So I am sat at Lesotho International Airport, which is delightfully small and easy to navigate, staff are laid back and relaxed as there are only about 6 flights coming through each day. That said my bag just got tagged for Tunisia – I was able to spot this as I had not even checked in but my bag was tagged and off around the carousel towards the plane – maybe there is something to not so friendly but efficient airport staff! It is a beautifully clear day, not a cloud in sight at present and so my hope is that the flight will be a smooth one, that said is it very hot today around 28c already (at 10am) and so there could be some heat thermals coming off the mountains to navigate but I will be able to view splendid Lesotho from the aeroplane even if I am bouncing along! I then have 8 hours in Jo’berg before my connecting flight so lots of time to get some of the pages and pages of data entered.
The last two weeks have been busy but fruitful. As I am interested in capturing a detailed analysis of the youth co-operatives I am looking at, these last 2 weeks have been crucial in getting data with depth. It is like I have been building up to this point – first selecting the co-ops to work with, then doing initial visits and interviews and starting to build relationships with interview participants. In my last interviews, they now know me and I know them and their co-operative – I can therefore ask better questions and I think they feel more comfortable to answer. Alongside this busy last 2 weeks I have been nursing some flu and a then a cold, maybe my body telling me it is time to go home! I think it was mainly brought on by the fact that there has been more rain here and when it rains it really rains with cracking thunder storms – which I love as long as I am not flying! I have got drenched a few times and had to wade through the floods that flow down the sides of the roads. The issue is that when it rains it gets really cold and I think this brought the cold on! Anyways plenty of time to get better when I get back, although I hear I will have to wrap up – I have several layers of clothes in my bag ready to put on when I arrive.
One of my key activities in the last 2 weeks has been to research some of the co-operatives in Maseru. Up til now I have been concentrating on those co-ops outside of Maseru. Maseru is where most of the youth co-ops are located and many are made up of university graduates. They really range in activities from tourism and travel, catering, savings and credit and professional consultancy to name a few. Many of these are now only doing limited activities as they started the co-ops while at school and are now scattered and doing jobs but all say how important the co-op experience was to what they are doing now:
Preparing youth for world of work. “Before one becomes a professional you can get a chance to get acquainted with things in co-op movement, learn business things that you cannot learn in schools. It helps us ‘enter the world of business’. It has helped me get my job as a computer technician.” (Extract from an individual interview with a member (27 years old) of a youth co-operative)
My final activity yesterday was to prepare a report on my research and present this to the Commissioner for the Department for Co-operatives. This was quite a big job to do – as it meant trawling back through the data and trying to summarise the many things that I have learnt. However it was a really good task for me to and helped me get to know the data and also start to organise things in my mind. It was also the least I could for the Department to repay them for their kind support while I have been here. I thought some quotations I included in that report from the data would be nice to also share with you:
Impacts of being in a co-operative – “They get a loan for paying school fees. They get food as they produce food together – the school gave water and the space for a garden – they eat from this and then sell the surplus. They develop a sense of solidarity – if they see one not having clothes they then donate some. It also helps them to be linked with people outside - other youth in the country, youth from overseas and they get a chance to go to the youth forum.” (Extract from an individual interview with a teacher who supports a student co-operative)
Personal Development - “The best thing I have learnt is how to live and work with other people. Some people are bullies and not patient. I have learnt this by mistakes and then tomorrow I know not to do it again. I have also learnt how to communicate with others – when to go with one person and at times go with your own opinion. I have learnt to negotiate. I now see relationships with members working in a peaceful way but before there were quarrels, now willing to say let bygones be bygones. Shows me that I know I can get on with people, as I can let things go and forget yesterday.” (Extract from an individual interview with a member (27 years old) of a youth co-operative)
Head Teacher’s opinion of how students change through being in a co-op “Discipline; one could be aloof before, could be selfish and not having a sense of sharing. They develop a personal discipline to chat to each other and think of one another. They are competent; they believe in what they are and accept their situation. They do not feel ashamed – they know their income levels and their orphan status and accept this and realise that stealing not an option for them. They find ways of helping each other and learn how to live with their problems. Girls might think they have no cash, go out and have sex for money. Learning not to do this is the discipline part of it. They need to not see this as an option. They develop a sense of self-esteem – they trust in themselves and others – they learn to co-operate with others. They have a sense of good relations and friendships. They bear with other people’s problems and try to understand them.” (Extract from an individual interview with a Head Teacher of a school where there is a student co-operative)
One of the central things that I have learnt is that co-operatives can provide youth with a very positive experience – they develop and change, becoming more responsible for their lives and spending their time usefully rather than on risky behaviours like unhealthy relationships or drugs. They develop business and technical skills. They get to earn some extra income (not always a lot but a bit to help with books and school fees and much needed access to credit). But the extent to which youth experience this depends on whole host of factors – how active they are as a member, how active their co-operative is, their educational levels, whether they hold a leadership position in the co-op, what external support they receive – especially in the form of education and training, how much they know and understand about co-ops. That said the opportunities for development and to earn a livelihood are so limited especially in the rural areas – that any opportunity for this, despite the level of development they get, is a much appreciated opportunity.
As I say Goodbye to Lesotho I feel privileged to have been able to visit the country and get to spend 7 weeks here, time to get to know people and places and have ‘some feel’ for the country – same for Uganda. It has been hard being away from home but at the end of it a very worthwhile experience and one I would not swop. I have met some great people and really enjoyed hearing young people’s stories about their co-ops and being in a position to now tell them. I have really enjoyed being here and find it easy to be here and get around and do the research – mainly due to the support of the Department for Co-operatives. I feel I have got to know the youth co-operatives and have enough information to be able to share some very interesting ideas and stories with people back at home and further afield. The question now is how to put it together with the data from Uganda!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Co-operatives and Basotho youth
As I write I am nursing aches and pains from a pony trek around the beautiful hills of Lesotho. I had some time off over the weekend and visited a lovely place called Malealea about 60 kms from Maseru. It was nice to get out of Maseru and see more of Lesotho and Malealea Lodge is a great place from which you can easily explore the surrounding areas either on foot or on the back of a pony. It is quite scary as the pony navigates the rocky mountain passes but so worth it to enjoy the spectacular views of the low lying valleys and the beautiful hills and see Basotho people going about their daily lives. Passing Basotho (term used for the people of Lesotho) on their ponies, horses and donkeys as they go on their way, seeing shepherds herding their goats, sheep or cows, often with a couple of dogs to help them and people tending their very dry fields and hoping for rains soon.
I have now been in Lesotho for 4.5 weeks and in the last 2 weeks I have been concentrating on trying to understand and investigate the context of co-operatives and youth in Lesotho and also getting research activities going with the youth and student co-operatives.
I have being doing interviews with people from Department of Co-operatives, other government Ministries such as Ministry of Youth, Agriculture and also different stakeholders involved with co-operatives. These interviews went well and they have helped me understand the context of co-operatives and youth in Lesotho and some wider issues in the country. Economically Lesotho relies on agriculture, remittances from Basotho people working in South Africa particularly in the mines and also through a trade agreement between South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland and Nambia. This agreement is based on set of trade tariffs and disproportionately distributes money from South Africa to the other countries especially Lesotho and Swaziland. In fact it provides Lesotho’s government with 65% of its revenue. The number of Basotho working in the mines has drastically reduced in the last ten years and this has caused problems for government revenue and personal revenue. Basotho farmers have also been affected by changes in weather patterns – at this current time it should have been raining since August and there have only been a few days of rainfall since I have been here. Lesotho also seems to have bottle neck in terms of processing raw materials; mohair and wool are a primary agricultural product but none of the many Lesotho blankets are made here they are all made in South Africa. This is a common problem across many sectors, including water. Water is Lesotho’s great resource, they sell to South Africa, the dam projects that have been going on in the last 10 years have brought in important revenue to Lesotho but there is controversy about how much fertile land this has cost the country. Furthermore farmers struggle to have enough water for their crops as there is not the infrastructure to bring the water to their fields. Despite these problems, visitors to Lesotho cannot fail to be struck by how proud Basotho people are of their country and their traditions and how determined they are to improve their lives and take care of themselves and their families.
The interviews highlighted to be that the driving force for youth co-operatives came from interest from youth and teachers to establish co-operatives and was greatly supported by the Department. There was no ‘donor’ driving this but the Co-operative College UK provided a key role in building the capacity and motivation of the youth co-operatives through their presence at the annual youth forums in Lesotho provided since 2008. Generally donors do not play a role in the co-operative sector, IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) and ILO (International Labour Organisation) are stakeholders for co-operatives but their influence is minimal. This makes the co-operative sector very much a Basotho led and owned approach that has high hopes to address some of the challenges mentioned above; such as getting processing going, supporting farmers to buy inputs and market their products and give people who want to help themselves a group model that fits with these values. Added to this there is a revival of co-operatives taking place in Lesotho, this is characterised by increased interest and priority being placed on co-operatives - this seems to be driven by demand from co-operative members and the ‘mood’ and ‘activities’ of co-operative sectors in other countries in the Region and the ICA Regional Office – again not due to any particular donor.
Part of the revival is about the set up of youth and student co-operatives, there are now over 20 that have registered and 20 – 30 more which are preparing to register. I am conducting research with one youth cooperative in Leribe District, Subeng Dinosaur, about an hour from Maseru. They are the tourist co-operative, I mentioned in my last blog entry that are offering tours of dinosaur footprints and selling handicrafts. Data from interviews highlights that members are developing and learning through their co-operative membership and this is mainly through the annual youth forums (organised by the Co-op College UK and the Department for Co-operatives here), from other members and through the experience of being in a co-operative. They receive some income from co-operative but not much. However they are committed members as there are little livelihood options open to them in their community and believe the co-operative takes time to develop and will bring them income in the long term. Furthermore they place emphasis on the co-operative keeping them focussed and busy and doing something positive instead of remaining idle. They are supported by the Department, but this is quite minimal and they also receive some donations from tourists who have visited them, however they are very self-driven and self-motivated. That said they only have a low number of members and whilst these members are committed, they find it difficult to recruit new members as they think other youth do not share the commitment to co-op principles and time it takes to get a co-operative going and are just interested in what income they can get from the co-op.
I am also doing research with a student co-operative based at Mohales Hoek High School, Rise and Shine Student Co-operative, about 2 hours from Maseru. They have 40 members and primarily do savings and credit. They do provide an important source of income, through sharing of profits and through the availability of loans to the members, many of whom who struggle to pay school fees and they primarily use the money they get from the co-operative for this. They also learn and develop through the co-operative, learning how to manage their personal money, developing self confidence, leadership skills and some business skills such as accounts and how to handle clients. The co-operative also do fundraising and support other students at the school, particularly the vulnerable students. Orphans are a big problem at this school, they estimate 60% of the students are orphans and the co-operative tries to help these students through loans for school fees and also for the particularly vulnerable they donate clothes etc.
I am also trying to identify a youth co-operatives in Maseru to work with. I have met with one youth co-operative, Ledcon. They are a professional consultancy and offer consultancy services in a number of areas included IT, Marketing, Graphic Design and Co-operative Management. I also met with Bocha-Ke-Palesa, another youth co-operative, they are not currently doing many activities but members still consider themselves to be part of the co-operative. However when they joined they were still at school and had time for the co-operative but they are now either in work, or at school and so no longer have much time for the co-operative. That said the member I spoke to thought his co-operative experience was invaluable in preparing him for work – giving him experience and knowledge that helped him get his current job. I am looking forward to doing research with them and finding out what their story is.
I have now been in Lesotho for 4.5 weeks and in the last 2 weeks I have been concentrating on trying to understand and investigate the context of co-operatives and youth in Lesotho and also getting research activities going with the youth and student co-operatives.
I have being doing interviews with people from Department of Co-operatives, other government Ministries such as Ministry of Youth, Agriculture and also different stakeholders involved with co-operatives. These interviews went well and they have helped me understand the context of co-operatives and youth in Lesotho and some wider issues in the country. Economically Lesotho relies on agriculture, remittances from Basotho people working in South Africa particularly in the mines and also through a trade agreement between South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland and Nambia. This agreement is based on set of trade tariffs and disproportionately distributes money from South Africa to the other countries especially Lesotho and Swaziland. In fact it provides Lesotho’s government with 65% of its revenue. The number of Basotho working in the mines has drastically reduced in the last ten years and this has caused problems for government revenue and personal revenue. Basotho farmers have also been affected by changes in weather patterns – at this current time it should have been raining since August and there have only been a few days of rainfall since I have been here. Lesotho also seems to have bottle neck in terms of processing raw materials; mohair and wool are a primary agricultural product but none of the many Lesotho blankets are made here they are all made in South Africa. This is a common problem across many sectors, including water. Water is Lesotho’s great resource, they sell to South Africa, the dam projects that have been going on in the last 10 years have brought in important revenue to Lesotho but there is controversy about how much fertile land this has cost the country. Furthermore farmers struggle to have enough water for their crops as there is not the infrastructure to bring the water to their fields. Despite these problems, visitors to Lesotho cannot fail to be struck by how proud Basotho people are of their country and their traditions and how determined they are to improve their lives and take care of themselves and their families.
The interviews highlighted to be that the driving force for youth co-operatives came from interest from youth and teachers to establish co-operatives and was greatly supported by the Department. There was no ‘donor’ driving this but the Co-operative College UK provided a key role in building the capacity and motivation of the youth co-operatives through their presence at the annual youth forums in Lesotho provided since 2008. Generally donors do not play a role in the co-operative sector, IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) and ILO (International Labour Organisation) are stakeholders for co-operatives but their influence is minimal. This makes the co-operative sector very much a Basotho led and owned approach that has high hopes to address some of the challenges mentioned above; such as getting processing going, supporting farmers to buy inputs and market their products and give people who want to help themselves a group model that fits with these values. Added to this there is a revival of co-operatives taking place in Lesotho, this is characterised by increased interest and priority being placed on co-operatives - this seems to be driven by demand from co-operative members and the ‘mood’ and ‘activities’ of co-operative sectors in other countries in the Region and the ICA Regional Office – again not due to any particular donor.
Part of the revival is about the set up of youth and student co-operatives, there are now over 20 that have registered and 20 – 30 more which are preparing to register. I am conducting research with one youth cooperative in Leribe District, Subeng Dinosaur, about an hour from Maseru. They are the tourist co-operative, I mentioned in my last blog entry that are offering tours of dinosaur footprints and selling handicrafts. Data from interviews highlights that members are developing and learning through their co-operative membership and this is mainly through the annual youth forums (organised by the Co-op College UK and the Department for Co-operatives here), from other members and through the experience of being in a co-operative. They receive some income from co-operative but not much. However they are committed members as there are little livelihood options open to them in their community and believe the co-operative takes time to develop and will bring them income in the long term. Furthermore they place emphasis on the co-operative keeping them focussed and busy and doing something positive instead of remaining idle. They are supported by the Department, but this is quite minimal and they also receive some donations from tourists who have visited them, however they are very self-driven and self-motivated. That said they only have a low number of members and whilst these members are committed, they find it difficult to recruit new members as they think other youth do not share the commitment to co-op principles and time it takes to get a co-operative going and are just interested in what income they can get from the co-op.
I am also doing research with a student co-operative based at Mohales Hoek High School, Rise and Shine Student Co-operative, about 2 hours from Maseru. They have 40 members and primarily do savings and credit. They do provide an important source of income, through sharing of profits and through the availability of loans to the members, many of whom who struggle to pay school fees and they primarily use the money they get from the co-operative for this. They also learn and develop through the co-operative, learning how to manage their personal money, developing self confidence, leadership skills and some business skills such as accounts and how to handle clients. The co-operative also do fundraising and support other students at the school, particularly the vulnerable students. Orphans are a big problem at this school, they estimate 60% of the students are orphans and the co-operative tries to help these students through loans for school fees and also for the particularly vulnerable they donate clothes etc.
I am also trying to identify a youth co-operatives in Maseru to work with. I have met with one youth co-operative, Ledcon. They are a professional consultancy and offer consultancy services in a number of areas included IT, Marketing, Graphic Design and Co-operative Management. I also met with Bocha-Ke-Palesa, another youth co-operative, they are not currently doing many activities but members still consider themselves to be part of the co-operative. However when they joined they were still at school and had time for the co-operative but they are now either in work, or at school and so no longer have much time for the co-operative. That said the member I spoke to thought his co-operative experience was invaluable in preparing him for work – giving him experience and knowledge that helped him get his current job. I am looking forward to doing research with them and finding out what their story is.
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