WCCN begins promising partnership with Humberto Aguilar Co-op
by Carlos Arenas
Executive Director
As part of a new initiative to help to incubate promising organizations with the potential of becoming NICA Fund partners, WCCN has recently established a partnership with the Humberto Aguilar Co-op. This co-op is located in the town of La Concepción, in the department of Masaya, only one hour outside of Managua. La Concepción is the main producer of fruits and vegetables in Nicaragua. WCCN believes that there is an enormous potential for the co-op to increase their services and take complete advantage of the unique agro-ecological conditions of its region.
Last January, when I met with the co-op’s Board of Directors for the first time, one of the first things they said to me was that Humberto Aguilar, the person who the co-op is named after, was not a guerrilla fighter, as many people tend to believe—this is common practice in Nicaragua after years of armed conflicts. Instead, Humberto Aguilar was a very dedicated, well-respected and admired school teacher who worked in that municipality. When he died, the members of the co-op used Humberto Aguilar’s name to pay tribute and show respect and admiration for his work as an educator and community leader.
The Humberto Aguilar Co-op is perhaps the oldest co-op in Nicaragua. This co-op was founded 44 years ago, so it has very deep roots in the municipality where it is located. It is extremely rare to find a co-op or NGO that old in Nicaragua. In fact, until now, all the co-ops and NGOs that WCCN has been working with were founded after 1990.
Another thing that captured my attention was a unique long-term commitment on the part of several members of the co-op. For instance, Teófilo Ampié, the president of the co-op and a founding member, joined the co-op when he was only 17 years old. Ofelia Guevara, the General Manager, has been involved with the co-op for 30 years. There are several other people who have been members of the co-op for more than 25 years. One of the keys for the longstanding success of the co-op has been their strong sense of independence from political parties. This characteristic has allowed them to survive the ever-changing Nicaraguan political climate, from the years of the Somoza dictatorship, the war of insurrection against the dictatorship, the revolutionary government of the 1980s, the neo-liberal governments after 1991, to the current FSLN administration.
I was very impressed with the sense of pride that the Humberto Aguilar Co-op’s members have about their accomplishments over the years, with minimal external support, no donations and almost no debt. The Humberto Aguilar Co-op has grown under a model of raising funds from savings and contributions paid from its members, instead of capitalizing on external debt. However, an affordable $45,000 loan from WCCN will help the co-op make improvements and start a path of growing and expanding their operations. We anticipate that next year the Humberto Aguilar Co-op could start receiving loans directly from the NICA Fund.
Photo of Teófilo Ampié and Ofelia Guevara by Carlos Arenas.