Coops Fortnight 2024: How ECOOKIM and EDUCE Represent the Spirit of a Co-operative

The Story of ECOOKIM

Enterprise Coopérative Kimbre (ECOOKIM) is a group of co-operatives that joined together in 2004, in the Haut Sassandra region of Ivory Coast, to improve growing conditions and quality of cocoa for Ivorian cocoa farmers. Within each co-operative there are farming families working together. ECOOKIM buys and processes raw cocoa from these co-operatives for export.

Selling cocoa through ECOOKIM provides around 70% of the household income for those living in these regions of Ivory Coast. Comprising 30 cocoa farmer groups and over 32,000 individual farmers, today, ECOOKIM is one of the largest cocoa co-operatives in the country.

An Altogether Different Way to Create Thriving Communities

ECOOKIM represents the spirit of a co-operative, to do business differently and make life better for everyone involved. In 2021, they achieved this by:

• Constructing 10 hydraulic pumps to provide access to water for producers and their communities.
• Developing five school canteens for the benefit of the children of producers and their communities.
• Establishing a training centre in the city of Daloa to offer producers a better learning environment
• Investing in four warehouses with bagging units to improve conditions and preserve cocoa quality.

ECOOKIM have also launched a cocoa farmer livelihoods improvement programme (Livelihoods Ecosystem Advancement Programme, LEAP) with support from Mars International, designed to address persistent barriers to cocoa farmers’ ability to achieve a living income. The programme aims to support 15,000 smallholder farmers in Ivory Coast on a path to a living income by 2030.

The Story of EDUCE

Established in 1997, EDUCE Sociedad Cooperativa de Responsabilidad Limitada (EDUCE) is a co-operative dedicated to the production and export of Fairtrade honey.

For nearly a decade prior to its establishment, EDUCE operated as Educación, Cultura, y Ecología (EDUCE AC), a local non-profit organisation founded by Mayan activists focused on health, agricultural production, gender and the environment.

Today, EDUCE represents the voices and interests of 800 beekeepers in 40 co-ops, across three states of the Mexican peninsula. Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo.

Since working with Shared Interest, EDUCE’s producer groups have increased from 63 to 113.

Speaking on the impact of our fair finance, General Manger, Miguel Ángel Munguìa, said:

“Financing has been key to increasing volume and growing.”

An Altogether Different Way to Do Brilliant Business

EDUCE represents the spirit of a co-operative: to do business differently, and make life better for everyone involved. 

They achieve this by:

• Supporting the beekeepers with activities to diversify producers’ income, mainly with vegetables and fruits.
• Providing training to their producers in beekeeping best practices, accounting and disease control.
• Defending the territories and culture of the indigenous Mayan population with training and advocacy.
• Utilising grant funds from international donors and buyers to support the beekeepers in various fields.

General Manager Miguel encourages growth as a priority for the co-operative. He told us

"In the region there are around 18,000 beekeepers, most are not in co-operatives, they're not organised ... we think that co-operativism is a good option. We have under 1,000 beekeepers organised with us, so that means there are 17,000 out there to help us grow."

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Click here to learn more about EDUCE.

Click here to learn more about ECOOKIM.