Mangrove Co-op Society completes essential project

May 01, 2013 News

The Mangrove Reserve Producers Cooperative Society (MRPCS) has completed its first donor- funded project aimed at mechanisation of production, bar-coding of packages, and provision of administrative support for its work.
The Society was formally registered in 2012 and is a community-based initiative in East Coast Demerara, owned by individuals from communities between Buxton and eastward to the Corentyne Coast, with support from the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP).
The society members thanked Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and the Canadian High Commission for providing a CAD$20,000 grant, along with the fact that the group’s business development plan was approved.
This grant came in the wake of previous support from Digicel, that included the production of a business plan for the co-op that was delivered in November 2012. That same year, at the launch of Tourism Month at the Mangrove Centre, Mon Repos, the Canadian High Commissioner, David Devine, became aware of the Society’s work. He subsequently sent one of his staff to determine how the Canadian High Commission could help the initiative. That led to the creation of a three-month business development project.
The plan was designed to equip members with basic food-processing equipment (such as stainless-steel honey extractors) to enable the mechanisation of some aspects of their production, provide them with labeling, packaging and marketing support in order to successfully carry out their business plan.
It also directs them in the management of a fully-functional small-scale food production enterprise, generating profits from a sustainable business model with clear management structures and business procedures spelled out.
One of the group’s members, Alice Thomas from Nabaclis, said “Our business plan and now this support from the Canadian High Commission are a big boost. We’re working to a plan and now when we go to exhibitions, the packaging is more attractive. We sell more, and bar coding means the supermarkets will accept our products for sale. Also the stainless-steel honey extractors we now have will contribute to the hygienic processing of our honey.”
At a function marking the official completion of the exercise, a representative from the Canadian High Commission expressed satisfaction with the way the project was done so expeditiously.

MRPCS members pose with Annette Arjoon-Martins (far right) at the end of the project

Carlotta de Jesus, President of the Cooperative said, “The Society is pleased to have done so well in such a short time… it took a lot of hard work and constant attention to meet the three months’ deadline… The extractors had to be ordered from overseas, bank accounts had to be set up with cheques requiring two signatories who lived miles apart, and so on… Overall, because our members are scattered from Buxton to Berbice, communication had to be largely by phone. Some weeks my cell phone bill was frightening.”
The Society’s primary function is to support the development of sustainable products produced in the interest of mangrove forest conservation and to market those products of the member groups that meet the quality standards of the Society (hygiene, packaging, and quality control), and which are aligned to the strategic objectives of the Society.
Together, the Society’s members contribute to the retention of mangroves, a vital defence for Guyana’s vulnerable 430km coast, while generating alternative livelihoods from various agro products in their communities.
Annette Arjoon-Martins, Chairperson of the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP) said, “Because of the wide area, we will need to start looking at identifying smaller clusters, in areas with strong production, and with a central agro-processing point which would be more efficient.”
She also pointed to the networking value that the Society provides.
“Where there is broad community ownership and acceptance of the benefits that the group generates, there is likely to be a greater interest in protecting community mangrove forest resources. There will also be a strengthening of the relationship and engagement between the group members and their respective host communities to ensure the successful implementation of the business plan which was sponsored by Digicel.”
The Society’s business plan, developed by Consultant Timothy McIntosh, suggests extensive technical support and business mentoring to support individual member groups and has built-in knowledge-sharing activities to build trust between groups and to mitigate against inherent risks.
In order to reduce risks, many fronts have come together to support the successful implementation of the business model. These include the GMRP, Digicel, the Private Sector Commission (through its Social Sector Subcommittee), and the Women of Worth initiative of the Ministry of Social Services.
To date, the agro-producers and their budding Coop have benefitted, in the main, through the relationship and strong linkage with the GMRP, out of which the Mangrove Reserve Producers Coop evolved.
The GMRP itself was conceived by the Government of Guyana in partnership with the European Union’s Global Climate Change Alliance Programme, linked to sustainable coastal zone management. The GMRP was launched in February 2010.
According to Mrs. Arjoon-Martins “The Mangrove Reserve Producers Cooperative Society is just one year old and has now started to build up a track record of implementing funded projects. The background here is that the members of the Coop have for many years been successfully engaging in self-directed community service initiatives and in their own small income-earning enterprises and they have already stamped this quality of community entrepreneurship and dynamism on this organization and its start-up phase. The result has been a highly motivated core group with a strong sense of ownership in the programme. It’s the key to their progress so far.”