The Mangrove Reserve Producers Cooperative (MRPC) has taken a major step forward and has developed a comprehensive 42-page business plan with the help of cell phone company Digicel.
“The MRPC is an offshoot of the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP), funded by the EU and the Guyana Government, to protect and extend Guyana’s mangrove forests which are a pillar in the country’s sea defence,” a press release said.
Chair of the GMRP Annette Arjoon-Martins, said the concept of the Producers Cooperative, which was started in October 2011, was to allow coastal villagers to earn a living from the protection and management of mangrove forests through the sale of their agri-products generated in mangrove forested communities. Products were branded with the Mangrove Reserve Products label, and sold at the Mangrove Reserve Centre at Cove and John, conditional upon the producers being involved in mangrove protection and conservation, the release said.
The 52 members of the group spread the mangrove awareness message in their communities at various forums such as village events, schools and churches and by taking visitors on tours of the Golden Grove to Belfield Mangrove Reserve. They also operate informally as monitors who help to prevent possible mangrove destruction in their communities. According to the release, the co-op initiative was spurred by the success of a farmer’s market in October 2011 at the Mangrove Visitor Centre. The event was sponsored by Digicel and “the reaction to the products, and the sales, was so strong, it was clear we had something here,” Arjoon-Martins said. However, organisers recognised that in order to go forward it needed to have a business plan. The group solicited Digicel’s help in this endeavour. Digicel’s Events and Sponsorship Manager Gavin Hope said when he saw the impact of the farmer’s market he believed the company should join, in keeping with its support for grassroots initiatives. In this instance, he said the value of the community protecting the environment was clear.
Hope, along with officials from the Food and Agriculture Organisation and from the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture stressed the need for the group members to become actively involved with the business plan which covers operating structure, product development, quality control, branding and pricing.
In the summary to the business plan, Timothy McIntosh of The Consultancy Group noted that the objective was to develop a business model for the co-op which supports sustainable community use of mangrove forests and mangrove forest conservation. It highlights the significance of mangrove forests in Guyana’s sea-defence and climate change policies and the importance of mangrove forests for coastal community livelihoods. He said, “The principal objective was to develop a business model that facilitates sustainable use of the mangrove forests.”
McIntosh said strong emphasis was placed on involving the seven community-based units that make up the Mangrove Reserve Producers Cooperative, recognising the limited life of the EC-funded Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project, and the importance of broad ownership at the community level for acceptance and subsequent implementation of the business plan.
According to Arjoon-Martins, after showing the business plan to a few persons two promising enquiries have already come in.
