nobody uses chemicals. In the
cocoa fields we produce different
kinds of banana, plantain, yam,
avocado, lemon, orange and araza.
Mariela’s courage and
cooperative pride
In the community of Rico Valley, also lives Mariela Palacio. She is 32 years old and a
mother of two girls and three boys. She owns a farm of 18 hectares where she grows
cocoa for export and other grains and fruits for the support of her family such as rice,
corn and banana.
14 15
foto: natalia lópez

Since she was very young Mariela
learned to earn her living by
cultivating cocoa.
I lived with my grandmother, and she
taught me that to grow cocoa was
good, because it is a resource for us to
send our children to school, for food,
nnd clothing. This is why I have
dedicated myself to cocoa since I was
a little girl.
Since then, cocoa was her main source
of income, but it wasn’t until she heard
about cooperatives and the
economical benefits of being a
member that her economy jumped
and she went from earning five dollars
to one hundred and eighteen dollars
from selling cocoa.
I used to sell conventionally grown
product, sometimes only ten pounds,
and they gave me five dollars, and that
was nothing. But now I sell 100
pounds and up to 300 pounds, and I
get a lot more. In these last days I sold
130 pounds and I charged one
hundred and eighteen dollars, there I
had profit; that is why I feel proud of
being a member right now.
to be a producer. In Costa Rica I went
to Appta, cocoa there is very beautiful.
I got into that group because I want
more knowledge; I want to learn more
about cocoa.
Like her, Mariela expects that other
female producers will discover their
potential by getting involved in their
local producers’ organizations.
They are afraid, but as I had the
courage I want another girlfriend to
also be brave and become a director. I
encourage my girlfriends, I tell them,
women can be organized and we can
be leaders in the cooperative. Look, in
Costa Rica there are mostly women, I
want people in the cooperative to be
like that, is not only for men, there are
also women who work in the farm,
which is why I had the courage and
got in as an associate to have more
knowledge, because a woman’s
contribution makes the difference. I
explained to them that it is good to be
an associate. Because they buy your
produce as premium quality, you earn
a profit and they take your product to
another country.
,that is when there is a little cocoa tree and we
remove all the dry leaves that are there, so no
disease would get in there. The older ones
trim the trees. The sprouting is my husband’s
work and my work is to cut any infected
cocoa, I cut all that down. That is our work on
the farm.
They all collaborate with me in any way
because they see there is money, my oldest
son is 15 years old, the girl is 13, the next boy
is 10, the other girl is 9 and the youngest of the
boys is 8 years old. This is pure family work,
with my children, that way they can see and
learn how to work the farm; if some day they
will plant for themselves, they now see how I
work with them, so they can do it in the future.
As Mariela and Rosita there are many other
women in COCABO R.L. and all of them have
found in associations or cooperativism a way
to grow and transform their environment.
According to the organization’s records in five
years female members have become a third of
the total members. The increase in the
number of female affiliates could be related to
Fair Trade and the social standards that Fair
Trade demands of the organizations of
producers. But also, to the own characteristics
of sharing and storytelling, which makes them
spread the voice amongst themselves about
the benefits and advantages of being a
member.
Whether it be Fair Trade, or a matter of gender,
the truth is is that the role of native
countrywomen, so many times invisible, is
starting to become public through their
access to cooperatives and producers’
associations.
* Make small rows around a plant.
PANAMÁ
Cacao Cooperative Bocatoreño, COCABO R.L.
1,199 indigenous Gnäbe families and afro antillean
419 women y 780 men
Commercializing organic cacao in markets in
Central America, U.S.A. and Europe
Annual average production of cacao 408 t
But economic independence and
better income was not the only thing
she achieved, she also gained access
to knowledge, the exchange of
experience between organizations
and the social empowerment which
catapulted her to occupy the
vice-president position in the
cooperative’s surveillance board.
Before, I didn’t have the courage
because I was afraid, now I have
courage because I have traveled to
Costa Rica to see other producers who
grow cocoa, there I found the bravery
since I want to learn more about how
Mariela’s cocoa production is special,
since every weekend her farm
becomes a space for her family to
gather, to be educated and to learn
about values and principles.
I tell my kids, let’s go to the farm to
work, because that is where our
resources to survive come from. If we
do not do anything, there is nothing
here, so I take them to the farm each
weekend they are free and we clean
the cocoa, furrow the new cocoa
plants, we cut the intertwined
branches, we do it all on the farm. The
little ones are in charge of the furrow*
16 17
photo: natalia lópez

Agriculturalists are
appreciated more
Bonifacia Calle Zapata is 60 years old. She is a producer of
organic coffee and sugar cane and president of
APPAGROP 1 of Chonta, base organization of the Peruvian
cooperative of Norandino, from the region of Piura.
Bonifacia commercializes her produce in markets of
France and Italy, through Ethiquable and the company
of biologic commercial food Alce Nero, both associates
of Cooperatives Without Borders.
It makes us proud to sell abroad; people come to visit
and congratulate us because we have a good product. It
means our work is positive and that they are living off of
what we produce, she points satisfied.
She knows well that in order to penetrate the market,
small producers must unite in cooperatives or
associations to strengthen their negotiation capabilities.
My life before was a real sacrifice because there was no
market, no support at all, nor knowledge. Incomes were
very low, only during the coffee harvest they were good,
but we did not provide the coffee in parchment, but in
its shell, and we sold it dry to the local market and they
would pay 100 soles 2 per 100 pounds, even 89 soles
when it went down. That was not profitable, for all my
harvest I received 400 or 500 soles for an entire year.
Then, when CEPICAFE 3 started, they were looking for
market, but they did not want the conventional farming
and told us how to change and we changed to organic,
trying to remove all the impurities our crops had.
1
Association of Small Scale Agricultural Producers of
Perú, APPAGROP.
2
32.4254 USD, according to the exchange rate of the month
and year of this publication. sol 0.324254 = USD).
3
The name that the Cooperativa Norandino was created with.
18 19
photo: natalia lópez

PERÚ
Cooperative Norandino
More than 7,000 farming families
Commercializing coffee, cocoa, sugar cane, marmelades y juices
in markets in North America, Europe, Oceania y Japan
Average anual production of sugar cane 900 t
photo:giovanni aloi
With the organization it was a total
change because we were given
knowledge, technical assistance, quality
control and training about sowing and
production in order to have better
productivity. So my life changed when I
entered, because we obtained better
benefits, a better market and now we sell
more. Joining the organization not only
improved material and economic
aspects of Bonifacia’s life, but also social
aspects and her self-esteem.
I learned many things, I acquired different
knowledge, we traveled and had
internships where we had an
opportunity to exchange ideas; that was
a total change. I feel different, now we are
different people, with better knowledge
about everything and more respect.
There were men who had been
presidents of the organization, but
maybe, they trusted me to be the
president because they saw that I was
gaining knowledge, that I was
enterprising, that I liked it, Bonifacia says,
arguing the reasons for which she was
promoted to the position of president in
an organization where men prevailed.
There are only three women in my
organization. I am a direct member, but
they are the widows of former associates.
We plan for other women to join as
members, we hope that in the future we
will be more. Women have more
participation now because they have
studied and because they are starting to
appreciate us more, to see that we can
participate and be good in agriculture,
and that we can carry out our work and
expertise.
A bigger participation and performance
in the field hasn’t exempted her like
many other women from the
reproductive roles socially learned, and
that reveal the versatility of the gender.
First I do all the chores in my house, after
that I take my husband his lunch, and
that is when I start work in the nursery
and go oversee the loading of the cane. I
also work controlling or saying how
things need to be done at the farm, and
when I grind my cane, I also work at the
module, in the cleaning and sieving cane
zone. During the coffee harvest, I
supervise the pulping and the drying of
the coffee beans to then send it to
Norandino.
Bonifacia Calle also has two hectares
dedicated to coffee and one with sugar
cane. She started cultivating coffee, but
the vulnerability of the crop to the pests
made her considere growing sugar
cane to produce panela as an
alternative crop, and she was not
wrong, since it turned out to be more
resistant than coffee and with greater
profitability.
In the beginning we were dedicated to
coffee, then, we saw that other
members were cultivating cane and
obtained good benefits so we started
with a half hectare and start to grind
and we saw there was a good profit and
so we started, my husband with two
hectares and I with one, now we have
tripled our production.
It was a big change with panela, we
produced between from 2000 to 2500
pounds 4 per workday, and we were
earning more than 2,000 soles 5 , from
which we paid the workers around
1,500 and we kept the rest for the
benefit of our household.
The village of Chonta is located in
Montero, the Peruvian district with the
biggest organic sugar cane production
of the country in the hands of small
producers. Norandinos’ panela is 100%
peasant production and Italy is its main
destination, with yearly exports of
around 900t in 2014.
Sugar cane grows year round which
allows for the continued production of
panela, generating permanent income
for the farmer’s families.
4
2.5 tons (t).
5
648.508 USD, according to the exchange
rate the month and year of publication.
(1 sol = 0.324254 USD).
20 21

Creating conditions for
better participation
She has been producing coffee for 20 years and 16 in
the base Cooperative Ramon Sevilla, in the municipality
of Dipilto, land of coffee, plantain and corn, in New
Segovia, Nicaragua. Alexa Marin is 42 years old; she is the
mother of two teenagers and also a delegate of her
cooperative in Prodecoop, a second level organization
member of Cooperatives Without Borders which
involves 38 base cooperatives integrated by 2,300 small
producers, where 30% are women.
Alexa is convinced that there aren´t more women in
cooperatives, not because they do not want to, or do
not have the necessary leadership, but because there
are still not enough adequate conditions for a bigger
participation in the organizations.
Sometimes I test myself and say, if I have training at 8
o’clock in the morning. I think twice about going,
because that means I need to wake up while it is still
dark to cook, push the kids to get ready, I am going to be
tired by the time I get there, and after that I have to
come back and continue working. So it is easier not to
go, but not because I do not want to, rather because
they do not adjust trainings to the pace we have.
The life of a female farmer is different, maybe even
harder than that of a man, and when it comes to
participating in the organization the difference is as
clear as day.
I think that we all contribute, but women more so,
because we wake up very early to feed the ones who go
to work at the parcel, we take care of the children. Aside
from collecting coffee, the women work in the quality
selection process of the grain, then drying the coffee, or
checking if the coffee is at its best to take it out, it is a big
contribution and it she is the last one going to bed but
the first who wakes up.
22
23
photo: natalia lópez

She asserts that one thing is to produce
coffee but it is different to participate in a
cooperative: learning, bringing ideas and
sharing abilities she did not know she
had.
I used to be shy; I thought the world was
smaller, in a sense that in order to
participate you needed to know more,
but not really. I realized that with your
organization you can go places, meet a
lot of people, to understand many things
and work with enthusiasm for others that
might be in more disadvantage than you.
It has been difficult with our male
partners, not because you need to
confront them, but because sometimes
they say yes to you, but in the end you
never get to see it materialized, that is the
hardest struggle: when you say -to your
partners- look, let’s work on this, they tell
you yes and then you see that those
procedures never start and those are the
struggles that frustrate you. However, we
do not blame them since it is part of a
patriarchal and chauvinistic culture which
we have been carrying as a society and
not only in Nicaragua. We know that in
the cooperatives there are spaces for
making decisions that culturally has been
reserved for men only.
Alexa is coordinator of the Prodecoop´s
Central Commission of gender and
considers that advances have been made
regarding a greater participation of
women in cooperatives, but it still needs
more sensibility and commitment.
Working with women needs to be put on
the table, because sometimes in order to
not start a fight with the organization,
you do not mention the topic, since a
project for coffee renovation is easier that
you coming to tell me, look I need to
organize a self-esteem workshop for
twenty women, so what?, What is it going
to produce?… the other thing is easier,
because, sometimes, these personal
changes are not given much importance,
but changing people is what produces
more, because there is no use in having a
parcel if the person is down and has very
low self-esteem.
I think the topic has been addressed in
the organizations, but to me its not
enough yet. Give her boots and shovels
she will need it, but next to it give her
training, empower her, fill her with
motivation so she can work, otherwise,
the boots, the shovels won´t be of any
use to them. Cooperatives are not plants,
cooperatives are people and people
need to be motivated. Aside from the
efforts that country women have been
conducting to venture into social and
development processes, Alexa knows
that there are common battles that male
producers and female producers have
been encountering.
One of the greatest challenges, I think, as
a cooperative and as an organization is
competition from, agro-industrial
companies that are coming in, and even
certifications of Fair Trade that are
benefiting companies, and they do not
demand as much as they do from
cooperatives, they request a lot from us,
so that is when the challenges begin,
how to fight so Fair Trade can really be for
what it was intended for, to improve small
producers´ life.
It is a long road for small scale female and
male producers, and the efforts are and
will be consistent, but the benefits of
being a member are worth it.
A Small producer by himself does not
have access to the market, he cannot
compete because of his small volumes,
you cannot have technical assistant with
such a small parcel. you won’t be able to
compete in the market, nor have access
to credit.
On the other hand, in the organization
you have long lasting direct relations,
because the member knows who his
coffee buyers are, but when you are out
of the cooperative and from that market
you go and sell to a “coyote” that will be it
for your coffee, and after that, nothing.
But when you are in the cooperative, you
NICARAGUA
PROODECOOP, 100% certified coffee cooperative
Consisting of a 38 cooperative base, 2300 associates,
70% men y 30% women
Commercializing organic coffee in European
American and Japanese markets
Annual average coffee production: 30,000 sacks of coffee
photo: sean hawkey
have technical assistance and your
market. As well as, social projects like
scholarships, school materials for children
from first to sixth grade of elementary
school, and for the ones in high school
and fees payment.
With the premium of Fair Trade
Prodecoop one dollar per every hundred
pounds is destined to buy land for
women. This fund works as seed capital
for the benefit of the daughters of the
producers’, for those who do not possess
land, and for those who having it, need
technical assistance, renovation and
repopulation.
24 25

Quality Without Borders
Throughout the years Cooperatives without Borders has
shortened the distance between organizations of
producers and end users, promoted spaces for technical
exchange among associates, and forged solid liasons for
the establishment of fair and direct commercial relations
between buyers and producers, allowing us to build an
identity of quality for European markets.
agricoltori di coop without borders
As a result of this work, cooperatives like
Prodecoop, Cooproca from Nicaragua,
Norandino from Peru, La Alianza and
APPTA from Costa Rica, hold a solid
commercial alliance with the Italian
company of organic food Alce Nero. This
commercial relationship, based on
quality and mutual trust, has been of
great value in order to create an identity
in the European market, with the
product line of agricoltori di coop
without borders. We talk about
chocolate, panela, juices and organic
coffee which Alce Nero, acquires,
processes and commercializes
respecting the identity of the
organizations, country of origin of the
product, but above all, generating
value-added at the source.
As a result, this solid commercial
alliance has brought quality recognition
of the products by other companies,
like the supermarket chain COOP of
Italy.
Bar of Chocolate
made with cocoa from
APPTA, Costa Rica.
courtesy of: alce nero
Produced by The Alliance of Costa Rica,
PRODECOOP from Nicaragua and
Cooperative Norandino from Perú
Cane sugar produced by the Peruvian cooperative
Norandino
26 27
courtesy of: alce nero

The organization
Cooperatives Without Borders
International is coordinated by an
Executive Team, with offices in San
Jose, Costa Rica, and directed by a
Board of Directors which
periodically meet to follow up and
execute decisions made by the
assembly.
According to the structure of
Cooperatives Without Borders, the
maximum authority is the General
Assembly of associates which takes
place every three years.
The current Board of Directors for
the period of 2012-2015 is chaired
by the following members:
28
President
Juanita Baltodano
APPTA - Costa Rica
Vice president
Lucio Cavazzoni
Alce Nero - Italy
Treasurer
Alvaro Almengor
Copiasuro - Guatemala
Secretary
Pablo Granados
La Alianza - Costa Rica
Director
Merling Preza
PRODECOOP - Nicaragua
Director
Santiago Paz
Cooperativa Norandino - Perú
Director
Adriano Martins
Red Cooperativas Sin Fronteras - Brazil
photo: giovanni aloi
Associate Producers
Argentina: Cosar ( www.coopcosar.com ) and Cooperativa Norte Grande
(apicolaeljardin@hotmail.com). Costa Rica: APPTA (www.appta.org),
Asoprodulce ( gerenciaasoproodulce@hotmail.com ), La Alianza
(www.facebook.com/cafeorganicomadretierra) y Coopecañera
(www.coopecañera.com ). Guatemala: Copiasuro
(alvaro.almengor@hotmail.com), FECCEG ( www.fecceg.com ).
Italy: Cooperativa Placido Rizzotto (www.libera.it), Conapi
(www.conapi.it). Nicaragua: Prodecoop ( www.prodecoop.com ) and
COOPROCA RL. ( cooproca_rl@yahoo.com ). Panamá: Cocabo R.L.
(www.cocabo.org). Perú: Cooperativa Norandino ( www.coopnorandino.
com.pe )
Brazil , Network Cooperatives Without Borders:
Ecocitrus ( www.ecocitrus.com.br ), ABSUL ( www.abdsul.org.br ),
Instituto Morro da Cutia( www.morroddacutia.org ), Cooperativa Grande
Sertao (www.cooperativagrandesertao.com.br), FEA, Coapampa,
Apomis, Casa Apis ( www.casaapis.net ), Copabase ( www.copabase.org ),
Cocaram ( www.cocoram.com.br ), Copercuc ( www.coopercuc.com.br ),
Agreco ( www.agreco.com.br ), Coapismel
(www.cerratinga.org.br/coapismel ), Coopercaju (www.cerratinga.org.br/
coopercaju), Copeg ( www.coopeg.com.br ), Apismel - Cooperativa de
Produtores Rurais Organizados para Ajuda Mutuan
(www.coapismel.com.br)
Commercial
Associates
Italy: Alce Nero (www.alcenero.com). France: Ethiquable
(www.ethiquable.com). Canada: La Siembra (www.lasiembra.com)
Other Associates
Costa Rica: CEDECO (www.cedeco.or.cr). Brazil: Centro Ecológico
(www.centroecologico.org.br). Italy: Etimos(www.etimos.it)
photo: natalia lópez
29
31

photo: sean hawkey
Origin of the products
COSTA RICA
Appta
Appta
La Alianza
ASOPRODULCE
Coopecañera
ARGENTINA
Cosar
Norte Grande
BRAZIL
Red Cooperativas Sin Fronteras
Producer
countries
GUATEMALA
FECCEG
PERÚ
ITALY
FECCEG
Cooperativa Norandino
Copiasuro R.L
NICARAGUA
ITALY
COOPROCA R.L.
Cooperativa Placido Rizzotto
Prodecoop
Prodecoop
PANAMÁ
COCABO R.L
Conapi
· 34 producer
organizations.
· In 8 countries in Central and South
America and in the South of IItaly.
· More than 28 thousand . families
· Commercial Associates
in Italy (Alce Nero), France
(Ethiquable) and Canada (La Siembra).
· Methodologies: agroforestry,
biodynamic and organic.
30
31

Sales by category
products 2014
Cocoa
34%
12%
Other
A publication from:
Cooperativas Sin Fronteras Internacional
Design, art and printing: Lara Segura y Associates
Writing y editing: Natalia López Espinoza
Translated by: Sylvia Ramos and Jesse Trace
Sugar
45%
7%
2%
Honey
Coffee
Total of tons: est. 2,900
San José, Costa Rica
March 2015
32

Tel + 506 22315929
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