The Cooperative System in Turkey and Producer and Marketing Cooperatives Run by Women Amesia Çalışan Arı Kadın Girişimi Üretim Ve Pazarlama Kooperatifi

CHAPTER 16 TURKEY The cooperative system in Turkey and producer and marketing cooperatives run by women Amesia Çalışan Arı Kadın Girişimi Üretim ve Pazarlama Kooperatifi

Salahattin Kumlu

136 1. The cooperative system in Turkey of these laws. Turkey is one of the world’s leading countries in terms of numbers of cooperatives, but he first cooperatives in Turkey were es- not in terms of the percentage of the citizenry be- tablished towards the end of the Ottoman longing to a cooperative. In other words, cooper- T Empire. Just 15-20 years after the coopera- atives in Turkey are predominantly small in size. tive movement began in the countries that led the The ‘Report on Cooperatives in Turkey 2016’ way – such as Great Britain, Germany and France was published in May 2017 under the direction – the first combines with a cooperative orientation of the Directorate-General for Cooperatives at were formed in the second half of the 19th century. the Ministry of Customs and Trade. According to These organisations, known at the time as ‘Mem- the report, there were 53,259 cooperatives in Tur- leket Sandıkları – Home Funds’, represent the key at the end of 2016 with a total of 7.4 million beginnings of cooperatives in Turkey. The move- members. They were organized into 462 regional ment received new impetus after the founding associations, which in turn were organized into 14 of the Republic in 1923. Under the leadership of central associations. The umbrella organisation Atatürk, a wide variety of activities were initiated is the Türkiye Milli Kooperatifler Birliği (TMKB) – in all areas of the cooperative system during the the National Cooperative Union of Turkey. period between 1920 and 1938. The law that creat- The Law on Cooperatives, Act No. 1163, governs ed the Institute for the Cooperative System in Tur- not only primary cooperatives, but also their par- key went into force in 1931. In 1935, this legislation ent associations. It stipulates that the regional and was succeeded by laws establishing agricultural central associations must also take the legal status credit cooperatives and agricultural sales coop- of cooperatives. eratives. These laws form the foundations of the cooperative system in Turkey. The Turkish legis- Fig. 1: Structure of the cooperative system of Turkey: lature issued a research mandate to the Institute cooperatives, associations and membership numbers in 2016 for the Cooperative System, while the two types of cooperatives mentioned above were commis- sioned to resolve the problems of credit financing 1 and sale of agricultural products. TMKB

The cooperative movement stagnated during 14 World War II and the post-war years. Once it had Central associations been anchored in the country’s constitution in (nationwide)

1961 and was issued state mandate that promoted 462 it, the movement regained momentum after 1961. Regional associations Another milestone was the adoption of the Law on Cooperatives, Act No. 1163, in 1969. This law, 53,259 Primary cooperatives which is very similar to the German Cooperatives Act, is still in force. Work has been ongoing for around 10 years to adapt this law to the new cir- 7.4 million Cooperative members (individuals) cumstances. Finally, the ‘Turkish National Cooperative Strategy and Action Plan’ went into effect in 2012. Although Turkey is one of the leading countries in This plan had been drawn up by all relevant Turk- quantitative terms, the quality and entrepreneur ish parties and with the support of the German Co- ial success of its cooperatives leaves a great deal to operative and Raiffeisen Confederation (DGRV). be desired. Alongside some cooperatives and as- There have been three laws on cooperatives sociations that are economically strong and very governing the cooperative sector since 2017. Three successful, the vast majority are dependent upon ministries are responsible for the implementation state support. The number of cooperatives that

CHAPTER 16: TURKEY satisfy the principles of the cooperative system It would be naive, however, to assume that and are run accordingly is insignificantly small. women who have been marginalised to date, and Serious deficits remain in the area of self-gover who have been constantly disadvantaged in so- nance. The main problem, however, is undoubt- cial and economic terms, would suddenly seize edly the lack of commitment to cooperatives on the initiative, take charge and compete with men the part of their members, combined with an in- who have been dominant in society to date. To un- adequate sense of belonging. derstand the problems with which entrepreneur- The government officials in charge are aware ial women find themselves confronted, they first of the problem and are in search of solutions. One need to be heard and shown empathy. such solution is the Turkish ‘National Cooperative Against the backdrop, the women’s coopera- Strategy and Action Plan’, which went into effect tive S.S. Amesia Kadın Girişimi Üretim ve İşletme in 2012. Kooperatifi will be presented . It recently gained nationwide recognition throughout Turkey. The presentation is a summary of conversations held 2. Producer and processing with members of this cooperative. cooperatives run by women

Women are subject to economic and social dis- 3. An example of a successful advantage worldwide. Cooperatives can make an women’s cooperative in Turkey: the important contribution towards overcoming this cooperative Amesia Çalışan Arı situation, as equality is one of their guiding prin- Kadın Üretim ve İşletme Kooperatifi ciples and values. Membership is granted to all without regard to religion, language, skin colour, Amesia is the name of a region in northern Tur- gender, etc., nor is there any discrimination in key. It is where Amasya Province is situated, one terms of the authorities and rights of members: all of the country’s 81 provinces. According to his- members enjoy the same rights. torians, the name ‘Amesia’ derives from Amasis, However, in spite of the fact that the principle Queen of the Amazon. of equality is enshrined in fundamental values, Located in the heart the Black Sea region, principles and legislation, women continue to be Amasya Province is divided into 7 districts, in- disadvantaged. This situation is particularly evi- cluding the central district. The most socially and dent in the underdeveloped and emerging econ- economically developed district is Merzifon. omies. Women are in a clear minority among co- Merzifon forms a link between the western and operative members and are nearly nowhere to be eastern parts of the province. Merzifon has the found in positions of leadership. strongest agricultural and industrial sectors of all Based on this fact, a type of cooperative has of the districts in the province. been introduced in Turkey that is known as ‘Kadın Another special feature of the district is its so- Girişimi Üretim ve İşletme Kooperatifi’, ‘Pro- cial structure. Turks, Greeks and Armenians lived ducer and Processing Cooperatives for Women’ together in the district in peace until the end of (‘Women’s Cooperatives’). They are open to wom- the 19th century. That is when the Armenians and en only. In addition to this, there are cooperatives Greeks were unfortunately forced to leave the the statutes of which stipulate that women must area. Today, their numbers are greatly reduced. form a majority of members and in positions of As in other multicultural areas, the population leadership. was characterised by a high level of tolerance, At the end of 2016, there were 55 women’s co- and life and commerce were characterised by di- operatives with a total membership of 640. This versity. corresponds to a still very low average number of The Amasya Province Cattle Breeders’ Associa- 10-20 women in each such cooperative. tion (DSYB Amasya), founded in 1998, is the only

138 such association based in a central district rather than in a provincial capital. The association quickly became active and developed into a successful agricultural organisation, with positive effects for the district and the province. DSYB Amasya main- tains national and international relationships, partnerships and networks, making it one of the leading examples for the country today. In 2011, DSYB Amasya founded ‘Amesia Gıda, Tarım, Hayvancılık, Nakliye, Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi – Amasya Food, Agriculture, Breeding, Transport, Industry and Trade Ltd. What brought the women together? (“Amesia Ltd.”)’, with the declared purpose of A project initiated by DSYB in 2010. The project marketing local and natural products produced explained the importance of social security to the by the wives of association members using their women. Women who participated in the training own resources. The company also operates a dairy course became aware of the importance of social to process the milk of association members. The security, and we wanted to do something about it dairy products are marketed under the ‘Amesia’ straight away. brand name. The name quickly became widely known and is in demand not just in Merzifon, but Were you able to begin right away? throughout the country. The company currently Did it go perfectly smoothly? has sales subsidiaries in Merzifon, Ankara and Is- Unfortunately, it was anything but easy. Our hus- tanbul, and in nine airports. It also runs an online bands in particular caused problems and proved to be shop at http://www.amesia.com.tr/. an obstacle. They were so used to having everything Amesia Ltd. acts as a supplier, marketer and there for them. This is true not only of our husbands sponsor for the ‘Amesia Çalışan Arı Kadın Girişimi but of all the villages, if not of the whole of Turkey. Üretim ve İşleme Kooperatifi’ women’s coopera- The men are not exactly thrilled if their wives go to tive. work independently. We always stay in the back- In spite of different founding statutes, in terms ground. But to achieve social security, we have to of their structure and function, DSYB are cooper- work and become productive. There is no other way. atives with a strong similarity to cattle breeders’ At the time, DSYB had launched another project associations in Germany. The main reason for this with a focus on milk hygiene and milk processing. is that they emerged from Turkish-German tech- We were informed about everything, from milking nical cooperation between 1990 and 1999. to consumption, and we received practical demon- The Amesia Women’s Association was founded strations of the knowledge that was conveyed to us. on the initiative of the wives of members of DSYB We learned the things we needed to pay attention Amasya (‘DSYB’) and with the association’s sup- to in the production of cheese – white cheese, hard port. The German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Con- cheese, farm cheese, etc. – and other products. The federation (DGRV) also contributed to the estab- training sessions were held in a number of villages in lishment of the women’s association. The following Merzifon, and many women took part in them. After answers stem from an interview with Ms Medine the training, we received our certificates. Then the Alkoç, Board Chairwoman of the cooperative. next step was our own production.

Did you have facilities suitable for production? As always, we contacted DSYB. Our husbands are members there, and some are members of the board. We explained to them what we wanted to produce.

CHAPTER 16: TURKEY They were not thrilled, but the DSYB Chairman was picked us up in the evening. In the beginning, their on our side, and that is how we overcame the prob- resistance was great, but they got used to it with lem. At first, rooms in a residential building were time. Seeing us satisfied and productive seems to rented for us. have softened them, and they began supporting us. Some of us had real transport problems. They Who do you mean by ‘us’? came from further away, and public transport was By ‘us’, I mean 15 interested women from 15 differ- expensive and did not drive very often. Sometimes ent villages. We wanted to bring about a change in DSYB organized transport for them; especially in general and in our own lives as well. We really were rainy weather, the association drove them home. very lucky. Not only did we receive assistance from DSYB, but we also had a leader who pointed us in How long did this go on? When did you start the right direction. Actually, we did not know what producing on a larger scale? we were doing at first. It was Bingül Alış, a retired Around six months after our first meeting. One day, teacher, who brought us together, organised us and Bingül Hanım told us there would be a fair for local pointed us in the right direction. Bingül Hanım made products in Antalya, and that we should definitely us a team and provided us with leadership. We really take part in that. Only, we did not know how to do owe her a lot. that. If we could not even leave the village without our husbands, how would we make it to Antalya Were there differences of opinion within the group? and market our products there? This was very diffi- Or did the fifteen women from fifteen different cult for us, and very exciting at the same time. We villages easily come together and form a team? convinced our husbands and received financial sup- Of course it was not easy. At first, we did not even port from DSYB. Then we packed all our products know how to deal with each other. Bingül Hanım – jam, thyme, peppermint, tarhana, etc. – and drove used beautiful examples and practical applications to Antalya. That was an exciting experience. The in- to train and shape us, though. Of course there were terest in our products was very high, and we said problems now and then, but we overcame them all. to ourselves: we can do this; we absolutely have to Now we have been together for a few years. Does continue our work. After that, things began gather- that not show how well we manage the company? ing momentum.

You are certainly right. What happened next? What exactly did you do? We did not just sit around. We met two or three We decided to open a sales outlet. Since our prod- times a week in the premises DSYB had rented for ucts were obviously in high demand, we wanted to us and worked together there for a few hours. Our produce and sell a greater variety, with more and products were small, handcrafted products from the higher-quality products. region. But for us, this was a very major thing. This After returning from Antalya, we spoke with our was the first time we had met outside of our villages husbands again, discussed things with them and and spent time with like-minded friends. Free from finally convinced them. As before, DSYB has light- the burdens of mother, father, husband, mother-in- ened our burden and paved the way for us. law, father-in-law and children, we were free to talk and discuss what we would do next. It was a com- How did you come into contact with cooperatives? pletely different world; it was like a dream. Before At the time we were looking for opportunities for long, we could not wait to finally get back together further training in order to learn the things we still with one another at our workplace. needed to learn and locate information about business opportunities. So we asked around about that. How did you get from the village to your workplace? That is how we finally arrived at the DGRV delega- Did every woman have a transport connection? tion in Ankara. We met with a woman there and ex- Our husbands grumbled and drove us there and plained the matter to her. Since then, the DGRV rep-

140 resentative in Ankara, Ms Ifakat Gürkan, has always did this for four years. In the process, we learned been available for us and assists us in all matters. everything from the ground up; we understood how Together with the people in charge at the Ministry a cooperative works, and we embraced it. It was not of Agriculture, DGRV informed us about the coop- easy. In an environment in which everyone had pro- erative system, explained the benefits of the organ- duced and sold their own products up until then, we isational form and trained us on a whole range of were suddenly being told to produce this quantity topics, food legislation, marketing, etc.. of the product in this way; then we would sell it together, with part of the revenue going back to the Did you set up a cooperative immediately after the cooperative. It was not easy for everyone to accept training? that. Some people wanted to have a cooperative, but No. The experts at DGRV always urged us to make a they wanted to keep all their income to themselves. plan, to calculate it through and to do business only Others did not want to work together, and their con- where we would make a profit in the medium or long tinued presence harmed themselves and the group. term. We said: let us set up a cooperative. They said: Unfortunately, some of the members of our group set up a virtual cooperative, elect a board and work left the cooperative for these and similar reasons. for six months as if you were a cooperative. Then Then we had to replace them with new members. take a look at the results. If your earnings exceed Today, we advise anyone who wants to start a co- your expenses and there is a satisfactory profit left operative to do a dry run before officially setting the over, you should officially start a cooperative. And cooperative up. If the collaboration works without that is how we did it; and it was good that we fol- major problems, and if the profits/benefits gener- lowed their advice. ated meet expectations, then you should proceed. Otherwise, an organisation like that will generate What was the advantage of this approach? more losses than benefits. Then it is really just a What happened then was this: they had said work shame. as a virtual cooperative for six months; we then

CHAPTER 16: TURKEY REASONS FOR ESTABLISHING THE MERZIFON WOMEN’S COOPERATIVE AND RECOMMENDATIONS (20 FEBRUARY 2013)

• In order to put women producers in our • Regional cooperatives promote women’s region in a position to market their products entrepreneurial skills and secure their place in under better physical and economic condi- society as an economic factor. tions, there is an urgent need for them to • Cooperative workshops help promote organise themselves in cooperatives. women’s craftsmanship. • The cooperative was to be formed at village • To support the activities of cooperatives, level or in a group of several villages, with a support should be sought from local and EU higher-level association established to repre- projects on issues such as marketing and sent the province. training. • By creating women’s cooperatives, women • Establishing exemplary production facilities producers can market their products com- in selected villages and organising production pletely without intermediaries, or significantly activities will accelerate development. reduce the number of intermediaries. • Creating women’s cooperatives will con • The open markets currently organised in the tribute to health awareness, child education, provincial and district capitals do not offer the promotion of women’s rights and to the ideal conditions for the sale of food. They system of family counselling. need to be better organised, for the benefit • Cooperatives will show women producers of sellers and consumers alike. the importance of cooperation, assistance • Women’s cooperatives will lead to improve- and solidarity and promote the culture of ments in our region in many respects; they partnership. will create jobs, promote social integration • To raise awareness of women’s cooperatives and contribute to the regional development and explain their importance, training should of agriculture and rural areas. be organised in village centres and its dissem- • Women working in rural areas on family ination promoted. farms are among the country’s unregistered • Arrangements should be introduced to cover labour force and one of the groups most the costs of setting up cooperatives – no- susceptible to poverty and unemployment. taries’ fees, the costs for a general meeting, An association of these disadvantaged accounting and other administrative fees – by women under the umbrella of a coopera- the state or special provincial offices. tive will improve their lives and contribute • One of the main declared tasks of the towards family income. Amasya Province Cattle Breeders’ Associa- • By setting up a women’s cooperative, pro- tion (DSYB) should be to support all activities ducers can market any surplus products not to establish ‘women’s cooperatives’ and in needed for their own consumption within the particular the cooperative to be established family. In the course of this marketing, they by the wives of DSYB members. will realise which products are in demand and can then adjust their production accordingly. • Local products produced and marketed under the aegis of a cooperative help promote domestic tourism. • Not only food can be produced and marketed within the context of a cooperative, but gift items and home textiles can, too.

142 How were decisions made at this stage? those are associations of persons from a village or First of all, we all agreed on products and the meth- from neighbouring villages in the same district. But ods we would use to produce them. Our virtual co- because the women in our group come from dif- operative procured the raw materials for this; we ferent districts, an agricultural cooperative was not then produced and sold the products without any possible at all. profit expectations. The proceeds from the sales At this point, we would like to express our special went to our cooperative in the form of revenue. thanks to the experts at the Ministry of Commerce, We also manufactured products individually and sold DGRV and the Ministry of Agriculture for their sup- them together. Five percent of the proceeds from port in the start-up phase. sales of these products went to the cooperative. In In short: We are women from different districts other words, products were manufactured by indi- who want to market the products they have manu- viduals and sold by the group. Because the products factured. The type of cooperative most appropriate were sold jointly, a portion of the revenue from their to this purpose is that of a producer and processing sale was withheld by the group. The idea behind this cooperative. was to introduce group members to the idea that a portion of personal income had to be forwarded When did you establish the cooperative? on to the cooperative. And we were successful in It was registered on 25 May 2015 and was thus that. Most of the members were satisfied with this officially established. We are 16 members. We arrangement. At the same time, we earned enough would like to welcome more members, but no one money to finally decide to create a cooperative. has enquired yet. Actually, there are many women who could participate, but many of them shy away How many people left the group in the course of from societal pressure and do not dare. What made setting up the cooperative? me think of that? There are more than a hundred Four companions left the group; that is one in four. women who sell their home-made products to us. I think that this is completely normal. The others The problem does not lie in manufacturing or sales; were determined to continue their work. the problem lies in participation in cooperative- ac tivities and solidarity with other women. The preju- You established a producer and processing coop- dices of husbands and senior family members play erative. What are its special features? How does it a particular role in this. The reason for this is very differ from other types of cooperatives? simple: women who work and become economically The four years were exciting and not without their independent demand the right to participate in the problems. In the end, we saw that we had mastered family and in their social environment based on their the work. We realised that we are able to work, pro- economic contribution. Some find this unsettling. It duce, sell and earn money together. Now the time will be hard to increase our membership figures until had come to form an autonomous structure. So we we can overcome these prejudices. informed ourselves again. As you know, there are different types of cooperatives. Some are under the Where do you manufacture your products? Are supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, others these production sites compliant with legislation under the Ministry of Commerce. The purposes for on food hygiene? which they were set up differ, too. Experts advised Unfortunately, we do not have a production facility us to set up a producer and processing cooperative where we can all work at the same time and that under the Ministry of Commerce. That is because has been set up in accordance with legislation. We there is no geographical restriction for cooperatives have made several attempts but have not succeed- like these. We can accept people from other villages, ed yet. districts or provinces as members. Actually, as farm- Thus far, every member has tried to set up a ers, we should have chosen a type of cooperative space at home in a way that complies with legisla- under the Ministry of Agriculture. Cooperatives like tion. That is where production then takes place. Bet-

CHAPTER 16: TURKEY ter-situated members make space available to other Unfortunately, this effort fails both because of the members at home. money and the lack of support from our husbands. This situation exacerbates the problems we have The men think it is unnecessary and fear a high with our husbands, because we take up part of the financial burden for the family. We cannot make op- apartment with fittings. The men complain, asking timal use of the Internet, either, because we do not whether the home is a flat or a workshop. know enough about it. But we do have Amesia Ltd., What I mean by that is quite clear: to make prod- a DSYB company, assisting us in this. ucts of higher quality, women need modern production facilities that they can easily get to and where What do you do to lower your production costs? they can work together. More than anything else, we are trying to reduce the labour factor. To prevent misunderstandings: by this How do you transport your products to the point I mean not the use of technology, but the extensive of sale? Do you rent a vehicle for the purpose? use of one’s own work. Technology is expensive, so Transport is another problem we have. Unfortu- there is nothing we can do about that yet. nately, we do not have a vehicle of our own that we We also make an extensive effort to procure our can use to transport our products. A rental vehicle raw materials inexpensively. For instance, we collect would incur high costs. That is why we ask our hus- the wild fruit for our jam in the mountains ourselves. bands to help. Sometimes it is easy, and sometimes We grow the fruit for our jams ourselves, and we we have to spend a long time asking. also produce the milk for our dairy products ourselves. This is how we can keep the cost of raw ma- How do you promote your products? terials low while improving quality at the same time. Advertising is another important problem. We We also purchase products from local women ought to organise events, travel and visit customers. who are not yet members of our cooperative. We

144 pay them more for them than the usual market tremely difficult for us to understand. There were a price. This way, we can provide them with an in- number of points raised in training, but it was only come, receive products of good quality and show in practice that we understood what these were all them the benefits of a cooperative on the basis of a about. That was very difficult for us, too. practical example. We serve as an example to them And then there was the matter of the producer while investing in the future at the same time. receipts, invoices, delivery slips ... All of that was new to us. I still cannot claim that I understand it all. Did you have difficulties setting up a cooperative? Establishing a cooperative is certainly not an easy Was setting up the cooperative worth all the effort? matter. You do not have to provide a lot of capital, It definitely was. Despite all our efforts, when we the way a company would, but even raising the nec- succeeded, and when this success was expressed essary capital was certainly not easy for us women, in the words, looks and behaviour of our social sur- as we are still in the beginning stages. Getting the roundings, we were uplifted with joy and forgot all money needed was very difficult. It would have been the difficulties we had faced. even harder if not for the support provided by DSYB. Another problem involved the formalities. Go What advantages do you think the cooperative has here and go there, this has to be applied for and this brought to the women involved? has to be filled out. That was tiring, daunting and Above all, they have gained in self-confidence. They also not really easy to understand. We had difficulty learned to stand on their own two feet and do a with this, even though the officials at the ministry decent good job. As the cooperative became more were willing to help us. and more successful, they became known in the Besides, we had virtually no idea of this ‘legisla- country and that fills them with joy. Provincial lead- tion’. The laws, regulations and directives were- ex ers, mayors and managing directors of companies

CHAPTER 16: TURKEY welcome them; even ministers invite them. There of the production and sale of individual product are countless news items, studies and videos about groups, such as pasta, jam and dairy products. Our them online. products bear the name of the producer and the vil- So, yes, we are bringing courage to women; we lage. Anyone who is judged negatively by customers have shown them that they can succeed, and we is sent a reminder. If no correction is forthcoming, want to continue to be a role model for them. that person’s responsibility is withdrawn. We have learned how to turn raw materials into DSYB food engineers also control our manufac- more valuable products. We have expanded our turing conditions and our products. We take the product range and improved our quality. In the pro- steps necessary based on their reminders and rec- cess, we earn money while at the same time ena- ommendations. bling others to earn something as well. We have opened up new markets for our prod- Do you offer further services? ucts. We also market the products of many women Yes. Six of our members who made a very strong who are not members themselves. This way, we can contribution have been elevated to the status of em- provide them with an income and make money our- ployees; we pay them a wage and guarantee them selves as well. the associated social benefits. The other members Before we began working together and launched receive remuneration for hours worked. Our aim for our cooperative, we were too shy to buy a handker- the future is to provide social security and health chief in the market; today, each of us is an entrepre- protection to all of the women working here. neur in her own right. Meanwhile, we are thinking of renovating our apartments and investing money in What is next? What are your further objectives? our production. This is an incredible transformation; I just mentioned one such objective: social security I can hardly put it into words. and health protection for all women who are mem- We are now able to listen more efficiently to the bers of the cooperative and work there. people we talk with. We have learned what empathy Another objective is to create employment op- is and are aware of its importance. That has led us portunities for women, to provide them with an in- to success. We have learned to communicate and come and make money with them. solve problems more rationally with our husbands, We also want products not to be thrown away in children and elders. We owe this to the training and this region. That is why we want to first determine cooperation we have experienced. the needs and adjust our production accordingly. We want to use and market the products pro- What principles do you observe with your duced by our members through the cooperative. products and your production? We want to serve as role models for women who We produce pasta, marmalade, jam, pickled vegeta- do not work and feel helpless and incapacitated. We bles, dairy products and other local products. In this want to convince them that, if we work together, we effort, we base our manufacturing and marketing on will succeed. the following: What does the customer want from us, how much of it does he or she want, and with What do you recommend to someone who wants which of our products is he or she satisfied? to start a cooperative? Naturally, customer satisfaction comes first. That Above all: do not make any hasty decisions. They is why we constantly audit our members’ production should carefully decide what they want to do, how operations - which is to say we audit ourselves. We they want to do it and with what or with whom they ask ourselves the question: Which of us further im- want to do it. That takes time. It took us nearly four proves customer satisfaction, and with which prod- years. The right people have to agree on reasona- ucts? Based on the answer to these questions, we ble goals; if not, failure and disappointment are in divide the members into groups. Once these groups evitable. have been formed, persons are placed in charge Cooperatives require patience, dedication, soli-

146 darity, respect for one another, empathy, work and a willingness to take responsibility. Stay away from the selfish, the greedy, and the gamblers who seek to get rich without effort. Of course, up-to-date and reliable information and good training are also important. Interested parties should not forget that successful cooperatives are more likely to be found in societies in which the citizenry is educated and willing to get involved and share with one another.

Everything is achieved hand in hand!

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