|
The cooperative Esperanza del Plata is a recovered factory re-opened by its workers after being suddenly closed on Halloween of 2008. 7 of the original 30 or so workers remained, and together they began to organize to run the plant. They have thus far enjoyed the advantage of an almost-intact client list and a continued level of demand, but this has in part gone to waste as they have not had the necessary raw materials or capital to fulfill all incoming orders. As such, the growth of the cooperative has been slow and | arduous, with investments in raw materials coming at the direct expense of the workers taking money home.
This will be the sixth loan between Esperanza del Plata and La Base. In the first three loans, only plastic materials were bought, but the cooperative subsequently suggested we include dissolvents and ink, as they had on several occasions run out of both products while in the midst of production. This loan intends to help resolve that problem, and also to help the cooperative continue in its period of growth. |
Snapshot
