How a co-op works
Aim:
To understand how an agricultural co-operative works.
You will need:
Large pieces of thick sugar paper, coloured pens/crayons, stapler.
Duration:
45 minutes
Make a giant storybook. Divide the group into pairs or threes, and ask each to design a page of the storybook (there will be 8 pages). Explain to each small group what they should draw on their page. They can write the words to go on each page (or an adult could do this).
- An agricultural co-op is for farmers. They buy shares in the society to become members.
- The co-op buys goods from other firms (such as fertilisers and seeds) and sells these to the members at a low price.
- The members sell their farm produce to the co-op society, e.g. maize, cocoa, cotton, coffee, milk etc.
- The co-op tries to get a good price when it sells these products again. Some big co-ops export goods abroad.
- Some co-ops change products, such as making butter and cheese out of milk or milling maize to sell flour.
- The co-op may give training to the farmers, to help them grow better crops.
- The co-op may also give loans to the farmers, so they can buy new things and expand their farm.
- Co-operatives offer poor farmers a way out of poverty because they can work together to get services that they did not have before.
When the pages are finished attach them together with staples to create a giant storybook. You could use extra pages for a front and back cover, and fold another piece of paper over the spine to cover the staples.
Read the story aloud to the group, so they can see how their page fits into the story of how a co-operative business works.