Farmer groups in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic have received training from the International Labour Organization (ILO) to show how the co-op model can drive rural community development.
Coffee growers, rice liquor producers and beekeepers were among those taking part in a programme organised by the (ILO in collaboration with Coop Okinawa, a Japanese consumer co-op, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Teachers and students from a technical and vocational education and training (TVET) school, and government officials, also attended the course, which used the ILO’s Our.COOP training tools to empower farmers’ groups in Attapeu province, in the southeast of the country.
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The Our.Coop training tools are designed to foster participatory group thinking and peer learning, enabling participants to acquire the knowledge needed to establish and operate co-ops in their communities. The programme consists of three modules: Think.Coop; Start.Coop; and Manage.Coop. In Attapeu province, the ILO used the Think.Coop and Start.Coop modules to address the community’s specific needs.
The ILO says 20 provincial government officials – including the deputy head of Attapeu province – learnt advanced steps for initiating co-operatives, using Start.Coop.
Members of a rice liquor co-operative and a beekeepers’ group used Start.Coop to explore ways to enhance marketing strategies and reach a broader customer base.
In Sanxay District, district government officials and coffee farmers learnt the basics of co-ops through Think.Coop. This group is planning to establish a co-op to install a coffee-blending machine and open a coffee shop.
Start.Coop training was also delivered to 50 students and teachers from an Attapeu TVET school.
“Next year, we plan to incorporate co-ops theory into the new curriculum,” teacher Mihsenxai Suradtadaa told the ILO. “I believe that beekeeping can be a source of income for people in the community and can be operated as a co-operative.”
The ILO says the training reflects the importance that Laos is placing on co-operative development. In June, the National Assembly passed a new Cooperative Law that will promote the organisation and collaboration of workers in rural areas.
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Osamu Ishihara, the project chief of Coop Okinawa, said: “The new law will be an opportunity for further advancement and progress. Co-operative establishment and human capital development are the keys to development. Cooperatives in Laos are still in development, but I believe that many of the ILO Our.Coop participants will contribute to building the future of Laos.”
The activities in Laos were funded by the government of Japan, through the ILO/Japan Fund for Building Social Safety Nets in Asia and the Pacific. An ILO project supported by the fund Building Youth Capacity and Network in Asia Pacific, it focuses on supporting youth and vulnerable people in Asia and the Pacific.
