A Story of Successful Development

The origin of the Cooperativa de Productores de Café y Servicios Múltiples de Naranjo R.L. (Naranjo Coffee Growers' and Multiple Services Cooperative, LLC) goes back to the early 1960s.

The farmers of Naranjo County, dedicated almost exclusively to growing coffee, shared concerns and a desire to organize that did not move beyond just words until the creation of the Naranjo Community Development Association set the precedent for community organization.

Based on the experience of that first entity, on October 22, 1966, the Agriculture Commission was established, with support from the Agriculture Ministry's local extension office, headed by Agronomist Claudio Rodríguez Matamoros and his assistant Olman Ramírez Corrales. The Board of Directors of the Agriculture Commission was formed as follows:

Coordinator:	Fabio Hidalgo R.
Secretary:	Olman Ramírez C.
Teller:	Miguel Barrantes C.
Members:	Carlos Corrales B. Adonay Calvo Arnoldo Araya Jesús Marín Edwin Acuña

There was also a representative from each of the county's districts. The Commission set out right away in pursuit of its objectives, which included the analysis of farming issues in the county and the execution of several projects designed to solve various problems faced by Naranjo farmers.

This analysis of the county's agricultural problems caused the Naranjo farmers to confront the reality that the county's principal crop was coffee, and that there was not much possibility of diversification due to a series of conditions such as topography, climate, and tradition. Thus the need to form a cooperative as soon as possible was agreed upon, in order to solve a series of problems facing coffee producers.

As a result, at the Commission's meeting on December 3, 1966, it was agreed to impart cooperativism education courses to the region's coffee producers.

The Cooperative Department of the Banco Nacional, along with Macedonio Solórzano and Fernando Estrada, President and General Manager, respectively, of the Palmares Coffee Growers' Cooperative, collaborated extensively with said courses, while the Naranjo Municipal Government offered the use of its council meeting hall for the same purpose.

The first assembly was held on January 7, 1967, with 80 coffee growers in attendance. Subcommittees were appointed for each district of the county, in order to hold meetings for the exchange of opinions among farmers and to explain the benefits that a cooperative would bring to the coffee producing sector of Naranjo.

Finally, a Central Organizing Committee for the Naranjo Coffee Growers' Cooperative was formed, comprised as follows:

President:	Fabio Hidalgo
Vice President:	Arnoldo Corrales
Secretary:	Olman Ramírez
Coordinator:	Ing. Claudio Rodríguez
Members:	Miguel Barrantes Adonay Calvo Edwin Acuña Carlos Corrales Leví Fonseca Manuel Rivera Francisco Quesada Lisandro Corrales Roberto Corrales Juan Ramón Solís Alberto Herrera Arnoldo Araya

Right away commissions were appointed to deal with economic matters, services and propaganda, education, and bylaws and regulations.

A course on cooperativism was given by Víctor Herra in July and August of 1967 at the Regis movie house in Naranjo. Through a survey of more than 200 coffee growers, very valuable information was gathered with respect to the size of local farms, their production levels, and the interest in forming a cooperative.

Purchase of the Coffee Mill

A cooperative of coffee growers without a processing mill was destined to disappear, and thus it became clear that it was imperative that the Cooperative run its own mill in order to satisfy the needs of its members.

Offers were made to several coffee processing companies in the area, and finally a search was begun for property apt for building a coffee mill, in the event an operating mill could not be purchased.

Finally, the great Naranjo entrepreneur Juan Mercedes Matamoros expressed his willingness to sell a small coffee mill to the Cooperative. Credit was requested from the Cooperative Department of the Banco Nacional, and on January 17, 1968, the Committee agreed to purchase the mill, appraised at a value of 800,000 colons.

Process of Formation

At the same time as the negotiations for the coffee mill purchase were progressing, the process of gathering information for the Cooperative continued. The Organizing Committee visited cooperatives in Palmares, Cartago, Santa María de Dota, and Tarrazú for purposes of consultation and acquiring knowledge concerning the operation of a coffee production cooperative.

Delegations from the Committee also attended the general member assemblies of the Palmares Cooperative, Fedecoop R.L., and the Palmares Regional Tobacco Growers' Cooperative.

A round table was also organized, with the participation of representatives from coffee growers' cooperatives from Palmares, La Victoria (Grecia), and Santa Rosa de Heredia.

Finally, all the area's farmers were visited in order to obtain support for the formation and capitalization of the Cooperative, culminating in the Charter Assembly held at the Republic of Columbia Elementary School in Naranjo on March 10, 1968.

The Cooperative was founded by 98 members, who contributed an initial working capital of 39,800 colons. The Cooperative was legally registered with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security on April 23, 1968.

The first Board of Directors was comprised as follows:

President :	Arnoldo Corrales
Vice President :	Lisandro Corrales
Secretary :	Olman Ramírez
Examiner :	Adonay Calvo
Member :	Miguel Barrantes
Member :	Fabio Hidalgo
Member :	Francisco Quesada
General Manager :	Ing. Claudio Rodríguez

The first years were very difficult. Thanks to the trust placed in the administrators by the members, however, obstacles were overcome one by one through hard work, dedication, and sacrifice. By the end of the first year of operations, 10,000 fanegas (400-liter units) had been milled, the Cooperative's capital stock rose to 628,000 colons, the value of fixed assets rose to 800,000 colons, and sales of farm supplies for the first year exceeded 200,000 colons.

When we look at those figures and compare them to the enormous volumes handled by the Cooperative today, we can only be amazed at seeing the tremendous development achieved over the past 35 years, due principally to the honesty and spirit of sacrifice of those who founded the Cooperative, those who managed it through the years, and those who are currently in charge of ensuring the ongoing growth of the Cooperative.