From a cooperative mindset, and looking broadly at sustainable development, producers and their cooperatives also engage with projects in the South.
They share their knowledge and experience pertaining to the cooperative business model and the logistical and collective processes of cooperatives. For producers in the South, who often work in difficult circumstances and seldom get a fair price for their goods, cooperatives, as an organisational model, are a great tool to strengthen their position in the food chain.
Through VBT, producers and their cooperatives have taken up fostering a member organisation of producers in Peru, in collaboration with Trias. The project has shown that a cooperative approach is also an impactful way to sustainably produce goods and to combat the difficult production and market situation in the South. Reason enough to find more of this type of project.
Meanwhile, more small-scale initiatives continuously take place. The VBT cooperatives frequently receive delegations from other parts of the world. They explain to them the operational processes of cooperatives, the relationships with producers and the sustainable development initiatives. These are interesting topics to the delegations; they are appreciated and give them valuable insights.